Police Constable Chloe Lane: 

“I joined Surrey Police via Police Now’s National Graduate Leadership Programme in 2019, after graduating from the University of Surrey with a degree in Maths. My family were a bit nervous when I first joined the service, as any parents would be, but they quickly saw that it was the right decision for me and that I had amazing Police Now and Surrey Police colleagues to support me. 

“I was stationed on the Camberley Safer Neighbourhoods Team in Surrey Heath. What I liked about neighbourhood policing was its proactive nature and the long-term impact you can make.  

“During that time, I worked with a man whose aggressive and anti-social behaviour was causing a lot of distress for his neighbours. I visited him regularly during a 12-month period, and we issued Community Protection Warnings (CPWs) and Community Protection Notices (CPNs) to manage his behaviour. These warnings I think made his actions really hit home – he stopped drinking, and the anti-social behaviour incidents completely ceased. I also managed to get him onto an alcohol rehabilitation programme to support him longer-term.  

“Just before completing Police Now’s programme, I was able to undertake several internal attachments. I spent some time in Major Crimes, the Paedophile Online Investigation Team, the Criminal Investigation Department, the Safeguarding Investigation Unit, and a proactive team dealing with County Lines and burglary. It was a busy few weeks!  

“After finishing the programme, I joined the Domestic Abuse team for six months. There is one case that I worked on which stands out, where the victim was initially very anti-police and didn’t feel like she could support the investigation. It was pursued as a victimless prosecution for the first eight months until I was able to build good rapport and trust with the victim. After this time, she decided to support our investigation and provided a detailed video interview. We managed to charge the suspect with two counts of breach of a restraining order, threats to kill, possession of cannabis and a firearm, and when he went to court, he received a 37-month prison sentence and a 10-year restraining order. I also did a lot to support the victim throughout the investigation and court process, including working with local Domestic Abuse charities and several social services to support her and her family. I worked really hard to reassure her, and she told me she really fears for how things would have turned out if it wasn’t for our work. You double guess yourself sometimes when you’re involved in something so personal, so to hear that feedback from her was amazing. 

“Earlier this year I took my Blue Lights Grade 4 course and then joined the Response team, which I am also finding very rewarding. I was recently on patrol when I saw a man requiring assistance on a bridge. I managed to build a rapport with him and bring him to safety and the support of mental health professionals. I spoke to him for almost four hours about his life whilst we waited at hospital, and we have since put further support in place for him. A part of me thinks it was fate, because it wasn’t my usual patrol area, but it feels like I was in the right place at the right time. You really do save lives when you’re a police officer.

“More recently, I spent two weeks deployed in Birmingham to support the safe delivery of the Commonwealth Games. I was originally posted there to search vehicles because I am a licensed search officer – which is a course I took last year and means I have been involved in major drugs and murder investigations to do thorough crime scene searches and defensive terrorism searches for large scale events. However, I ended up on patrol for the Women’s Cricket games, engaging with the spectators and even managing to watch some of the cricket too. 

“This year I became a Police Federation representative, after encouragement from my mentor in Surrey Police. The Fed’s training means I now have the proper knowledge and skills to offer informed advice and support my colleagues in the service. There’s a lot of pressure put on police officers and we need to be there for one another. I want to contribute to improving officers’ experiences within the service and ensure policing is seen as a valued career path.   

“I think it’s safe to say that, after only three years’ service, I have experienced a lot and been lucky enough to be a part of some fascinating teams. I am currently very happy working with my amazing Surrey Police colleagues on the Response team, though in future I’d love to take my National Investigators’ Exam to become a detective – possibly in the Domestic Abuse team or Major Crime team. 

“You see really tough things as a police officer, it can be a very difficult job, but you also see amazing things, save lives, support members of your community, and get a real view of the world. It’s an incredible career.”