Meet PCSO Julie

Life’s too short to be in a job you don’t enjoy doing, says Hertfordshire PCSO Julie, who switched careers to policing and hasn’t looked back.

“Over 20 years ago, I went along to an open day at Hertfordshire Constabulary’s headquarters as I had always wanted to join the police. Back then you had to complete 20 weeks of residential training, I had two young boys at the time, so that wasn’t possible for me to do,” she recalled. “I stayed as a teaching assistant for over 20 years and went on to have a further two children, so having the school holidays was very useful.

“Several years ago, I had cancer and since then have always taken the “life’s too short approach”. I knew I wanted a change in career and the police was always at the back of my mind, but the more I learned about the role of a PCSO, I knew this would be more suited to me.

“I’ve always followed Herts police on Facebook and last April I saw an advert about joining the police. I followed the link and applied!

“I started eight weeks training in January where I met some amazing people. I then started my role in the Children and Young People Team (CYP). I’ve picked up the role quite easily and really enjoy coming in to work each day.

“A typical day consists of logging on in the morning and checking my workload. I may have appointments to go out and visit young offenders at their homes to complete a Needs Assessment with them and issue a Community Resolution for an offence they have committed. I will then arrange some community work with the offender, complete an education session with them and write an apology letter if needed.

“For any new cases I get, I organise the required paperwork and then phone the offenders and victims to explain the process. If there are times when we are less busy, we will go out and patrol different areas.

“We also run Mini Police sessions at primary schools with Year Five pupils, which the children really enjoy. We have lots of police engagement with younger children to give them positive interactions with the police.

“My family and friends have been really supportive of me joining the police and are very proud of me. My daughter has recently finished her training to be a police officer in Hertfordshire and I’m very proud of her too.

“I would definitely recommend this role, I love my job and I’m so glad I made the decision to go for it. I thought at 52 I was too old but I’m definitely not!”

Salaries start at £29,085 and go up to £34,968

PCSOs improve the quality of life for residents and make their area safer by proactively tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.

There’s shift work, some weekends and evenings.

Part time and flexible hours offered.

For more information visit the Herts police careers page.