Twenty-four new trainee Detective Constables join South Yorkshire 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 South Yorkshire Police’s Response and Criminal Investigation Departments.

Trainee Detective Constable Katie Landsborough, who joins South Yorkshire Police today via Police Now’s programme, was presented with a ‘Special Achievement Award’ at the academy closing ceremony and received a Chief Superintendent’s Commendation.

Katie was presented with the awards after she managed to detain and seize a knife and a firearm from a member of the public. The incident occurred when Katie, supported by an experienced force colleague, was on shift in South Yorkshire Police’s Criminal Investigation Department. She said: “Receiving these awards was a huge honour, but more importantly, I removed two dangerous weapons from the streets and potentially saved lives.”

Trainee Detective Constable Ben Morris also joins the force today via Police Now’s programme, after working for five years as a Quantum Physicist at the University of Nottingham, and scored ‘exceptional’ in the National Investigators’ Exam at academy.

He said: “It is amazing what a difference 14 weeks at the Police Now academy can do for you both professionally and as a person. Before joining Police Now I was a university academic, secure in my profession and abilities. However, the Police Now programme has tested me in ways I was not expecting, forcing me to adapt my current skills and quickly develop new ones. I believe it has left me both with the knowledge necessary to excel as a serving police officer in South Yorkshire and the drive to do just that for the communities and victims I will serve there.”

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 South Yorkshire. They will also work towards their Graduate Diploma in Professional Policing Practice in partnership with the University of Huddersfield.

Detective Sergeant Jim Ayers, one of two experienced officers seconded from the force to train the new detectives at the academy, said: “Having been involved with previous Police Now participants post-academy, I wanted to be involved to really see what this was all about. Knowing I would have future involvement, I felt a professional need to see what training was being given. I can honestly say that the quality of the students and the enthusiasm they have shown as a group has been impressive. They have embarked on short spells within both uniform roles and Criminal Investigation Department roles – which were less than tasters to be honest – and managed to retain that enthusiasm. The students for South Yorkshire Police have been consistently high performing, and have backed this up with some great National Investigators’ Exam results. Their future presence within South Yorkshire Police will only benefit the force going forward, based upon their current trajectory. They all realise they have a hard two years ahead of them, but I have no doubt that they will develop into excellent officers for the force.”

Applications for the next intake of Police Now’s National Detective Programme are currently open.