Wiltshire Police has become the first UK police force to deliver dog safety training to school children after data showed that most bite victims are young people.
PC Wright and PC Croft were keen to spread awareness of how to deal with dogs and body language at Hilmarton Primary School in Calne on May 14, after having seen the devastating effects of dog bite incidents first-hand.
Working alongside the Blue Cross, both officers are now hoping to deliver their training package to more pupils across the county.
“During my research work, I discovered that approximately 70 per cent of dog bite incidents happen in people’s homes, with most victims being young children,” said PC Croft.
“Last year, I delivered training to nearly 60 colleagues around the assembly talk which is aimed at Key Stage 1 and 2 children.
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Children from Hilmarton Primary School received essential dog safety training. (Image: Wiltshire Police)
"The information given in the talk may seem basic but it’s really crucial that children know how to deal with dogs safely and know the signs to look out for with a dog’s body language.”
Wiltshire Police are the first police force in the country to train officers to deliver dog safety assemblies and so far they have delivered the training to 1,400 school children.
Each child was given the chance to learn how to approach dogs safely and ask as many questions as they could think of - keeping both PC Wright and PC Croft on their feet.
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