Educating people on what they do is the reason the Halifax Regional Police Force has held their annual Police Day showcase for the last few years. With a wide variety of displays and interactive exhibits, the event seems to be doing just that.
“We want the public to see us as approachable and this is a great way to do it. So instead of them coming to us, we’re coming to them,” explained Const. Michelle Everson.
“It’s the kickoff to National Police Week so we have a showcase here of many of our units from HRP.”
Officers from the Public Safety Unit, Emergency Response Unit, Forensic Identification Unit as well as four-legged ones like the Mounted and K-9 units, were all on hand.
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People of all ages got to try on riot gear, run the robot used for bomb-related incidents, get their fingerprints taken, sit on a police motorcycle and more.
There was also a display of weapons confiscated from the street, which aren’t exactly as they seem.
“If you look at the display it’s a pretty interesting display but in fact they’re all fake,” explained Everson. “They’re all either replicas or airsoft guns. None of them are real but if you went and looked at it they all look very real.”
Teenager Pamela Martell was helping ink willing participants who wanted to see their fingerprints on paper.
Already moving toward a career in the field, Martell said events like this one help young people figure out if policing is right for them.
“Fingerprinting, training and all that, how to become a police officer,” Martell said. “I think it shows the kids what they want to be.”
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