OKEHAMPTON new police cadets have donned their new uniforms for the first time ready to step out into the community.

The group – the first police cadet unit in West Devon – will be involved in various support roles, including meeting the public at the Okehampton Show in August.

They could also be involved in giving out crime prevention advice on doorsteps to residents and communicating messages from the police.

Seven members of the nine-strong unit are pictured, right, with volunteer leader Bruce Card on Thursday last week (June 13).

Special constable Joe Edwards, who set the unit up, said: ‘I gave them all their uniforms the week before and said “this is how you look after them” and the next week they came in wearing them, all ironed and all adjustments needed made. They were very well turned out.’

Care of uniforms is just one of the skills the group have been learning during their Thursday night sessions at Okehampton Police Station from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.

‘They’ve been learning map-reading and using the police radios,’ said SC Edwards. We’ve had lessons around diversity and also personal skills; how to talk to people, body language and different types of communication.’

That has all been classroom based, but now that they have their uniforms the unit will be getting out on to the streets of Okehampton.

SC Edwards they urgently needed more adult leaders to supervise them. ‘At the moment we haven’t got enough leaders for the cadets to grow,’ he said.