Thursday 3 April 2008

Helping the Police with their enquiries

I've just returned from a fascinating appointment with 36 new recruits to Leicestershire Constabulary.

The session was part of a full day of training, organised and delivered by The St Philip's Centre for Study and Engagement in a Multi-Faith Society, under the expert leadership of Dr Shanthikumar Hettiarachchi.

I was a member of a panel of three faith representatives, who responded to questions from the recruits on issues of belief, ethics, respect and crime. It was a pleasure and privilege to join Smita Shah, a Jain, and Tove Delenius, a Muslim.

The aim of the day was to give the participants a basic outline of the main faiths that they are likely to encounter in the course of their work. The programme included much more than our "faiths panel": lectures on World Religions, Faiths in Leicestershire, a tour and lunch at the Guru Teg Bahdur Gurdwara, an introduction to Islam and case work on policing-related issues.

I was impressed by the maturity and depth of sensitivity in the recruits' questions, which is encouraging for the future of policing in Leicestershire and Rutland.