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Examining children’s perspectives of the Mini-Police in England and Wales

Callender, M. and Cahalin, K. (2025) Examining children’s perspectives of the Mini-Police in England and Wales. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice. 19 1752-4512.

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Callender_Cahalin_2025_Examining_children_s_perspectives_of_the_Mini-Police_in_England_and_Wales.pdf - Accepted Version
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Abstract:
The mini-police is an innovative police engagement programme that is aimed at children aged 8–11 years in England and Wales. This article examines the perspectives of children who have participated in the mini-police programme filling a significant gap within the literature. Children voices were captured through a national online survey completed by 248 children who had been in the mini-police and 102 children who had not and 8 child-friendly creative workshops were held in 4 forces involving 56 children. The article suggests that participation in this programme can increase children’s understanding of what the police do, their trust in the police, and their desire to help others. Additionally, findings suggested that other positive impacts of participation include an increased self-identity, confidence, and sense of safety. This article argues that engaging younger children in programmes such as these can help to promote and support positive life course trajectories.
Additional Information:
The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/quality_education
Creators:
Callender, M. and Cahalin, K.
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes:
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > Institute for Public Safety, Crime and Justice
Date:
11 May 2025
Date Type:
Publication
Journal or Publication Title:
Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice
Volume:
19
Number of Pages:
11
Language:
English
ISSN:
1752-4512
Status:
Published / Disseminated
Refereed:
Yes
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