I really enjoyed my time on placement with Humberside Police.
At first I was a bit nervous about the whole experience, however, everyone makes you feel really welcomed and part of the family! The variety of placement days gave me the chance to transfer my theoretical knowledge from university to practical policing, and really helped me to understand the influences of policing strategies with regards to crime control.
In my first week, I had the opportunity to observe the intelligence department, watching the process from gaining the intel on crimes to potential investigation. Although I initially thought this was going to be the department I would least enjoy, it turned out to be one of my favourites. I was so surprised what an impact intelligence made to every department within the police force, stemming possible threats, aiding all types of investigations and concerns to begin intervention.
For me, the most challenging placement was the crime scene investigation (CSI) department. Being a Criminology with Forensic Science student, I thought this was the possible career pathway I wanted to take. However, the experience was very intense. I had the opportunity to visit a crime scene which included being fully PPE clothed to protect potential evidence and myself. Everyone in the department worked hard to ensure I got the best out of my experience and were able to answer my questions. I just found their workload was very intense and it was so important for them to make the right decisions in order to collect the correct evidence. This placement day has completely swayed my decision on my future career – I still want to join the police but not in crime scene investigation – which is great knowledge for after graduation.
Most of the departments were small but worked really well together to keep the public safe. Everyone I spoke to loved their job and discussed so many opportunities within the police force, which helped me figure out my future career pathway away from CSI. Although everyone was busy, they all took their time answering any questions and queries I had. I am very grateful for this experience.