Air hostess is flying high with law and order
A criminology graduate is combining travelling around the world as an air hostess with British Airways with helping to keep law and order on the streets of Sunderland.
Lauren Brook, 22, recently graduated from the University of Sunderland, but found her career taking a different path as she became part of the cabin crew jetting out of Heathrow to exotic destinations throughout the year.
However, despite the demands of her day job, Lauren has maintained her passion for law and order by enrolling as a Special Constable; a volunteer police officer with the same powers as full-time officers to apprehend and arrest criminals.
On her days off, Lauren jets back to the North East and heads to Southwick Police Station where she dons her uniform and joins colleagues on the beat to help keep the city free of crime.
During her time as a Special Constable, Lauren has undertaken additional training, including a recent threeweek driving response course, which enables her to work in different specialist teams across Northumbria Police.
Speaking about combining the two roles, Lauren said: “I love the variety this role brings me. I am always out and about meeting new people and attendingevents I wouldn’ t normally be able togo to, such as the Great North Run.
“Even when I went from my degree into full-time work, I wanted to continue being a member of the Northumbria Police family. I’ve made so many friends and had some fantastic experiences and I won’t be giving that up any time soon.”
There are currently more than 130 members of Northumbria’ s Special Constabulary and Lauren recommends the role to anyone with an interest in policing but for whom their career path may have taken a different direction.
She added: “If you’ve ever had an interest in joining the police, but have a full-time job, you can still make it work just like I have as a special constable. If I do it with my lifestyle, I’m sure other people can give it ago .”
Special constables' duties can include responding to emergency calls, foot and vehicle patrols, tackling antisocial behaviour, carrying out house-to-house investigations and helping to ensure safety at public events.
Further information can be found on the Northumbria Police website.