Guernsey Police give 'ride-along' to potential new recruits

• Video report by Roisin Gauson

Guernsey Police are giving potential recruits the chance to experience a night on patrol first-hand.

Anyone who is interested is being invited for a 'ride-along' to see first-hand what is involved in the job.

The scheme is being offered to people who are interested in joining the ranks and Guernsey Police are hoping to attract 8-10 would-be officers. The force is keen for people of all backgrounds to join.

The current intake is just three weeks into their training. Student Officer, Elizabeth Argent, says it been an interesting start.

"We've done so much in such a short period of time - we've been to the prison, we've been to ambulance, fire and we've also just been thrown into a bit of crime as well which is just... there's a lot to learn!" The recruits will need to pass a 15-week intensive course before they complete their initial training, and already they are putting what they have learnt into practice.

Student Officer, Theo Wilson says: "I'm loving it - the training is very varied, it's very immersive so if you're more of a video learner there's videos, there's PowerPoints, we're being talked to and today we actually just did our first role plays so they were simple arrest role plays. We did our first bit of legislation yesterday which was theft, robbery and burglary so we're putting that into practice now." However, policing on a small island comes with its challenges.

Learning & Development Officer, Matt Le Page says good communication skills are really important.

"If you can't communicate with the public both in written and verbally then you're going to struggle. Common sense is really important. A lot of law is very simple but requires common sense to apply it. You also have to have that community spirit as well - it's a small island, you've got to be able to work with people that you're going to arrest and you've got to deal with people that you're going to know on a regular basis." The current recruitment window closes on the 5 August.

Those who are currently in training will be out on patrol in October.