French Business students visit South Wales Police Office in Sainsbury's
The Bridgend Neighbourhood Policing Team yesterday welcomed 50 French HND Business Studies students to the police office in the Sainsbury's supermarket, at the McArthur Glen Shopping Outlet, Bridgend.
The students from Les Herbiers, France, were given a presentation by PC Stuart Morgan, and PC Karen Merrett, on the role of the police office in the supermarket. They were also introduced to the ShopWatch scheme, in which Sainsbury's has a staff member who is a South Wales Police Special Constable.
Additionally Sainsbury's Duty Manager Mr Ceri Jones spoke to the visitors about store security, and the role of the Derwen Business Partnership to tackle crime.
The French visitors were then given the opportunity to compare the differences between the police in France and Wales, as they put numerous questions to the police constables, and got a hands on experience of the equipment that they typically carry, when on the beat. They were shown the police asp, CS Spray, velcro restraints, and a number of the students ended up in handcuffs. Additionally the students had a good look at a typical police vehicle, and a number of students experienced sitting in the holding cage of the vehicle.
Police Constable Stuart Morgan stated "It was a pleasure to welcome our French visitors from the CFA JEAN XXIII School in Western France. It provided the students with a background to policing in South Wales, along with information on the importance of partnership working to reduce business related crime. The experience gained from the visit to Wales will certainly be useful in their academic studies."
Juliet Mandin who teaches English at the CFA JEAN XXIII School, and led the visit to Wales stated "The visit to the police office is certainly the highlight of the students trip to Wales. They very much enjoy interacting with the South Wales Police officers, and have definitely learned a lot about ways to reduce business crime, that they will take back to France."