‘You are put in so many situations where you can tangibly help people’

Billie Scholten with police cars in Biggleswade

Like most people, as I was approaching the end of my university course I had to think about getting job. My mum in particular was very keen to stress this.

I was looking at loads of grad schemes. They all paid good money, but for a lot of them I didn’t know what I would actually be doing. I am sure everyone has a friend who gets paid a lot of money, but can’t actually explain with any detail or clarity what their job actually is.

So I started to think about what I actually wanted to do, and a little voice in the back of my mind said ‘police officer? That’s cool’. It didn’t feel like a job that real people did though. It felt more like a job you see on TV.

I ended up putting all my eggs in one basket and only applied to become a police officer. I was fortunate enough to get accepted and joined the Police Now graduate programme in July 2017.

Eighteen months later, I have no doubt that I made the right decision. I would much rather be a police officer than earning loads of money doing a job where I can’t explain to my friends what it is that I actually do.

Every day is different working for the police and you are put in so many situations where you can tangibly help people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A recent example of this is a vulnerable woman who disclosed to me that she had been raped. I had to do everything I could think of to initiate a thorough police investigation, and also put in place support for her on a lot of different levels.

There is no other job where you need to be creative in coming up with solutions in such a highly charged moment for that person you are supporting. It is moments like that where you can take real pride in your work, knowing you have made a genuine difference to someone’s life.

That’s the most rewarding part of the job and the main reason why I joined – to help victims. It’s about helping people at a critical and often devastating time when they are vulnerable and have nobody else to call, and ensuring that vulnerable people get proper support when they need it.

It is like living 1,000 small lifetimes, because you get a unique view into other people’s lives in a time when they are at their most vulnerable. You get an insight into their world, and in many ways you know that person sometimes more intimately than their closest family and friends do, given the experience you share with them.

You don’t get to do that on a grad scheme at Aldi.

 

PC Billie Scholten

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Making a difference for people with vulnerabilities

Before becoming a police officer, I worked in contract catering. I had a good, well paid job with prospects. I progressed quickly, working in loss prevention and training, but I really felt something was missing. There was no real motivation to do more, and certainly no daily excitement. 

I felt there had to be something out there that was a more worthwhile use of my time and, I wanted to make a difference. Ask any of my colleagues and they will no doubt tell you a similar story. I think it’s what drives us as people, and makes us better police officers.

It’s never too late to join

I became a police officer at the grand old age of 49. Some people were finishing their careers after serving 30 years, just as I was starting mine – it’s never too late to join.

I wanted to be a police office since I was a kid but when I tried to sign up at 16, I was told I wasn’t tall enough, as you used to have to be over 6ft. I then went down a different career path studying theatre management at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and worked in theatres and opera houses across the world. I loved my job, but everytime I passed a police officer I felt jealous, that it was something I’d never done. One day I thought to myself do I want to finish my life having never tried it. I started the recruitment process, fully expecting to be rejected because of my age, but soon my dream became a reality and I’ve never looked back.