Students are connected to police work | eDruva

On the shadow day, when students get to know the daily life of representatives of a profession, this time in Latvia there was the most desire to get to know the work of a police inspector.

In the Cēsi district, six students – five girls and a boy – on the Day of Shadows, April 5, watched how the district municipal police performed their duties.

The young people followed the progress of municipal police chief Guntars Norbut and inspector of binding rules and public order Lelde Pole. Early in the morning, the students participated in the morning assembly. After that, G. Norbuts briefly introduced the structure and tasks of the municipal police, the everyday work, emphasizing that even though the police is a repressive institution, its main task is to help people, and he also revealed that “crime is getting younger and younger” and the police happens to work with the youngest class as well for children.

The students learned how public order is monitored in Cesis. Their interest was attracted by a video surveillance room where a police officer follows what is happening in the city. Together with the municipal police officers, the young people went on a patrol around the city, assessing the situation at the shops, on the streets, at the railway station, in Maija Park, as well as inspecting the premises of night shelters and shelters.

Sebastians Saule, an 11th-grade student from Cēsis, says that he is familiar with various professions, he has been a gardener’s assistant, a musician’s assistant, and a popular actor in the cinema: “I also wanted to see the work of the police, so I am participating in the Day of Shadows for the first time. I am at the beginning of my career choice, I am interested in different professions. After this Day of Shadows, I realized that one of the possibilities could be the police.”

Kristiāna Beķere, a new student, will graduate from the twelfth grade this year: “Although the confidence about choosing a profession came recently, nothing will be able to change my views, and shadowing only strengthened the confidence. I plan to study at the State Police College. At the “School 2023” exhibition in Riga, I learned the criteria that must be met in order to enroll in this educational institution. Now I go to the gym, improve my physical fitness. I want to connect the work with the police, because I really want to help people and I have experienced the help of the police, so I know that it is mine. Since it is a calling of the heart, I am not afraid of, for example, a low salary or the many challenges. “

Amanda Endija Rektiņa had come from Pļaviņas because she is sure that she wants to connect her future with the police profession: “I am brave, I like the variety that is in this job, the cooperation of my colleagues. The view of the head of the municipality on the responsibilities of the police was also related to shadowing.”

Municipal police chief Guntars Norbuts told “Druvai” after the meeting with the shadowers: “Young people are interested and looking for their own path in life. By getting to know the professions better, it is easier to choose what to do next. Every year there are young people who want to shadow municipal police officers, because we work with people every day.” G. Norbuts said that there are more people who want to work in the municipal police in Cēsi County than there are jobs, even though there is a shortage of personnel in other parts of the country. The municipal police chief is not surprised that it is young women who are interested in police work. In Cēsis county, out of ten inspectors working in parishes, covering the whole county, seven are women.

The survey of the association “Junior Achievement Latvia”, the organizer of the Shadow Day, revealed that students are particularly interested in job opportunities in the medical sector. Also this year, 18 ninth- to twelfth-grade students not only from Cēsis, but also from other parts of Latvia had the opportunity to shadow doctors at the Cēsi clinic – nurses, surgeons, EMS and reception department doctors, anesthesiologists, resuscitators, internists, surgeons, pediatricians, physiotherapists and occupational therapists places.

In the Cēsi region, there was an opportunity to shadow specialists in the State Fire and Rescue Service, the State Police, the joint-stock company “Gasso”, SIA “Adven Latvia”, trainers of the Sports School and others.

The Vidzeme regional department of the National Cultural Heritage Administration had also applied for shadowing. Chief state inspector Ilze Liekniņa, the head of the department, said: “In other years, students have been happy to get to know the work in the administration – both in the office and by surveying the old town or objects outside Cēsis and assessing the problems to be paid attention to, what are the tasks to be performed. In addition, one of the shadowers from previous years then worked as a volunteer during the summer. However, no shader applied this year. But we hope to welcome new shadows next year.”

Day of Shadows is a globally recognized and recognized career education program “Junior Achievement” for grades 1-12. students of classes, students visit a workplace and observe the everyday work of a representative of the profession. The purpose of the Shadow Day is to promote the connection of students’ educational content with real life, to introduce students to the requirements of various professions and industries, to help them choose a profession and prepare accordingly for the labor market.