Merseyside Police speak to 3,500 girls as part of International Women’s Day initiative
by Educate Magazine March 12, 2024 · All News / Secondary School News
To mark International Women’s Day (8 March), female officers and staff from across Merseyside Police visited 10 all-girl secondary schools across the region, in the hope of inspiring the next generation of young women to choose a career in policing.
Across the force, staff have marked the occasion by celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Merseyside Police have looked at how they can better support, inspire, and empower women in our wider communities.
Organised by the force Outreach Team, the female volunteers who took park in the school visits are from various departments across the force, including IT, investigations, custody and people services. The idea was to share their career highlights so far, discuss the challenges they have overcome and what advice they would give to anyone looking to follow in their footsteps.
The 10 schools that were visited included:
– Upton Hall School
– West Kirby Grammar School
– Weatherhead High School
– Prenton High School for Girls
– Archbishop Blanch School
– Bellerive Catholic College
– St Julie’s Catholic High School
– Holly Lodge Girls College
– The Belvedere Academy
Outreach officer, Emma Hodgson, who coordinated these events, said: “As part of my role as an outreach officer, we go out and connect with our different communities, forge positive relationships and hopefully inspire people to join our force.
“I would never have known about the role of an outreach officer when I was starting out but during the last 17 years, I have been lucky enough to work in many different roles such as response, roads policing, family crime, missing persons unit, local policing and schools.
“Over the week, we will have spoken directly to over 3,500 young girls from across the Merseyside region and we have already received plenty of positive feedback from the visits we have conducted so far.”
Jenn Wilson, temporary assistant chief constable, local policing and criminal justice, said: “The theme of International Women’s Day this year is to inspire inclusion, striving for a world where difference is valued and celebrated.
“I have worked for Merseyside Police for 23 years and I have been fortunate enough to work with many great role models who have inspired me to go on to support others on their journeys.
“Taking part in these school assemblies is a great way to inspire young girls as they carve out their future careers. Hopefully, by showcasing all the different roles on offer, we can attract a diverse range of girls who can all bring a mix of skills and perspectives.”
Assistant headteacher of Archbishop Blanch, Helen Rimmer, said: “The girls have really been inspired by the range of diverse women that have presented to them today [8 March].
“It is fantastic for them to see the range of roles available beyond police officer roles too, it highlights new paths that they might wish to follow in the future.”
On 21 March, the Merseyside Police outreach team are due to visit Greenbank High School with a condensed version of the road show.
