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Alicia joined us from South Yorkshire Police in December 2020. She was a police officer in her hometown of Doncaster and was happy but made the decision to apply to Cambridgeshire because her partner lived in Stamford.
“I met a detective who showed me around and explained the set up in Cambs. I got a feeling that I could only compare to when you look around a house that you want to buy - I wanted to work here. I admit that I had been pessimistic about ever having that feeling about a new force.
“I then met another detective and went through the type of work I would be dealing with in CID and then in December 2020 I arrived. The biggest challenge I found was keeping up with the lingo. Although we all do the same job, there is no doubt that we all have a different glossary, and it took me a while to learn the new terms and eventually I started to call an ‘afters shift’ a ‘late turn’.
“Since joining Cambs, I have been thoroughly supported, encouraged, and motivated by my supervisors and managers. I successfully passed my sergeant promotion board, and now developing towards the inspector promotion process. For the past 18 months, I have been working on our Chief Constable’s National Charging Portfolio, working closely with our partners in CPS, Home Office and Ministry of Justice.
“I am learning so much about the future landscape of policing and feel so privileged to be able to work towards positive changes nationally. However, I do still love investigating so I do as many night-crime and back-fill duties as I can so I can keep up to date with changes and ultimately because it makes me happy.
“I have been lucky enough to work with some amazing officers and now I feel like I have always worked here in Cambs and I am looking forward to my future in this force.
“My advice to anyone wanting to transfer is: teams change, districts change, managers and supervisors move on, but don’t stay where you are just because you are happy. You will absolutely find your feet in a new force. And lastly, there’s nothing wrong with saying ‘in my old force we did this’, providing it promotes positive change. It’s good to learn from other people’s experiences and don’t be afraid to suggest ideas for change.”
Find out more about our direct-entry degree holder scheme that fast-tracks you to detective constable within a two-year probation period.
Accelerated detective entry route