Sixteen new trainee Detective Constables join Bedfordshire Police today (Monday 27th June) via Police Now’s National Detective Programme, having completed their initial academy training.

Their training began in March, when 170 new officers were attested at Police Now’s detective academy. The 14-week academy equipped participants with the core knowledge and skills required in modern investigative work, including managing crime scenes, making arrests, handling complex investigations, and first aid and officer safety training. Participants also sat their National Investigators’ Exam and completed field training shifts in Bedfordshire Police’s Response and Criminal Investigation Departments.

Olivia Phillips, who joins Bedfordshire Police today via Police Now’s programme, was awarded the Outstanding Resilience Award at the academy closing ceremony for her consistent hard work and positive attitude. Olivia overcame personal circumstances to deliver strong results and received exceptional feedback from her force colleagues after her field training shifts – where she made her first arrest, presented a suspect to custody, and proactively engaged with investigations.

Trainee Detective Constable Olivia Phillips said: “The 14 weeks at the Police Now academy has been an incredible, rewarding and challenging experience which I have thoroughly enjoyed. It has given me a chance to build up a great network of friends and I’m really looking forward to putting the learning into practice. I am ready to land in force and begin serving the communities of Bedfordshire. We have all worked so hard and I am especially proud of my achievement as I received an award at the closing ceremony, which I am extremely grateful for.”

The new officers will now continue Police Now’s two-year National Detective Programme within their force, where they will be supported by Police Now coaches and force colleagues to play an integral part in solving crimes and supporting victims of crime across Bedfordshire. They will also work towards their Graduate Diploma in Professional Policing Practice in partnership with the University of Huddersfield.

Detective Constable Aroop Nandre, an experienced officer seconded from the force to train the new detectives at the academy, said: “I decided to be part of the Police Now programme from the moment I read Police Now’s mission. It gave me the opportunity to coach this new set of officers through my experience of policing and my experiences as a detective. 

“The moment I was introduced to these officers, I was so impressed by their drive to become successful detectives. When I went through the officers’ timetable and curriculum, my initial thoughts were ‘how would these officers achieve all this within 14 weeks?’ but I have been so impressed by the students’ dedication and the amount of hard work that they have put in. It has been a pleasure coaching these officers and to see them having achieve all this in a short time is a very proud moment for me, and to be recently informed that students have also passed their National Investigators’ Exam is nothing short of exceptional.

“Being part of the Police Now mission and coaching these students has been the pinnacle of my 19-year career in policing. I would like to wish the students the best of luck and congratulate them on their success and commend Police Now for their partnership working with forces.”

Sergeant Vicky Stoughton, who was also seconded from Bedfordshire Police to train the new detectives, said: “I joined the Police Now academy so that I could share my knowledge and experience with our Bedfordshire participants, ensuring that their pathway into policing was as smooth and enjoyable as possible.

“It has been a pleasure to work with sixteen Bedfordshire Police Now detectives, I have been amazed at how quickly these officers have grown and developed. Their commitment to this programme and their hard work and resilience has been outstanding and they have left the academy having passed all their assessments as well as the National Investigators’ Exam. We are looking forward to seeing these officers develop over the two-year programme. They are highly committed and driven and have great passion. I know that they will make a positive impact in force and help influence the future of policing.”