Baby boys… in blue! Senior police officer is forced to defend teenage recruits targeted by trolls for how young they look after she posted picture welcoming them to the force
- The two student recruits, both over 18, were mocked online for their appearance
They have long been known as the boys in blue.
But a senior police officer was forced to speak out in support of two young student recruits after cruel comments by online trolls about how young they looked.
It started when Superintendent Helen Brear of West Yorkshire Police posted a photo on Twitter alongside the message: ‘Welcome Alfie and Noah to Kirklees District. New student officers as part of our Police Uplift programme, #Policing family.’
All student officers must be over 18 to apply but the keyboard bullies soon went into overdrive at the sight of the young looking budding policemen standing with Supt Brear and another female officer.
One social media user commented ‘1000 per cent bullied at school’ and another asked ‘has the pension got so bad that they have to start at 12?’
Superintendent Helen Brear of West Yorkshire Police posted a photo on Twitter alongside the message: ‘Welcome Alfie and Noah to Kirklees District. New student officers as part of our Police Uplift programme, #Policing family’
Soon after the post welcoming the teenagers was shared online, a number of cruel comments appeared on Twitter
The teasing comments continued with ‘has puberty struck yet’ and ‘should I be letting the NSPCC know about this?’
And a remark by another joker commented: ‘The 10-year-old could have washed his hands before his pic with the boss.’
But Supt Brear didn’t see the funny side and hit back by commenting: ‘I have been incredibly disappointed by some of the responses. Both of my colleagues passed the recruitment process and displayed they had the skills/abilities. Both will make great cops and I as their leader will ensure they reach their potential.’
Her staunch defence of the young-looking students has been seen by more than 165,000 people and was widely praised for putting the trolls in their place.
And others defended the youthful recruits.
A former police officer wrote: ‘I joined at 19 and thought I looked young, but my God they look like school children.
‘That being said I in no way doubt their ability to do the job and wish them well.’
Another member of the public said: ‘They literally look like school kids, but fair play and massive respect for putting their heads above the wall to take this career on.’
Others hit back at the online trolls, telling the youngsters to ‘stay safe’ and ignore the ‘negative’ comments
Norman Brennan, a former police officer and anti-crime campaigner, Tweeted: ‘I was once young faced probationer and someone once said I looked too young to be an officer but I became pretty good at nicking people.’
While Caroline Goode, a retired detective superintendent, commented: ‘They will get plenty of stick on the streets for looking young, much as I did. Some people may feel they can take liberties and quickly find out they were mistaken. They will do just fine. Wish them luck from an oldie, tell them enjoy their youthful looks while they can.’
West Yorkshire Police state on their website that those applying to join the police ‘must have reached 18’ to become a student officer.
Their training combines a mixture of classroom learning and practical experience and if successful will gain a degree at the end of the three-year course.
A profile of the student officer role states the ‘key outputs’ include ‘arrest, detain or report individuals ensuring that they are dealt with appropriately in line with current guidance.’ Another is to ‘interview, victims, witnesses and suspects’ and officers must ‘lead by example and behave in line with the Police Code of Ethics.’
‘Essential’ attributes for West Yorkshire officers is to ‘communicate clearly’, have a ‘good command of English’, basic computer skills, ability to pass a fitness test and ability to undertake Biometric testing.
Last year the West Yorkshire force recruited 624 officers through its Uplift programme.
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