Activities and events
Volunteer Police Cadets
This is for young people aged 13 to 17 years old, who meet once a week for two hours and will take part in lots of volunteering activities on weekends and during school holidays. There's the opportunity to complete your Duke of Edinburgh Award and take part in camps and competitions.
Cost
There is a minimal charge for attending a weekly meeting which equates to around £2 per session. Cadets are given a uniform once they have passed their induction and will only need to supply a pair of black shoes or boots.
Times
The cadets meet for two hours from around 6.30pm.
For exact timings and location of units please contact us.
Safeguarding
Read our safeguarding policy for information on how we will look after your young people while they are with us.
Junior cadets
We no longer offer a Junior Cadet scheme at the Metropolitan Police – our VPC scheme starts at age 13.
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Team of volunteer police cadets from Lambeth -
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Cadets deployed on Notting Hill Carnival police operation -
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Cadets completing Traffic Accident Role-play at Annual Cadet Competition
What to expect at a weekly meeting
- Learn something new about a policing topic or community issue in an interactive way, we’re not all about sitting in a classroom when it comes to learning
- Take part in a sports session, these will help you keep fit and many of our sports games are designed to build team work and leadership
- You will be taught the skill of drill, which involves marching and moving together as a team
All of this is taught by our cadet leaders, many of whom are serving police officers.
What else do we get up to?
Outside of weekly meetings, cadets are given the opportunity to volunteer to assist policing operations and events such as Test Purchasing, trying to buy items that they are too young to buy legally, weapons sweeps of their local community spaces, crime prevention initiatives and helping at large scale events such as London Marathon.
During school holidays there is the opportunity to take part in inter-borough competitions. These range from our Annual Cadet Competition at our specialist public order training centre in Gravesend. Cadets take part in first-aid competitions and policing scenarios.
