Teenagers who challenged officers to play basketball got their wish as they went head-to-head in a match.
Police and partners pulled out their best shots and organised the afternoon of sport following a stop and search in early October, which led to a conversation and a sporting challenge from the youngsters.
After a very successful recruitment drive, a number of willing volunteers signed up and formed the two teams.
The players represented Nottinghamshire Police and Nottingham College, and the two sides battled it out at the Queen’s Drive Recreation Ground in The Meadows on Wednesday (10 November 2021).
PC Jemma Connor-Iommi was one of the two officers who conducted the original stop-and-search, and was instrumental to facilitating the match.
She said: “Whilst we were searching and talking to the lads, the conversation turned to sport. One of them challenged us to a basketball match.
“We were of course on duty, but we thought this was an extremely good idea and would immensely help our relationship with them. So, I said to him that whilst we couldn’t right now, we would make it happen.”
PC Connor-Iommi was previously a professional footballer, playing for Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland as well as having spells Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa to name a few. She knows first-hand how much of an impact sport can have in bringing people together.
“It is inclusive, it teaches valuable life skills and certainly provided me with a solid platform in order to succeed,” she added.
“Sport is something I hope would inspire these young people and offer them enjoyment and the benefits that go with it. This initial challenge from the lads had great potential to allow us to build relationships between us as police officers and the local community, particularly young people, and I’m heavily invested in finding new and innovative ways to earn their trust and work better together.
“There is definitely a stigma around the police when it comes to young people and disadvantaged communities. They have perhaps only ever had experiences where something bad has happened and officers are there responding to an incident. This is something I personally, and I know across the board, we want to change – and is indeed changing.
“Opportunities like this to show us as the human beings were are behind the uniform and our responsibilities on the job. This is not only important for our relationship with the community but also for helping people to understand the scope of a career in policing and that there are opportunities for anyone who wants to join, no matter their background.
“I’m unashamed to say I grew up on a council estate myself, and too could have very easily fallen in with the wrong crowd. Football and sport in general really helped to direct my focus, and I hope that seeing people like me have a career in policing, and being able to interact with us in this neutral environment, will brush away some of that stigma and those barriers, and show them that with hard work, dedication, and that resilience to keep their focus on track, they can achieve great things.”
Neighbourhood Policing Inspector for city south Karl Thomas said: “I’m extremely pleased to see how positive this match was, and that this was ultimately the result of a stop and search being handled really, really well.
“This just goes to show how important it is to conduct this work, engage with our communities and make these opportunities for them to get to know us on a human level, rather than only having those experiences of us dealing with incidents when something bad has happened.
“Being proactive and intervening early like this is imperative to our approach in tackling crime, such as drug activity and knife crime. I would like to thank Jemma and the other officers involved for making this happen, and in particular Nottingham College, for supporting us.
“This is the beginning of some even more exciting activities which we are hoping to do, and we look forward to working with them closely in the future.”
Patrick Connor, pastoral lead for Nottingham College said: “At Nottingham College we are always looking for opportunities to offer our young people new experiences.
“When we were approach by PC Connor-Iommi following on from an incident in The Meadows, she was keen to do some engagement and wanted us to be a part of a basketball match. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.
“Around 20 of our young lads met up with a number of police officers on the Queen’s Drive recreation ground in The Meadows for the match. It was a closely contested match with everyone involved taking a great deal of enjoyment from it, resulting in a narrow victory for the young lads.”
The game ended on a 17 – 14 victory for the Nottingham College side and all those involved are looking forward to a re-match, which is currently being discussed.
