Footscray police have paired up with children at Dinjerra Primary School for some old-fashioned letter writing.
Grades 4, 5 and 6 pupils at the Braybrook school have been swapping letters with police throughout this year as part of an Ardoch Youth Foundation program.
The “literacy buddies” met last week when police visited the school – the police cars and sirens proving a real hit.
The pupils will visit their police buddies at Footscray police station later in the year.
Inspector Tony Long said the program was in its second year after enjoying strong success in 2014.
“A really high proportion of the kids are from refugee or migrant backgrounds; there’s a very wide range of nationalities,” he said.
“A lot of these kids come from backgrounds where police are seen as people you don’t trust.”
He said the pupils and police loved the pen pal project and teachers thought it was great because it also helped improve literacy.
“They ask questions and we respond and ask them questions, too,” Inspector Long said.
“If they ever do need the police, or see us in the streets, instead of being scared they can feel confident. The good thing is this filters back to the families as well.”
