50 new Officers hit the beat in Lancashire!

We have this week welcomed fifty new officers to the front line of the Lancashire Constabulary family.

And the new recruits will now be heading out across the county to begin their careers serving and protecting the communities of Lancashire.

Two attestation ceremonies were held at Lancashire Constabulary HQ this week to swear in the new officers who have joined through the Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP)

The recruits were sworn in by Chief Constable Chris Rowley and Deputy Chief Constable Sacha Hatchett and joined by family and friends.

PC Awais Hussain said “The attestation ceremony is a really special day for me and my family, as this is the beginning of my career as a Police Constable. I am devoting my time and effort to serving communities and that is really important to me.”

PC Victoria Hill said “It is great to share this special day in front of my family in particularly my dad as he worked at Lancashire Constabulary. He is my inspiration and I hope that I can achieve just as much in my career as he did.”

Chief Constable Chris Rowley said: It’s fantastic to officially welcome these new officers to the Lancashire Constabulary family. They have been through a rigorous selection and training programme and I am immensely proud of what they have achieved so far and I look forward to following their careers as they help and protect the communities of Lancashire.

Find out more about becoming a Police Officer here.

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Police Officer Fitness Test with PC Yasmin

We caught up with PC Yasmin Hylton to talk about the Police Officer Fitness Test (Bleep Test) which forms part of the application process.

Here is what she had to say!

Find out more about the role of a Police Officer here!

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Police Cadet shortlisted for national award

A volunteer police cadet from Blackpool who has dedicated hours of his time to supporting policing has been shortlisted for a prestigious award.

17-year-old Harry Snelson who lives in the Warbreck area has been nominated for a Lord Ferrers Award, which honours those who provide an outstanding contribution to policing through volunteer work.

He has been a police cadet for three years, working his way through the ranks and is now the Inspector of the north Blackpool unit.

Nikki Leigh, coordinator for the Blackpool and Fylde police cadets, nominated Harry for the award. She said: “Harry leads from the front. He’s helpful and kind to the newer cadets and commands the respect of the longer standing cadets who look up to him and seek his guidance.

“He has clocked up over 70 hours of volunteering since the beginning of May, taking part in charity fundraising, gardening, beach cleans, bike coding and countless other things. He is a wonderful example of a police cadet.

“Harry has also done a lot of work to celebrate diversity amongst our workforce. Based on his own experience of being transgender, he gave a talk to the police cadets talking about gender identity, encouraging people to be themselves. He has plans to continue to champion diversity in the workplace too and hopes to continue to share his personal experience amongst police officers and staff to evoke empathy and knowledge when dealing with the trans community.”

The awards are run by the Home Office. There are eleven award categories in total, with Harry being shortlisted for the Volunteer Police Cadet – Individual Award, which is awarded to those who have demonstrated a significant and sustained contribution to youth led social action in support of police or their communities.

The ceremony will take place in London on Thursday 14 October.

Harry said: “I enjoy sharing my experiences and helping my peers.

“Being nominated feels amazing and I’m very grateful. It shows that all of my hard work has paid off.”

Volunteer police cadets are aged between 13 and 18 and are based in local colleges across Lancashire, meeting one night a week. Cadets are taught basic knowledge in a variety of policing activities and the law, gaining an insight into road safety, first aid, personal safety, conflict management and problem solving.

West Divisional Commander Chief Supt Karen Edwards, who is also the strategic lead for the police cadets, said: “It is inspiring to see Harry using his personal experience to champion diversity and help others.

“We are very proud of Harry and commend him for all the fantastic work that he has done and continues to do. His actions are admirable and he should be an inspiration to other young people.”

Find out more about becoming a Police Cadet here.

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Postman by day and Special Constable by night!

By day he delivers post to his neighbours and by night he’s serving the people of Lancashire as special constable Gareth Munroe.

Postie Gaz, 29, has been a special constable in East for the past two years and says he now can’t imagine life without his uniform.

He is one of 166 specials who volunteer their time every week to support the neighbourhood teams in our communities.

Gaz said he has regularly used his police skills during his postal round and is never really fully off-duty.

He added: “I was delivering on a street recently and there was a domestic assault happening a few doors up from where I was. I called it in straight away and gave a full witness statement, had I not been in the police maybe I wouldn’t have known to act in that way. I’d maybe have been more inclined to just mind my own business and carry on with my deliveries. I’ve also intercepted drugs in packages going through the postal network and have alerted my managers at Royal Mail, again it’s something I perhaps wouldn’t necessarily have spotted if I wasn’t also a special in my spare time.

“I’ve always wanted to work in the police and I love working as a special. I have been involved in drugs raids and football matches and in the last year I have been heavily involved in the Covid response, which has been a really interesting experience. I just like helping people. I love going home knowing I’ve done something good that day and I actually get that feeling whichever uniform I’m wearing.”

