A rising Team GB ice hockey player is skating towards a career in policing after becoming an apprentice constable.
Hannah Ware, who is tipped for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, has already made her first arrests after joining Nottinghamshire Police last year.
The 20-year-old has embarked on a three-year Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship – a new programme delivered in partnership with the University of Derby that involves lectures, workshops and on-the-job training.
Hannah manages to fit her ice hockey training and gym sessions around her apprenticeship and will be given time off to play in Team GB’s qualifying rounds for next year’s Winter Olympics, if selected by coaches.
Hannah, from Sutton-in-Ashfield, admitted she was pursuing two dream jobs and that she could relate the buzz she feels on the ice-rink to catching criminals.
“My first arrest was for possession of a firearm,” she said. “The adrenaline I felt was the same as stepping out on to the rink in front of the world. I can certainly relate the two feelings together.
“Balancing sport with my degree apprenticeship is a challenge but Nottinghamshire Police has been brilliant. They’ve been flexible with my shifts and so I’ve managed to get down to training and the gym.
“Life is busy but I’m absolutely loving it.”
The Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship enables individuals to gain a degree alongside their employment as a police officer.
Hannah applied for the programme after speaking to serving officers at an open evening.
She said: “I went to a police careers open evening in Nottingham and spoke to some officers about their experiences. They were saying how they’d been in various units such as CID, response, firearms, police dogs and neighbourhoods. That really drew me to policing. It’s so varied and interesting.
“I also want to help people and make a difference in the community. I decided to apply and I think my experiences in sport was a factor in why I was successful. I’ve captained my teams a fair bit so I know about leadership and teamwork.
“I play with my club and my country so it’s also given me confidence in terms of being around different people.”
Hannah came through the Sutton Sting Ice Hockey Academy and now plays for Nottingham Vipers and Solihull Vixens.
She has represented her country at various levels and was part of the Great Britain team that won bronze at the U18 Women’s World Championships in 2019.
Her international career is only just taking off but already she has represented Team GB in countries such as Czech Republic and Slovakia.
She is now looking forward to seeing where her degree apprenticeship takes her in policing.
She said: “There are various routes into policing but I decided to apply for the degree apprenticeship because it makes so much sense. You get to earn a wage while learning and you come out of it with a degree and an amazing job.
“I’m really excited about where it will take me.”
Earlier this year, it was revealed half of all new recruits to Nottinghamshire Police force are women, breaking down barriers which may once have been in place.
The force is leading the way in terms of inclusivity after it was revealed it is in the top number of forces in the country to recruit just as many women as men between April 2020 and March 2021.
More than half of the 202 new officers welcomed to the force in the last financial year were women, according to a Home Office report – far outstripping the national average of 42 per cent.
This comes on the back of the force also topping the league table for recruiting people from ethnic diverse backgrounds – by recruiting a fifth of its new officers from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds. This is nearly double the national average of 10.2 per cent.
Hannah said it was refreshing to see so many women among Nottinghamshire Police’s newest recruits.
She said: “We are a diverse country and so inclusivity is very important. If the police – the people who enforce the laws of the country – are diverse and inclusive, that’s a good place to start and hopefully other organisations will follow that lead.”
Chief Constable Craig Guildford said he was delighted to have a rising Team GB star join the ranks at Nottinghamshire Police.
He said: “We are very happy that Hannah has joined our ranks. Policing is all about teamwork, tenacity, bravery and courage and it is clear Hannah has all these qualities in abundance having represented Team GB’s ice hockey team.
“I have no doubt she will represent Nottinghamshire Police with the same pride, passion and commitment that she has shown on the ice rink.
“The force continues to make huge strides forward and it is a matter of great personal pride to me that more and more people from all backgrounds with a variety of life experience look to Nottinghamshire Police not only as a potential employer, but also as an organisation they want to help develop and make stronger for the future.”
