A former car salesperson officer says he is looking forward to using his well-practiced powers of persuasion to help keep the public safe.
Like many others, 28-year-old PC Jake Alvey spent much of the Covid lockdown reflecting on his future and thinking about new challenges.
Inspired by family members who served with Nottinghamshire Police, Jake decided the time was right for a complete change in direction and so decided to join the police.
He was later accepted for a place on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship scheme at the University of Derby and is currently in his sixth week of training.
He said: “During the pandemic I spent five months on furlough from my job as a car salesman and that gave me time to really think about my future.
“I enjoyed my work and was good at it. I really liked dealing with the public and learning to communicate effectively with all sorts of different people, but ultimately I wanted to challenge myself with something new and to do something I could truly be proud of.
“Selling a car or getting somebody a good deal can be satisfying in its own way, but it can never compete with helping someone in need, making an arrest or even saving a life.
“There are also a lot of transferable skills from my old role, including conflict resolution. Although I’ve never actually had to rugby tackle or restrain a customer it’s fair to say that I have dealt with my fair share of very challenging people over the years. So I am sure that experience will come in handy at some point.”
PC Alvey, who was sworn in as a serving officer by a magistrate last week, is one of a class of 22 students in his training cohort, who will complete 25 weeks’ of basic training before heading out on patrol.
Their degree studies will then be fitted in around their day-to-day policing duties as they take on uniformed and non-uniformed placements across the Force.
PC Alvey, who grew up in the Mansfield area, added: “Being sworn in as a police officer was a very proud moment for me and I am really looking forward to getting out there and making a difference.
“I am also really looking forward to the wide variety of opportunities that are in front of me and meeting all the other new trainees.
“Very few other careers have so much variety and different routes you can follow – from uniformed and detective roles to specialist positions like armed response roles – and I really can’t wait to get started.”
