A TEAM of young police volunteers have become ‘Dementia Friends’.

The five leaders and 19 members of the Scarborough Volunteer Police Cadet team took part in a dementia awareness presentation to learn more about the condition, and how to use this knowledge in their local community.

The presentation was part of the Dementia Friends initiative launched by the Alzheimer’s Society, and runs alongside North Yorkshire Police’s Herbert Protocol – a scheme that helps the police find people with dementia who have gone missing.

Sergeant Yvonne Taylor is a Dementia Friend Champion and delivered the session at cadet training night at Yorkshire Coast College this week.

She said: “Being able to recognise the signs of dementia is very important when we are interacting with members of the public and working to keep them safe.

“It’s great that younger members of NYP can spread the word about dementia among their family and friends.

“The more people that have a little bit more understanding of dementia, the better it will be for everyone who lives with it. Scarborough cadets are a great bunch of young people and were very receptive to the training.

“They were a pleasure to be with.”

The Scarborough cadets have also adopted the Alzheimer’s Society as their chosen charity during national Volunteer Week this June, and will be out and about raising funds.

To find out more about Dementia Friends go to dementiafriends.org

Or alternatively to find out about the Herbert Protocol go to northyorkshire.police.uk/herbertprotocol