Student officer Rhiann Ward

Rhiann became a Special constable when she was 18 and then moved to a staff role managing crimes before they’re allocated to police officers.

It was here she realised she loved the investigative side of policing and coincidentally saw the force had opened its accelerated detective pathway, to which she successfully applied.

“I went through the recruitment process followed by 20 weeks training, which was the best time. After this I spent 19 weeks on response where I was tutored for nine weeks and shown the ropes of response policing.

“One of my favourite things on response was the adrenaline I felt enroute to a job or arrest attempts. I found I loved speaking to people and trying to help them as much as I could. The camaraderie on response is also unmatched and I always felt supported.

“Throughout response I was revising for my national investigator exam, which I took in March 2021. This was an exam like no other and, not being an exam lover, I was very apprehensive, however, with a lot of revision I did pass, which was a massive relief.

“Following response, I spent some time in the volume crime team, where I started to have my own workload of investigations and I found I had more time to investigate the crimes as I did not have to respond to the radio all the time.

“At the start of year 2, I completed my rotations through different departments, including intelligence, child abuse investigation, rape investigation and the acquisitive crime team. Having the opportunity to go through each department was so valuable and I have now got a network of people I can turn to for advice. Most shifts I will be on the phone to different people asking for their expert advice. I’ve found that this is the best way to get results, by working as one team.

“I’m now based in the Serious Crime Team at Thorpe Wood. I’ve got my own workload of investigations I work through while dealing with people who have been arrested and live incidents requiring our attendance. I love the variety of crimes that I investigate and get a great feeling when I get a good result.

“Coming into the accelerated detective programme I knew it was going to be intense, which it has been, but throughout I’ve tried to maintain a positive outlook and done everything I can, whether in relation to my own progression or my investigations on my workload.

“I think the programme is a fab opportunity to experience specialist departments, network and, if the detective world is for you, it gives you the chance to get there that little bit quicker.

“I have been in my current role now for over a year and a half and over this time I have looked forward to coming into work. I am now (fingers crossed), very close to becoming a fully qualified DC and, looking back, I am so pleased with what I have achieved so far in my career here.”