Police helping Northamptonshire youngsters with their enquiries during latest live Facebook Q&A

Norhamptonshire Police is turning its latest Thursday Facebook Live event over to the county's youngsters who may be fretting over the Covid-19 lockdown.

Senior officers have hosted weekly social media sessions giving people of all ages the chance to get their questions answered about how the local force is applying and interpreting the stay-at-home rules.

But Superintendent Sarah Johnson admits the current situation can be especially tough for children, as well as their mums and dads.

She said: “This is a strange time for everyone at the moment as so much has changed in our day-to-day lives and this level of change can be quite scary for children who can’t go to nursery or school, play outside with their friends, or visit their grandparents.

“We recognise this and hope that a Q&A session with their local police officers may go some way in relieving any anxiety they may be feeling.

“If your child has a question, please join us at 4.30pm on our Facebook page on Thursday (April 30) or, if you can’t make it, please submit your question to us in advance by emailing your child’s name, age and their question to [email protected].

“Although this session will focus on the lockdown, we are very much willing to answer other burning questions about the police your children may have – whether that’s how the blue lights work on our cars or how many police dogs we have.

"We’re happy to take questions on anything that will help your child feel connected to their local police officers.”

Anyone 13 or over can take part with their own Facebook account, anyone younger will need to use an adult's.

Chief Constable Nick Adderley's regular Thursday afternoon Facebook events have been a big hit with residents since the country went into lockdown on March 23 in a bid to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus bug.

Supt Johnson – who joins Assistant Chief Constable Simon Blatchly and Supt Elliot Foskett in the hotseat this week – added: “Our live Facebook Q&As have proven popular with the local community and I think that’s because they’re unscripted.

"People can pose questions live so we don’t know what's coming and I think that brings a level of authenticity to the process which the public in Northamptonshire have appreciated.

"We want to be accessible, approachable and willing to give the public the interaction they deserve and these sessions have been a great way for is to do that."

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