Say hello to the new recruits starting in our Force Control Room

We’d like to give a warm welcome to two new cohorts that join us in the force Control Room, who are now in training to answer digital contacts, emergency calls and take non-emergency reports.

The group pictured above joined the force at the start of February and are just weeks into their training.

It has been an intense couple of weeks so far for them, with an introduction into how the force works and what departments are available to support them in their roles.

Their training has so far been on suicide prevention, terrorism, drones, as well as learning Home Office Counting Rules, which outline what an offence is, what counts as a crime, and what different incidents should be recorded as.

There are 16 weeks of learning for the group to complete, eight weeks of which are based in the classroom, before they will move on to a further eight weeks of supported live call taking. From there, they will head into the control room and start working shift patterns with their new groups.

In the February cohort, we have a former prison officer, a farm worker that lived in Australia, cabin crew, as well as a former make-up artist who worked at London fashion week and has done make up for Line of Duty and This is England star, Stephen Graham.

Some people have joined the force in this role looking for a career change, having done everything they wanted to do in their previous roles and feeling ready to take on a new challenge.

Unfortunately, another reason a number of the group have for starting with us has been as a result of redundancy caused by the Covid19 pandemic.

Superintendent Steve Pont who is the Head of Contact Management, said: “It is great to have people joining us from such a wide variety of backgrounds. The new recruits bring with them a wealth of life experience and the joy of this training is that they are taught everything from scratch, from how the force works to what a crime is and how to deal with that.

“They will learn a lot during this initial training phase, and will bring all their experiences with them to help people through their toughest days.”

The group is looking forward to the challenge of working in a fast-paced environment. They know their work will have a long-term impact on people’s lives, and are also looking forward to being part of a close-knit team that are always there for each other.

Our second cohort is a little further into their training, and are on the second phase of the 16 weeks.

Pictured above are some of the cohort that started with us in November.

Bringing experience to the force in this group, we have a former hospitality worker, assistant manager for people with learning disabilities, a freelancer who previously worked with vulnerable people, as well as a graduate from Loughborough University.

Some have always wanted to work for the police, and wanted to get the experience from this side before considering a move to become an officer.

They are all looking forward to the challenge of a career that is totally different.

Being a bit further into the training, this intake is about to start answering 999 calls and feel confident in doing this with the knowledge they’ve gained over the last four months.

Superintendent Steve Pont added: “I would like to welcome all of our new recruits into the Force Control Room.

“Soon, they will be responsible for taking all contacts coming into the force be it digitally through social media or the website, as well as over the phones, and I can’t wait to hear about the incredible, life saving work, they go on to do in the coming months.

"Our operators are at the leading edge of the frontline of policing. They do a tough, demanding, but vital and rewarding job, saving lives and serving the public 24/7 day in day out. I take my hat off to them and want to thank them all for the service they give for the people of Derbyshire.”