YOU know you're getting old when police men and women start looking younger -- but they've never looked as young as this before.
Pupils from St Thomas's Primary School in Halliwell swapped their school caps for police helmets when they went on the beat and became mini-detectives for a day.
They spotted a supposed sneak thief as he tried to steal a handbag in one of their classrooms.
Then they went to a mobile police station and gave his description to a group of community constables.
Staff and officers of Greater Manchester Police's mobile police station, christened the Copshop and based in Halliwell for the past two months, organised the initiative to teach children about personal safety.
A community police officer visited the school to tell youngsters about the dangers of strangers.
Then another officer pretended to be a thief and sneaked into their class to try to steal a handbag.
"Detective Constable" Craig Picton, aged 11, said: "It was a great afternoon. We'd all love to be detectives for real one day."
The pupils' teacher James Middleton said: "They learned such a lot in one afternoon."
Hopefully this initiative will keep them safer.
"Its also a good way of developing good community relations with the police."
Staff at the Copshop have worked hard to forge close-links with the community in Halliwell.
Staff have been involved in a number of projects such as self-defence classes and arts projects.
They have received nearly 100 separate pieces of information about crime, which have led to 15 arrests in just two months.
Sergeant Wayne Readfern said: "We are very pleased with the response shown to us by the community.
"We feel we are making a real difference in the area and initiatives like this really do help."
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