Congratulations to Police Now participant Police Constable Dominic Feria for winning Student Officer of The Year at Sheffield, South Yorkshire Police (SYP).

PC Feria, participant on Police Now’s National Graduate Leadership Programme, was nominated for the award for his strong performance since joining the force last year. The annual awards recognise outstanding student officers for their policing achievements in force and in their communities.

PC Feria joined the force in September 2020 following his Police Now academy training and embraced his role as a neighbourhood police officer. He played a big part in a very small and newly formed team, taking responsibility for the large beat area covering Chapeltown, Ecclesfield, High Green and Grenoside. He took ownership of many investigations within the team and secured a number of convictions, and quickly made links with partner agencies to find solutions to long term issues affecting local communities.

PC Feria regularly conducts proactive policing work in the community including vehicle stops and high-visibility patrols. He has also set up a number of regular engagement events and has become well known in local areas. Positive feedback from the community, parish and local council has reported that the increased police presence and detection of crime has increased public confidence in the police, thanks to PC Feria and his colleagues in the North East Neighbourhood Policing Team.

An awards ceremony was held at Mecure St Paul’s Hotel in Sheffield last week and attended by Chief Constable Lauren Poultney as well as the South Yorkshire Police District Command Team.

PC Feria said “I’m delighted to receive the award for Student Officer of The Year in Sheffield. It’s been a strange year due to Coronavirus and has sometimes been challenging due the higher demands post-lockdown, with longer shifts and more incidents to attend. However, I’ve really enjoyed being able to put my training into practice when attending incidents and I now feel comfortable dealing with a wide variety of incidents that come our way. I’m pleased that I have been recognised for the hard work and I would not have been able to do this without the support from my team and my Sergeant. I learn something new every day, no two days are the same and I’m excited for my career ahead in policing.”

Most recently PC Feria has taken the traffic lead role within the North East Neighbourhood Policing Team, running operations alongside the national and force road safety campaigns.