Cleveland Police visited Teesside University to hold a mock press conference for Journalism students, in which they discussed a scenario and answered questions.
Detective Constables developed a made up investigation and presented it to the group of journalists, who were acting as members of the press.
The exercise gave students the opportunity to see what a real police press conference was like and ask direct questions about the case.
Second-year student, Archana Chathangoth, said: “I found it useful as it gave me an insight into how press conferences take place and how to ask questions to detectives.”
Tori Mccullagh, also studying Journalism, said: “I thought the police conference was interesting and was good practice for us students as it may be something we face in a real scenario as a journalist.”
It was also beneficial to the police officers, who were able to experience the pressure of dealing with the press in this realistic environment.
Cleveland Police Crime Trainer, Ian James, said: “The reason why we do this mock scenario is to get the officers to have the confidence to be in front of journalists and to give information.
“It is a positive thing because people going through the Journalism course can see how it works.”
Cleveland Police Crime Trainer, Mark Woods, said: “It was a good learning exercise on both parts, for the police officers and the journalists.”
