Police Constable Katie Glass:  

“I have always had an interest in the legal sector and originally wanted to be a solicitor. I became the first in my family to go to university, studying Law at Anglia Ruskin university. However, I quickly realised that being a solicitor wasn’t for me and began to rethink my career ambitions. After working in a few retail roles and with Citizens Advice, I applied instead to Police Now’s National Graduate Leadership Programme. I knew that as a police officer, no two days would be the same and I would have an incredibly varied career on the frontline. I joined Cambridgeshire Constabulary in 2020 via the programme and so far, that has certainly proved to be the case!  

“Whilst I was on Police Now’s programme I was stationed on St Ives and Ramsey Neighbourhood Policing Team. As a neighbourhood police officer, I worked to build stronger relationships with my local community and address the problems affecting them, such as anti-social behaviour and drug crime.  

“One of my proudest moments on the programme involved identifying an address, which was being used as a base to deal Class A and Class B drugs. We had been receiving increased calls about drug use in the area and during my patrols I noticed a car parked at the property, which I was able to link to other intelligence and identify a suspect. I gathered further intelligence so the team could execute a warrant and we seized £15,000 worth of Class A and B drugs, £7,000 in cash, and key evidence on mobile phones. Two arrests were made and we were able to safeguard an occupant at the address, by liaising with the Housing Association and placing her on a support plan. It was great to see the immediate impact following the warrant, as we received no more reports of drug dealing taking place at the address or surrounding area.  

“I really loved neighbourhood policing and believe the skills you learn from it are invaluable, particularly when it comes to multi-agency work and long-term problem solving. I am now in the Integrated Offender Management (IOM) team, covering the southern area of the county. IOM works closely with the National Probation Service, local neighbourhood policing teams and other partner agencies in the community to identify and manage the most prolific neighbourhood offenders, with the aim of significantly reducing reoffending rates of neighbourhood crime. This broadly relates to burglaries, robberies, theft offences and vehicle crime.  

“We work with internal teams and other partners to achieve this. The drugs team helps us manage individuals whose drug use typically underpins their offending. If they test positive for controlled substances, we work with drug services, such as CGL (Change, Grow, Live) and other community partners to put support plans and conditions in place, breaking their cycles of offending. Through multi-agency working, we also put in place bespoke conditions which can exclude offenders from returning to specific locations, to break criminal associations and ties. I meet weekly with the National Probation Service office, who manage neighbourhood criminals recently released from prison, to bridge any gaps and link together knowledge that could otherwise be missed. 

“For example, we recently worked with an individual who was repeatedly coming to police attention for dwelling burglary. Each time they were released from prison, the pattern would continue, inciting a vicious cycle for both the offender and the community. IOM worked with partner agencies including the council and local charities to ensure the individual was better reintegrated into society after being released from prison, which is essential for managing long-term crime reduction. For example, we secured accommodation and employment for them. Since then, we have received no further reported crime in relation to the individual and they continue to receive support from the IOM team. By providing stability this way we have managed to divert them away from committing further crime and better protect our community.

“I love how proactive IOM is and that I get to engage with people in force and the community every day to reduce crime and re-offending. Police Now’s programme is challenging but incredibly rewarding. You are thrown in the deep end, but you have a strong support system around you and learn a lot of key skills and knowledge. I wouldn’t be on the IOM team if it hadn’t been for Police Now’s training and the experiences that neighbourhood policing gave me. My advice to others considering joining is to absolutely go for it – dive in the deep end, you won’t regret it!”