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| A fair cop and a wagon full of fun. Cambs Police round up the comfort toys.. |
For time to time, it is a pleasure to put police budgets cuts and chasing villians on one side and report some really good news stories. This is just one, we need more brilliant ideas from our inspirational boys and girls in blue.... further donations of new toys are always welcome and will be seriously loved...
A 'comfort toys' scheme introduced by Cambridgeshire Police to reduce the stress children suffer following a serious collision or firearms incident has been hailed a success. All traffic and firearms vehicles have carried the soft toys, after it was set up by enquiry officer Jackie Gadd.
Since then a variety of toys have been handed out, mostly at scenes of road collisions, and Jackie has received glowing feedback from officers and grateful parents. Here are some examples:
A nine-year-old girl was taken to hospital by the force helicopter after falling from a tree and impaling herself on some railings in Stotfold, Hertfordshire. Officers were not able to give her the toy at the time because her condition was serious but doctors passed it on and the girl's mother later contacted officers to say how appreciative her daughter was and she had been touched by the gesture.
Jackie, who set up the scheme after hearing about its successful use by Wiltshire police, said: "I am delighted with the feedback I have received from officers: some of their stories have been very touching. "Unfortunately, children will always be involved in traumatic incidents from time to time but I'm convinced that having a teddy to cuddle while the incident is being dealt with reduces their stress significantly." she commented.
Jackie, who was involved in a collision with her own children several years ago, secured funding for the scheme from the St Neots Police Charity Ball committee.
Soft toys were donated by the former Disney Store in Peterborough and Mothercare in Huntingdon gave a substantial discount. Below are some examples of feedback Jackie has received from officers:
PC Stuart Cox, from the roads policing unit at March: "I attended a two vehicle collision on the A14 between a lorry and a car containing a mum and two daughters aged about 15 and 10. The car was shunted off the road into a ditch by the lorry. The 10 year old suffered minor facial cuts from flying glass but was very shaken up. I went into the back of the ambulance to see her with a cuddly toy poking out of the top of my jacket. I told the girl that my 'friend' was new to the job and needed looking after because he was a bit frightened. I also told her that he was so new he didn't even have a name yet. The girl agreed to 'look after him' and named him Bluey after the blue lights on my car.
"I think this is a great scheme and shows the caring side of what we do. It gives the child something else to focus on rather than the situation itself."
PC Andrew Dodd, from southern traffic base at Sawston. "I have to say the use of the toys worked well. In this case the children were aged around three and five and had been involved in a single vehicle collision in Stretham where their mother had rolled her car into a field about 800 metres from her home address. We had got everyone back to the home address and the children were clearly distressed by the experience and the teddies certainly helped to calm them down. I have to say it certainly made the job easier on that day."
Sergeant Sam Kerr, from the force's firearms unit. "My team have issued two. The first was to a little girl who was extremely upset following a violent domestic incident. The second was another little girl who happened to be deaf and dumb at the scene of a road collision. On both occasions they have been extremely useful and helped to ease what were very stressful situations for the children concerned."
Sergeant Ian Lombardo, from the force's firearms unit. "I handed out two of the comfort toys at a collision on the A14 near Fenstanton. Neither of the children was hurt but they were a little shaken and one of them had learning difficulties. Handing over a toy got a smile from both the kids and the parents were impressed by the scheme and stated that they felt we had made the children's day."
Pc Simon Kerr, a northern traffic officer, attended a crash on October 26 where a vehicle had left the A141 at Oldhurst, gone into a ditch and landed on its roof. "The giraffe I gave to the little lad has been named 'Bob'. It's a fantastic idea and I hope it continues."
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