New officers get introduced to trouble hotspots
NEW Welsh TV documentary Rookie Cops introduced viewers to a team of fresh-faced police officers serving the communities covered by Dyfed-powys Police.
Following their largest recruitment drive, people from all walks of life signed up to become police officers, from research scientists and soldiers to electricians and charity workers.
And while you might think that police officers aren’t rushed off their feet during day to day life in the rural area, their days are certainly far from dull. In the first episode we were introduced to newbies Emma, Gethin and Lisa.
Llanelli-based Emma has always wanted to be a copper and we see her start off slowly, making tea rounds for the whole shift, but it’s not long before she is out in the patrol car with tutor Ash, having a tour of their patch. But this isn’t an open-top bus tour of the delights of Llanelli. Ash soon gets going with the trouble hotspots on their patch.
“That is central for boy racers and people who are up to no good,” commented Ash, who explains that he gives everyone a tour of the hotspots when they start. “Local knowledge is everything when it comes to the police. We once had a phantom flasher,” he informs Emma as they cross a waterside road. “He was only there for about a week.” Before announcing: “This is like dogger’s paradise.”
Ash then adds that Llanelli is a “lovely place”, it’s just that the police don’t often get to see the nicer parts of the town.
The rookies will have 12 weeks on the beat with a tutor and because the Dyfedpowys Police patch covers 4,000 square miles, the landscape may vary but the crimes and incidents are universal – car bumps, apprehending regular characters and the like.
Up in Lampeter, rookie Lisa had probably the most interesting day on the job as she and her trainer Gus were quickly sent out to a person of concern up at Llanddewi Brefi who was living in the middle of nowhere, and causing worry in the village as he was known to be carrying a knife.
They headed off in unmarked police cars after being informed he was going to be at a bus stop at 11am.
“The idea was we would try and find him before he went on the bus,” said Lisa, who amusingly became a bit disorientated as Gus drove them around the country roads looking for the man in question. They had to wait for the aforementioned bus to turn up and wait for the man – who eventually turned up on a bus and was twitchy from the start, refusing to be put in handcuffs.
Carrying scissors and hiding behind a seat with his hood up, Lisa calmly carried out her first stop and search on the suspect, while being aware that he was known to colleagues for kicking off previously. As Lisa explained that he was going to be arrested, the man tried to make a break for it
“He was quite open about the fact that he had scissors on him,” said Lisa, who talked through her first procedure on the show. “Colleagues of mine have dealt with him which is how I knew he kicks off. It can be quite nerve-racking because you know he’s got weapons on him and you don’t know how he’s going to respond.”
The show voice-over explained that while the offence seemed minor, coupled with previous experience and the concern in the local area, the officers arrested him.
Lisa said after the incident: “Luckily there were a few of us here and I didn’t have to do it on my own. It would have ended differently if I was on my own.”
Gus praised Lisa’s handling of her first confrontation and Lisa added: “You do expect a certain amount of physical contact in this job, but I’ve been quite lucky I think, so far.”