Schools' PC says farewell (From The Argus)

Schools' PC says farewell

10:04am Wednesday 13th August 2008

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For thousands of schoolchildren he has been the friendly face of the police force.

Best known for livening up safety advice with a magic show, he has watched a generation of pupils progress from pre-school to GCSE.

Throughout his time in the job he has had a simple message for the students – “You all know who I am but if I know who you are it means there is a problem”.

Now PC Andy Hart is retiring from his role as neighbourhood schools officer in Hove and Portslade.

Times have changed in the past ten years, with the fact children routinely carry expensive equipment like mobile phones or iPods making them more vulnerable as victims of crime.

The explosion of the internet has meant just because parents know where their children are, they don’t necessarily know who they are interacting with.

PC Hart said: “The internet is one of the biggest issues, both for bullying and safety.

“They could be upstairs 20ft away from you and talking to people on the other side of the world.”

One of the most high-profile moments in his career came when girls at Blatchington Mill School in Hove reported they had been followed by a paedophile in London.

Ian Hunter was jailed for two years after following the girls to the Tate Modern after reading their conversations on the social networking website MySpace.

Over the years PC Hart has been a regular in The Argus, giving advice on issues such as cyber-bullying, drug abuse and knife crime.

He has always been keen to stress the positive side, presenting certificates for honesty to children who hand in lost money.

In his free time PC Hart is president of the Sussex Magic Circle and a lighter side of his role has been his use of his magic show, with a wand and a pet rabbit, to teach younger children about road safety and “stranger danger”.

After his decade of working with children PC Hart believes young people are no more prone to misbehaviour than they ever were.

He said: “I remind my colleagues constantly, the majority of kids are nice.”

PC Hart leaves on Friday after 23 years with Sussex Police and has enjoyed his role in schools more than any of his previous posts.

He said: “The children keep you mentally young.

“I have enjoyed it thoroughly.

It has been the best few years of my service.”

Next month PC Hart takes up a non-police role with the pastoral and behaviour team at Cardinal Newman School in Hove.

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