THE success of a community policing program trialled at Lake Macquarie has led to a statewide rollout.
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NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione officially launched the Community Awareness in Policing Program (CAPP) in Sydney this week.
The initiative, the first of its kind for an Australian law-enforcement agency, is designed to give prominent members of communities - such as civic and religious leaders, business luminaries, academics and cultural identities - a clearer understanding of what police do.
Participants in the program speak with officers and experience various aspects of police work, including a custody tour, fingerprinting, a role-play knife search, how to deal with anti-social behaviour, and a demonstration of a mobile command centre.
At the recent pilot program at Lake Macquarie police headquarters participants including high school students also saw a demonstration of police dog capabilities, and forensic blood analysis.
"By exposing [people] to the realities of policing, we hope to challenge preconceived perceptions and provide a new appreciation of the challenges and rewards of operational policing," Commissioner Scipione said.