East Otago High School Year 7 and 8 students visited the Dunedin Central Police station on Wednesday last week, exploring all the elements of enforcing the New Zealand laws we have today.

Over Term 3, our Year 7 and 8 Social Studies classes have been studying “Crime and Punishment” as our Social Studies unit. As a conclusion to this topic, these classes visited the Dunedin Central Police Station.

While we were touring around the station, we found out about how people who are suspected of committing crimes are processed, and the various steps that the police follow to ensure that everyone is safe. This included holding cells, photos, fingerprinting, and more. 

We explored different parts of the job, including vehicles that the police use, the front-line staff, as well as officers who monitor CCTV cameras throughout the region. Many students were fascinated by a presentation by the armed defender officers, who showed off the numerous pieces of equipment they use as part of their dangerous job. This included looking at protective vests, assault weapons, pepper spray, stun guns, helmets with GO Pro type cameras, push much more. 

To finish the police station trip, we had a look at the gymnasium and were fortunate enough to have some students and staff complete the physical test that police officers need to achieve to prove they are healthy enough to complete all elements of their job. This included high cardio exercises, lifting weights in a team, as well as jumping through windows or over walls. 

Before returning to school for the day, this group had a short visit to Toitu Museum to explore multiple aspects of Aotearoa New Zealand history. This will help us for our term 4 inquiry topic focusing on individualised areas of interest in our country's short history.