If you want to make a difference and volunteer some of your spare time, sign up to Special Constable job alerts to be the first to find out when recruitment will open.

You can find out more about being a Special Constable here.

Gaz has now been successful in his application to become a PCSO.

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More boots, hooves and paws on the ground in Lancashire

New Police Dogs and Police Horses have joined the team at Lancashire Constabulary. The Dogs Unit and Mounted Branch have benefited from an uplift of officers and four-legged colleagues in order to provide additional resilience and better equip the force to catch people who break the law.

You can meet some of our newbies below Warning, cuteness overload

At the Dogs Unit, the handlers cover the whole of the county, no mean feat when you consider their are over 1.5 million residents in the county. The recent uplift of five additional handlers will not only provide the team more support, but also makes the dogs more visible to members of the public. The uplift will increase the number of incidents the dogs can get to, which will have a direct impact on getting positive results.

There’s also an uplift of an additional officer at Mounted Branch which will allow the team to provide a better service to the public, whilst ensuring the horses are still comfortable and happy in their work.

Name: Banks
Age: 10
Breed: Irish Sports Horse
Colour: Bay
Weight: 700kg
Size (hands): 18

Banks (formally known as Fred) has come from a home in West Yorkshire where he enjoyed hacking out and was taken to county level shows. He loves attention and likes to say good morning to people by popping his head out of the door each morning.
He likes the occasional mint but can’t have too many to keep his teeth nice and clean.
Banks is still in training, but he is doing really well. He is very laid back and is a very kind horse who looks after his riders. He doesn’t spook at anything and it won’t be long before he is allocated to a police officer to go out on patrol more regularly.

Banks has been named in memory of 9-year-old Jordan Banks who tragically died after being struck by lightning earlier in the year. Jordan touched the hearts of many officers when he left sweet treats on cars to cheer them up during the Covid-19 pandemic. Jordan was due to visit Mounted and Dogs as a thank you for his kindness, so we feel naming our newest steed after him is a fitting tribute.

Trainee Police Dog Hulk

Hulk, joined us earlier in the year. Now at seven months old, he is in the full swing of training. We will be looking to licence him in around five months’ time as a fully trained General Purpose Police Dog. He will already complete most tasks that are asked of him and is now biting training sleeves, chasing down decoys and finding property. Hulk’s obedience work is fantastic, and he is showing all the signs that he will be a super police dog for the Force.

Storm and Blitz

Have you picked up on the Marvel superhero theme yet?! Storm and Blitz are now both nine months old. Their training will begin when their new handlers begin. The dogs need to be beginners as well as the handlers so that they can learn the role together as a team. Both are lovely sociable dogs that have a very high drive. The signs are good.

And finally…

Spaniels Nigel (left) and Arti (right) will join us later this month to begin their training as specialist search dogs. Can we get an ‘Awwwwww’?

You can find out more about working at Lancashire Police here.

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Deputy Chief Constable awarded Queen’s Police Medal

Lancashire Constabulary’s Deputy Chief Constable has been awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in Her Majesty’s Birthday Honours.

Terry Woods was described as an ‘exemplary operational leader’ and an ‘inspiration to officers and staff’ whose calm and considered leadership has proved invaluable at times of crisis.

Terry joined Lancashire Constabulary in July 1996, was appointed as Assistant Chief Constable in June 2017 and promoted to DCC in September 2019. He has responsibility for policing services delivered in all Lancashire’s territorial policing divisions and the control room at our police HQ in Hutton.

Terry has worked in various locations across Lancashire and in numerous roles including Response, Road Policing & Motorway, Support Unit, Child Sexual Exploitation Teams, Neighbourhood Policing and Change Management.

He is an accredited Specialist Strategic Firearms, CBRN, Public Order and Multi Agency Commander and has commanded many large-scale operations over the years including taking command in the early stages of the wide and resolute partnership under the Lancashire Resilience Forum during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Deputy Chief Constable, Terry Woods, leads nationally on Police Driver Training.

He said: “I am very humbled but delighted to receive this honour and I would like to thank my family and colleagues for all their support throughout my policing career so far”.

Lancashire Constabulary Chief Constable Chris Rowley said: “I am absolutely delighted for Terry. This is a great achievement and richly deserved recognition for a distinguished career. Terry is hugely respected both throughout the force and UK policing in general. It’s a great accolade for both him and the constabulary.”

Find out more about Lancashire Constabulary here.

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Lancashire Police ahead of Police Officer recruitment targets

Lancashire Police have exceeded their target to recruit an extra 153 officers into the force this year.

In addition to the target set by the Government as part of the Police Uplift Programme, over 60% of the new police officers recruited were female in Lancashire, joining only three other forces nationally to encourage more female recruits.

Some of the officers are already on the beat, having completed all their initial training, whilst others are still polishing their policing skills with tutors.

One of these officers, PC Yasmin Hylton said: “A career as a police officer is varied and offers me the chance to make a real difference to people’s lives which is very rewarding.”

