NEW RECRUITS
READY AND RARI
POLICE magazine’s STEVE BAX, ANDREW GOLD and CAT WHAYMAN meet some of the fresh faces who are reinforcing the thin blue line as part of the Police Uplift Programme
ASHLEIGH
“I feel like I could work for the police forever – there are so many things I am interested in and nothing I dislike so far.” These are the words of 25-year-old Ashleigh Coker, one the thousands of new recruits who are bolstering the thin blue line. They may be a little green but there is no doubt they are keen. Ashleigh completed her training with
Thames Valley Police last October and gained Independent Patrol Status on New Year’s Eve. She studied criminology at university and has always been fascinated by what makes people offend. “I think people are a product of their environment,” she says. “Unfortunately, not everyone has the privilege of growing up in a nice home where they are cared for. That does lead a lot of people down the wrong path.”
22 | POLICE | APRIL 2021
Ashleigh worked in sales for a family-run business supplying water pumps, but she grew tired of a desk job and needed a new challenge. Policing was the answer. Due to the pandemic, she has still to experience some aspects of regular policing such as dealing with drunken revellers on a weekend. On the flip side she has gained a lot of experience of handling domestic incidents. “People are getting frustrated they are starting to struggle with their mental health,” observes Ashleigh.
She sees policing as a job for life and eventually she would like to move into counter terrorism or surveillance, though she admits that “being a dog handler is the dream”. She adds: “I really hope my enthusiasm for the job never leaves me because I think if you turn-up with a positive attitude that frames an interaction. I don’t
think I’d ever be bored with policing, which is really appealing. I’d hate to go back to a nine- to-five job, stuck in the same seat every day, that’s not for me anymore.”
TARA Tara Brown, 26, is training with West Midlands Police. Following three years studying Forensic Science at Wolverhampton University she envisioned a career as a Forensic Scene Investigator but was swayed by an advert recruiting police officers. Tara says: “I had no idea what to expect as my knowledge of policing was only what I knew as a member of the public – but I was ready.” She joined in March 2020, and also signed up to be a Naval Reserve.
“I have enjoyed doing both and feel that there are transferable skills that will help with my leadership and communication in policing. I can also see myself gaining more confidence all the time in everything that I am doing,” she adds. Tara’s interest in forensics has been
overtaken by her passion for response policing – something she sees herself doing
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