Sunderland police cadet goes on the beat with chief constable after impressing the top brass

Jake Knight, 20, has cerebral palsy, is deaf and uses a wheelchair. Yet he impressed the force so much that chief constable Winton Keenen chose him to accompany him on the beat after handing him a special commendation.

On the beat in Forest Hall in Newcastle, Jake engaged with drivers to question them about aspects of safety he has learned during his cadetship.

Northumbria Police teamed-up with the Percy Hedley Foundation to launch one the UK’s first Volunteer Police Cadet (VPC) scheme for students with disabilities in October.

The chief constable wants to ensure the cadets are given the same training and opportunities as able-bodied counterparts.

The Volunteer Police Cadets is the uniformed youth group of policing and, until now, had only been accessible to able bodied, mainstream educated young people.

Chief Constable Keenen said: “It has been a real privilege to go out on the beat with Jake. He spoke to for drivers and questioned them about road safety issues, without any prompting from me at all.

“In Northumbria Police we believe everyone who wants to make a difference should be given the opportunity to do so and Jake, along with the rest of his group of fellow cadets are truly doing just that.

“We are fortunate to have a significant number of volunteers working alongside us, who freely give up their own valuable time to the benefit of others.”

Gary Nelson, assistant principal at Hedleys College, an independent specialist further education provider, said: “A lot of our students were interested in police work so we were thrilled to be one of the first college in the country to be able to offer them this amazing opportunity.

“We are so proud of how they’ve taken on the challenges the police have set them and they are learning so much.”

The very first cohort of cadets were officially sworn-in in October 2022 at a special ceremony held at the college.

The VPC scheme aims to open-up policing to young people, giving them a practical understanding of policing, to encourage the spirit of adventure and good citizenship.