Commenting on the news, Chief Constable Chris Rowley said: “We are really pleased to have met our target – every extra officer on the streets is good news for our teams and for the residents of Lancashire.

“I am also pleased to see that we have increased female representation in our officers. I know we’ve been privileged to attract fantastic candidates, all with different skills and life experiences who will be able to make a real difference to our local communities. The extra officers will be placed in locations where they will have the biggest impact on reducing crime, vulnerability and ASB”

Andrew Snowden, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire said:

“I’m delighted that the force here in Lancashire has been able to bring in more officers and has exceeded its recruitment target, fully utilising the support of additional funding from Government.

“These additional officers will make a real difference, helping us to crack down on crime and deliver on the priorities that the people of Lancashire have told me matter most to them.

“I will work closely with the Chief Constable to ensure the additional resources coming into Lancashire Constabulary are best used to keep the people safe and I will also continue to work constructively with Government on any additional investment into policing in the county.”

Recruitment will continue this year, with plans to recruit more Police Officers and police staff as part of the national Police Uplift Programme.

Anyone interested in working as a Police Officer or any other policing role can find out more and sign up for job alerts at joinus.lancashire.police.uk

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One Team Different Roles… which will you choose?

As part of the newest Police Officer recruitment campaign to join the Degree Holder Entry Programme, applicants have a choice of routes to apply for. The Detective Entry Programme or Uniformed Officer.

To help you make your choice, we interviewed some of our uniformed officers and detectives so they can introduce you to some of the different roles and departments you could work in…

Uniformed

Detectives

Uniformed Officer find out more and apply

Detective Entry – find out more and apply

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New Chief Constable joins Lancashire

Chris Rowley took the position of Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary on Thursday 1 April 2021 – and says he’s very proud to be taking the helm at one of the country’s top performing police forces.

Chris was chosen as Andy Rhodes’ successor in a competitive selection process led by the Police and Crime Commissioner, Clive Grunshaw, in December last year. He joins us on promotion from his previous role of Deputy Chief Constable of Humberside Police, a post he’d held since 2017.

Chris has spent most of his career in West Yorkshire, amassing 25 years’ service working mainly in local policing and crime. As an Ops Manager he successfully reduced the number of repeat burglaries by introducing a predictive policing model, and as a Chief Superintendent he led on major change programmes across the force. He also has vast experience in policing large scale incidents and major events.

Prior to being promoted to T/ACC at South Yorkshire, Chris was Head of the West Yorkshire Police Protective Services Crime Department and Head of the Regional Organised Crime Unit for Yorkshire and the Humber, where he dealt with the most serious and complex crimes facing the force and the county.

Chris was appointed as Deputy Chief Constable of Humberside Police in October 2017, leading a broad and challenging portfolio encompassing Corporate Development (Strategic Change, Performance, Audit and Inspection and Demand), Professional Standards, Information Management & Security, Communications and Legal Services.

Chris is married and has two grown up sons. He is a borne and bred Yorkshireman and knows that crossing the Pennines into Lancashire as the first external Chief Constable in thirty years is no mean feat.

Speaking about his appointment to Lancashire Constabulary, CC Rowley said: “I am really looking forward to getting to know the staff in Lancashire for myself, as wherever I go, people always speak so highly of the force and its people. I have always held Lancashire in high regard and consider it a real privilege to serve as Chief Constable.

“I am passionate about delivering the best possible service to our communities and to victims of crime; that’s our core business. I’m also committed to ensuring that our staff have the right training and support to be able to do this. I want to get out and about over the next few weeks and months to meet people, listen to them and talk through ideas that we can develop to ensure we continue to meet those high standards in the future.”

Chris said: “If you see me, please do come and speak to me. I like a good, strong cup of tea and a biscuit and I love speaking to staff and finding out what’s working, what’s not and where I can help continue to improve what is already a fantastic organisation.”

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PC Yasmin Hylton speaks to BBC Radio 5 Live

PC Yasmin Hylton spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live about her experiences as a trainee at Lancashire Police and in particular, her experiences as a mixed race officer.

The interview was part of a review of the BBC drama ‘Red, White and Blue’ written and directed by Steve McQueen charting the experiences of Leroy Logan, an officer in the MET police in the 1980s.

Leroy Logan also took part in the BBC Radio 5 Live interview, and Yasmin explained that her experience of racism in the police couldn’t be any more different to that of Leroy’s.

Yasmin explained: “I have always had a positive experience and having more BAME officers allows us to police our communities better. I know that Lancashire Police are working on encouraging more BAME officers to apply to join us.”

For more information about the Positive Action support available register your details.

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You can meet some of our newbies below *Warning, cuteness overload*

Trainee Police Dog Hulk

Storm and Blitz

And finally…

Uniformed

Detectives

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You can meet some of our newbies below Warning, cuteness overload