Dad's life of crime inspires policing ambition for 11-year-old Leighton schoolgirl

Catherine Peach contacted police to ask if her daughter, Lizi, could visit a police station. Lizi, aged 11, wants to join the force when she is older in order to make a difference.

Her wish is to help stop people making the same mistakes her dad – who has been in prison on several occasions during Lizi’s life – has made.

Catherine’s “touching” letter stated: “My daughter is 11 years old. When she was born her dad was in jail. He has been in and out her whole life and therefore hasn’t seen her.

“Lizi has taken it on herself to become a police officer.

“She wants to stop people from making the mistakes her dad made. She wants to make a difference.”

Lizi was taken on a tour of Luton Police Station on Friday, July 7 by PCSO Dan McHugh, and got to speak to several officers first-hand about their jobs. Lizi was also given a demonstration of how fingerprints are taken, stroked a police dog, and got to test out the sirens of a police car.

PCSO McHugh said: “It was great to see how enthusiastic Lizi is about policing, and she clearly really enjoyed the tour on Friday. It’s really important that we engage with people in our community from a young age so that they realise that we are here to help people, rather than something to be frightened of.

“We look forward to seeing her out on the beat in Bedfordshire in a few years’ time!”

Mum Catherine added: “It was important for Lizi to learn more about how the police station works and to meet some officers who do the job for real.

“The police were really accommodating and Lizi had a great time, in particular she enjoyed meeting the police dogs and seeing the work of the forensics officers.”