Police empower young women

Some of the personal skills needed to survey a crime scene, analyse intelligence and interview offenders will be shared with young women as part of an innovative mentoring scheme.

A total of 26 officers and staff, working in a range of roles at Cleveland Police, have volunteered to mentor young women through a partnership with The Girls’ Network.

The Girls’ Network is a charity which works to match girls with professional women who can help them develop their confidence, networks and skills to realise their potential.

Volunteers from policing will be able to share some of the personal skills and strategies needed for their often demanding roles.

Response policing Chief Inspector Rachel Stockdale has created support for the mentoring scheme at Cleveland Police. She said: “I’m proud to be involved in The Girls’ Network which is all about females supporting females to become the best they can be.

“I think we all recognise the last year has been challenging for young people who have seen disruptions to their education and have been unable to explore opportunities such as work experience.

“I’m delighted 26 of my female colleagues have volunteered to be ready to mentor local girls to help support them with whatever next steps they want to take.

“Policing is a challenging and rewarding career and while the mentoring won’t be focussing on encouraging youngsters into policing, the experiences my colleagues will be able to share will encourage and empower young women.”

Three of the 26 volunteers have now been matched to mentees at Haughton Academy in Darlington. The Girls’ Network will continue to work to match mentors with mentees predominantly in the Tees Valley area.