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Anokhi Chouhan

Neighbourhood Police Officer

Police Now recruits graduates who go on to play a crucial role in creating safer communities, working proactively to tackle some of society’s most complex challenges so that even the most vulnerable can thrive.

Anokhi Chouhan, neighbourhood police officer, tells us about her journey into policing through Police Now.

What did you study at university and how do you think it might apply to policing?

I studied Mathematics at the University of Southampton, a four-year integrated degree, first my Bachelors, then
my Masters, and then I came straight into policing. I chose policing because I could see how I could apply my mathematical knowledge to it, both statistical knowledge such as crime mapping and hotspots, I could really see that as an area that could be developed. Also, things like serious road collisions, calculating angles and speeds which cars were going, investigating how that goes and bringing the results to court, that’s also a route that could be taken down.

Was there a specific moment that made you decide to go into policing?

My degree, although I loved it, wasn’t taking me down the routes that I found that exciting. I started looking at what I was doing outside university, and that ended up being a lot of charity and society work. I started searching around looking for charity jobs, and I stumbled on Police Now, and thought, ‘yeah, this is for me’.

“We're not there to control the conversation at all, we just want to take in that information, and therefore learn how to better police their communities.”

Why did you choose Police Now, and not the usual route into policing?

Throughout my time at university, I spent a lot of time working with charities, specifically student charities that created mini projects that helped the local community. I realised that something I was really interested in, and that’s what attracted me to Police Now, because it was community policing as opposed to the usual style of policing that was originally advertised and I was just really attracted to the fact that I could have a positive impact in the community.

Tell us about how you've made an impact since joining Police Now.

When looking at how to make an impact in the police force, I ended up being more pulled towards how I could improve them from the inside. I started working with things like unconscious bias, diversity, and women’s leadership.

How have you had an impact in the community?

I noticed that Essex Police do a lot of work with religious leaders, but they’re all from Church of England backgrounds, and that doesn’t accurately represent the diversity of the people in our area. I thought that we could have a network of religious leaders from different religious backgrounds, and have them talking to each other, engaging with each other, sharing ideas, and then bringing those back to the police. We’re not there to control the conversation at all, we just want to take in that information, and therefore learn how to better police their communities.

Where would you like to take your police career next?

I want to experiment and see what fits me, taking the time to go around different departments and see what I’m interested in and what I’m not. I’d also like to integrate a bit of my degree into my work. I did come from a maths background, so I want something a bit more numerical if possible. That’s why I’m looking at things like financial crime, serious economic crime in general, or perhaps things that are more niche like Serious Collisions Investigation Unit. I don’t know, but there’s so many avenues open to me and that’s what I’m really excited about.

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When looking at how to make an impact in the police force, I ended up being more pulled towards how I could improve them from the inside.

If you are attending university this year, keep an eye out for us on campus, or join us at one of our virtual events, to find out more about our national graduate programmes.

Devon & Cornwall Police

Police Now | Devon & Cornwall Constabulary
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Shaun Sawyer

Chief Constable

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No. of police officers enrolled: 8

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