SWAN Hill police officers are helping spread the legacy of one of their own by encouraging schoolchildren to connect with police by writing letters to them.
The initiative was inspired by Leading Senior Constable Dennis Cox, from Sea Lake police station, who died on November 12, 2020, as a result of a cycling accident in Sea Lake.
Lead-Snr-Const Cox was a popular figure in the community and, during a period of remote learning as a result of the pandemic, a local student called Jasper wrote to him.
“One of our students was always in awe of Dennis, our local policeman,” said Kate Nunn, principal of St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Sea Lake.
“To engage him in his writing, his teacher got him to write a letter to Dennis.”
Ms Nunn said Lead-Snr-Const Cox sent a “lovely” reply, encouraging Jasper to be good because Christmas was coming, talked about COVID-19 and gifted him a police rubber wrist band, a blue and white police ribbon and blue and white police ribbon pin.
Now his fellow officers are spreading the message to schools across the region.
Students who participate in the program – A Letter to Dennis – will receive a response from a police officer.
Swan Hill Senior Sergeant Brad Bennett recently teamed up with Sergeant Darren Bull from Donald – Dennis’ cousin – to visit Donald Primary School.
“The letter writing is giving our students a connection to their local police and allowing them to get a better understanding of the roles that police do,” principal Mr Young said.
“I think children need to be educated in what the police do in reality, and for them to understand that there’s a big difference between the daily life of a policeman, and what they might see on television and movies.”
He said for the past 15 months, many of the school’s students were living in an isolated family bubble, with minimal connections to their local community.
“So this is a way they can connect with their local community, and in a positive way too,” Mr Young said.
He said the benefit to students of being part of the program was to see the police as people who served them and their families, not as enforcers to “make life difficult for their families”.
“The whole point of a police person is to serve and protect a community,” he said.
Mr Young said the program also allowed the students to ask a range of questions to increase their understanding at their level and on their interests.
