Cop a load of these cards, say West Midlands Police

Jul 23 2008 By Mark Cowan

FIRST it was cigarette cards and then football stickers. But a new set of collector cards is set to sweep the city’s parks and playgrounds.

The collectibles feature old photographs of policing in Birmingham and are set to become the latest swapsies for children.

The Copper Cards have been developed to help boost relations between police and youngsters.

Over the next 12 weeks, officers with Belgrave Road operational command unit will be handing them out whenever they are approached for a chat by children. Two cards will be available each week. And those who collect the whole set of 24 will be given a sleeve to display them.

Det Chief Insp Mark Griffiths, from Belgrave Road police, said: “We think the launch of the Copper Cards is a great way of providing officers with a fresh way of engaging with younger sections of the community.

"Sometimes youngsters can be a little scared of police officers. Hopefully by collecting the cards, it will encourage them to feel safe and comfortable talking to officers.

“There’s a wide variety of topics, including truancy and knife crime. We hope it will generate conversation between themselves and with their parents.

He added: “The launch has been designed to coincide with the summer holidays, when the crime prevention messages on the back of the cards become even more relevant.”

The first two Copper Cards are available on the patch, which includes Sparkbrook, Sparkhill, Acocks Green, Balsall Heath, Tyseley, Moseley, Yardley, Edgbaston and Selly Park.