An Amazon worker, domestic abuse advisor, restaurant supervisor, estate agent, engineer and prison officer are among Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s 12 new recruits.
The new police officers were praised by the chief constable as they joined the force.
In a break from convention due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, a passing out parade was not held and the recruits were instead presented with their certificates from chief constable Nick Dean.
Having successfully completed their 16-week training course, they will now be posted across the county to tackle crime and protect the public.
In line with a new tradition introduced by the force last month, the recruits were assigned collar numbers previously given to retired officers.
It was the force’s fourth passing out parade of the year, bringing the total number of new recruits since the beginning of the year to 60.
The force is continuing its search for new constables and those who think they have what it takes should apply via the force website: www.cambs.police.uk/apply/Jobs/Job-types/Police-officer
These are all the new police officers:
Siân Spear – collar number 0470 (will be based at Wisbech)
This collar number was previously owned by DC Shanie Nayar who joined the force in October 1982.
Shanie worked in response at Thorpe Wood but progressed to working on the burglary squad and the drugs squad.
She completed all her service in Peterborough and retired in October 2014 after 32 years of service.
Her final role was an expert drugs witness for the force and during her career she was awarded commendations from the assistant chief constable and chief constable.
During her career Shanie met Peter Lloyd (see above collar number reference) and said the advice she would pass on would be: “If you have as good a career as I did, time will fly.
“There will be ups and downs but if I had my time again I would still choose the same career. Good luck!”
Emily Jones - collar number 2171 (will be based at Thorpe Wood)
This collar number was previously owned by Mark Newman who joined the force in December 1986 having served three years in the Metropolitan Police.
Mark worked in the serious crime team and the force’s drugs squad. He was a friend of PC Keith Blakelock who was murdered in London during riots in October 1985.
Mark worked on the investigation into the Soham murders before transferring back to the Met and working in their murder team.
He returned to Cambridgeshire Constabulary where he worked at Thorpe Wood, St Ives and Huntingdon.
Mark went on to be the detective inspector in charge of the PSD Investigation Team.
His last few years saw postings to the Sexual Offences Team and Rural CID before his final post as DI in charge of the Priority Crime Team.
Tom Billimore – collar number 1046 (will be based at Thorpe Wood)
This collar number was previously owned by Peter Lloyd who joined the Constabulary in March 1982.
Peter worked in Huntingdon, St Neots and Peterborough before being promoted to sergeant and then inspector.
Peter was awarded his first acting inspector role in September 2001, overseeing the Northern Divison Western Sector in uniform.
In October 2004 Peter moved to Professional Standards, where he remained until his retirement in March 2012.
During his service, Peter married another Cambridgeshire police officer, DC 470 Shanie Nayar, in 1992 and they remain married today with two daughters.
Shortly after his retirement, Peter was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s and his wife has said that if he could pass on any advice, it would be to enjoy every day as you never know what tomorrow will bring.
Olivia Orme – collar number 0276 (will be based at Cambridge)
This collar number belonged to Kevin Kelly (nickname “Ned”). Ned joined Cambridgeshire Constabulary in May 2000, having already served 22 years in the Royal Air Force where he received various medals including the South Atlantic Medal in 1982 from the Falklands War. Ned worked as a Community Beat Manager for Westwood, Ravensthorpe and Ramsey.
In 2005 he also completed his training as a Counter Terrorist Search Officer. Ned enjoyed gaining the local community’s trust and was one of the first officers to obtain an anti-social behaviour order.
In 2011, Ned became the licensing officer for Huntingdonshire and ensured that people felt safe going to late-night venues.
In his first two months in this role, Ned shut down a troublesome community nightclub. Ned has passed on the following advice to Olivia:
Get to know the characters and who is doing what. There are more nice people out there than bad – if you miss the chance to grab a bad one don’t worry, they always come again!
Luke Walker - collar number 0687 (will be based at Huntingdon)
This collar number was previously owned by Muriel Mathieson who joined the force in June 1985.
Muriel patrolled Cambridge City Centre for two years before moving over to the Chesterton Community Police Office, where she completed most of her patrol on a bike.
Muriel progressed to detective roles, including a child protection officer, and after 10 years was promoted to sergeant.
She worked in Cambridge, Huntingdon, St Neots and Sawston and also led a call centre and various investigation teams.
As well as this, Muriel also trained as an explosives and crime scene search officer. She retired in August 2010.
Hannah Kitchen – collar number 0352 (will be based at Thorpe Wood)
This collar number was previously owned by Paul Ramsay who joined the force in January 1990 having served six years in the Royal Engineers.
Paul was based in St Neots before working on a large-scale investigation into ram raids, post office robberies, vehicle crime and burglaries.
