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Police are once again using sport to build bridges and break down barriers as officers prepare for a day of basketball fun with young people from across the county.

Around 100 young players have been invited to the sports hall at Nottinghamshire Police HQ for a day of back-to-back games throughout today (29 August).

Officers will even take to the court themselves to play by their sides – in a bid to build stronger relationships between the force and the next generation.

The TipOff@3 initiative follows hot on the heels of Nottinghamshire Police’s KickOff@3 event in May, which used the power of football to positively engage with young people.

And following those successes on the football field, the force hopes welcoming people inside a police station to meet more cops on the basketball court will continue to break down barriers.

Sergeant Jemma Connor-Iommi, who is leading the initiative on behalf of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Sport is so good at building relationships because it makes you feel worthy and gives you opportunities to succeed and be part of something, whatever that may be.

“TipOff@3 is all about using the power of sport as a tool to build trust with communities who may feel like it’s them against the police.

“We obviously don’t want people to feel that way, so we’re determined to break down those barriers and show them that police officers are normal people too.

“What we’re trying to do is build that trust and confidence which is lacking with young people towards the police up and down the country at the moment.

"KickOff@3 allowed us to build up some positive momentum and it's so important we keep that going, and events like this can go a long way to breaking down those barriers, one step at a time."

Today's basketball tournament will involve teams of youngsters from 10 different community groups, with St Ann’s, Radford, Top Valley, Strelley, Broxtowe, Clifton, The Meadows, Lenton and Mansfield all set to be represented.

Sgt Connor-Iommi, a former international footballer herself, is keen to make sure the force makes the most of this opportunity to positively engage with the community.

And she feels the force opening its doors and inviting youngsters to use the brand-new facilities inside its headquarters at Sherwood Lodge will help build this trust.

She said: “You wouldn’t believe how flabbergasted some of these young people were that we’re allowing them into our new building to play basketball.

“They can’t believe they’re actually being invited into a police station. That’s the way they feel, that we don’t include them in stuff we do, so that’s what we’re trying to change.

“These communities are asking for the police to be around and find new and inventive ways to engage with their young people, which is what we’ve started doing with things like KickOff@3, and it’s important we don’t lose that momentum.

“Opening our facilities for youngsters to play has allowed us to reach a whole new group of people as well. A lot of these lads aren’t the ones that took part in the football tournament, so this is giving us the opportunity to build those relationships with more people, which is fantastic.

“The purpose of this initiative is building that trust, which is why our officers are getting involved and playing as well, so we can show these youngsters that, yes, we are police officers, but we are real people too and we want to engage with them.”

Chief Constable Craig Guildford added: “Engaging with our communities is a key priority for us as a force, so we’re delighted to be able to invite this group of youngsters into our headquarters.

“Sport is such a powerful means of breaking down barriers and building positive relationships with people who perhaps might be more comfortable doing this in a sporting environment.

“Seeing youngsters from so many different groups from across the county all come together to play on our courts at HQ is just fantastic.

“We’re extremely proud to have adopted both TipOff@3 and KickOff@3 and it’s great to see that, as well as the youngsters who took part in the football initiative, we’ve been able to reach a whole new group of young people as well this time around.

“It’s important that we continue this positive momentum through further youth engagement and that we build on the connections we’re starting to make.”

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