Centenier Nick Andrews believes that the role played by the honorary police is just as important now as it was when he first joined 25 years ago, and is encouraging parishioners to get involved.
‘When I started the only uniform we had was our little yellow jackets,’ said Mr Andrews, when asked how the honorary force had developed over the years. ‘But now we are fully equipped with kit and equipment and there is a lot more training for officers. Everything has got better, really – the officers are much more adapted to working with the community and they are backed up a lot more with the training and going around with the more senior officers.’
He added that the parish was seeking two Centeniers, three Vingteniers and five Constable’s Officers.
‘The honorary police is one of the foundation stones of the parochial system and long may it continue to be that way.’
Centenier John O’Brien, who has been in the force for around 30 years, said it had played a pivotal role in helping the community stay safe during the pandemic.
‘We’ve been trying to educate the public to keep a safe distance, to wear a mask etc,’ he said. ‘We’ve got great support from the Chef de Police who guides us and we have some fantastic officers.
‘I think people join for different reasons, but my reason was to put something back into the community – we take a lot for granted, so it’s just putting something back. Whatever the amount of hours you can do, it’s fantastic.’
Two of the parish’s more recent additions, Tracy Laurent and Wendy Lange-Smith – who are both Constable’s Officers – said that despite the pandemic, they had been able to settle in to the team safely.
‘I joined in the beginning of June,’ said Ms Laurent. ‘I’ve been a caretaker here for ten years and I know all the honoraries and our Chef de Police. I have helped out on occasions, such as traffic control if there was an accident, even though I wasn’t an honorary at the time.’
She added that her experience so far had been a positive one and encouraged those who might be interested in joining to do so.
‘Join and give something back to your community. The training includes the foundation course which is very interesting, you learn about drugs, handcuff training, takedowns, statement writing, using the breathalyser, first aid.
‘We’ve all been issued with PPE, masks, aprons, goggles, gloves, so when we go out we are fully equipped. If you don’t feel safe your Chef de Police will not pressure you into going out, it’s entirely up to the individual. We stay in our own bubbles, so there’s no need to be frightened. If you want to join, join.’
Ms Lange-Smith said that she had learnt a ‘huge amount’ about herself since joining in February of last year, adding that she had always felt supported by the senior members of the force.
‘I’ve encountered things I’ve not encountered before and I’ve built new relationships with the people here in the honorary police,’ she said. ‘Obviously when you start out you go to things and wonder how you are going to handle it, but you do as much as you can.
‘When I started all the training had been suspended and only really started again in June or July so I had a few months when I was really just following the lead of our much more experienced officers.
‘There’s lots of ways to give back to our community and this does take a degree of commitment – to the training, to others in the force and to the parish so I would say give it a try – we’re a friendly bunch.’