This involved 70 arrests and lowered the crime rate by 65 per cent – and was an operation which earnt Paul a Chief Constable’s Commendation.
Paul then worked as the central sector drugs intelligence officer, which one year involved arresting, charging and convicting 112 people.
Paul moved on to work in the force intelligence development team and received a further Chief Constable’s Commendation for his work investigating the Soham murders.
He then became one of the first four members of the forces dedicated informant handling team before moving to the National Crime Squad.
When this was disbanded four years later, Paul returned to Cambridgeshire and worked as a surveillance officer until he retired.
Mohammed Sajad – collar number 2062 (will be based at Huntingdon)
This collar number was previously owned by Dharman?tha Porter who joined Cambridgeshire Constabulary in April 1986, having served eight years in the Royal Military Police.
Dharman?tha served his first few years in Huntingdon and remembers the cutting edge technology being an electronic typewriter and a telex machine.
He was promoted to sergeant and moved to March before going to Ely as a Detective Sergeant and setting up an intelligence support unit.
In 1997 he moved onto working in child protection and was promoted to inspector, working in various roles before his retirement in April 2009.
During his service Dharman?tha was known as Christopher Porter.
Following retirement he became deeply interested in Buddhism and Dharman?tha is still within the Constabulary now as the Buddhist Chaplin, wearing the collar number 5923.
Ellie Crossley – collar number 0206 (will be based at Huntingdon)
This collar number was previously owned by Nicholas Tulip who joined in June 1980. Nicholas worked at Thorpe Wood Police Station and was deployed on the riots in both Luton and Toxteth in 1981.
He then progressed to work on a murder investigation before qualifying as an authorised firearms and VIP protection officer.
Nicholas worked on numerous firearms operations, including the protection of Prince Edward during his three years at Jesus College.
In 1988 Nicholas qualified as a national firearms instructor and in 1990 he became a firearms training officer.
He was also involved in the arrangement for armed protection to the then Prime Minister John Major.
In 1999 Nicholas passed the National Surveillance Course and worked on investigating organised crime gangs and counter terrorism operations.
Nicholas retired in June 2010 having completed 30 years’ service, 27.5 of which as an operational firearms officer.
Sarah Longbottom - collar number 0763 (will be based at Cambridge)
This collar number was previously owned by Angelika Peters who joined the force in December 1987 having previously served two years as a special constable.
Angelika worked in Peterborough and Huntingdon before moving to the Child Protection Unit.
She worked on the force’s network project rolling out internet and communication systems before moving to work in Huntingdon Town Centre as the first part-time officer in the county.
Angelika worked on a large scale child abuse investigation before becoming the detective sergeant in charge of the Divisional Intelligence Unit, Paedophile and Internet Team and Source Handling Unit. Angelika retired in February 2014.
Sam Holliday - collar number 2095 (will be based at Thorpe Wood)
This collar number originally belonged to Nigel Trippett who joined in November 1991. Nigel worked in Peterborough and was promoted to inspector in 1999.
He then worked as a neighbourhood inspector and in the intelligence unit and family unit as a DI. Nigel was promoted to Superintendent in 2005 before moving back to Peterborough as Deputy Divisional Commander.
In 2009 Nigel took over the corporate development department as chief superintendent before being made assistant chief constable in 2012.
In May 2013 Nigel moved to Bedfordshire as their ACC for local policing and crime where he remained until he retired.
Domenico Cotugno - collar number 0310 (will be based in Huntingdon)
This collar number belonged to Maura Richardson who joined the force in February 1986. Maura started her career in St Neots and patrolled the town centre on foot for three years. During this time she was awarded a Judge’s Commendation for being one of five officers who had to deal with 100 local residents rioting.
Maura passed her advanced driving course in 1995 and moved onto the Northern Traffic Department based out of Thorpe Wood Police Station.
Maura can recall all of the cars she drove, from a Rover 827 Fast Back to the fleet of Volvo T5’s which became synonymous with the unit.
Maura remained in the traffic department as a traffic officer and then worked in the Speed Enforcement Unit until she retired in March 2014.
Ben Fletcher – collar number 0297 (will be based at Thorpe Wood)
This collar number previously belonged to David Britten who joined the force in September 1989.
David worked in St Neots before moving to Huntingdon and becoming the Cambridgeshire Constabulary branch secretary in 1995.
One year later David moved to the Huntingdon Intelligence Support Unit before working in both intelligence and crime investigation roles.
He was then seconded onto a number of murder and manslaughter investigations, including the Soham murders.
David then progressed to be one of the first officers on the force’s dedicated major investigations team and remained in this role until he retired.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here