From cadet to custody sergeant: Fed member reflects on policing journey so far

13 May 2026

Having been mapped out since early childhood, it is little wonder Federation member Mitch Holloway’s policing career has already covered so much.

Born and raised in Stevenage, Mitch says he can remember having his heart set on working in the police from as young as four years old, when he would watch back-to-back episodes of Traffic Cops with his family and have his imagination captured.

By the time he was a teenager, these juvenile daydreams had already turned into serious ambitions, where he recalls ‘planning out what I needed to do to give myself the best chance of getting in’ and enrolling in Hertfordshire Constabulary’s police cadets at the soonest opportunity.

“Of course, policing is a vocation for everyone, but it’s fair to say I’m one of those people who never even considered anything else – in terms of job aspirations, it’s all I’ve ever really known,” Mitch said.

 

Federation member Mitch Holloway

 

“When I joined the cadets, it was my first taste of what it would all be like, and it only made me even more determined to make a great career for myself in the Force.

“Now, that’s exactly what I have, and I want to keep this journey going by making it as enjoyable and rewarding as possible.”

At 26, Sergeant Mitch has already seen his police experience span the cadet system – where he has since returned as a leader of its Stevenage unit – the Special Constabulary, and his current capacity as a regular officer.

He became a Special after encountering a Force recruitment freeze as he entered adulthood, which didn’t deter him from spending an enriching voluntary year on response in Hatfield.

Duties

Mitch then carried these same duties into regular constable work, before switching firstly to Borehamwood and then to a neighbourhood team.

“I still look back at my transition from volunteer to full-time and those first few years very fondly. I particularly enjoyed neighbourhood policing because I loved the sense of community it offered.

“It was during this time that a freak incident occurred, which led to a very different next role for me. I broke my leg falling down a hill, which forced me to step back from the frontline and go into the crime and safeguarding command.

“I joined the Child Criminal Exploitation Hub, which is something I obviously never planned for, but ended up giving me some of the proudest moments of my career.”

Not only did this inadvertent move allow Mitch to specialise in the Force for the first time, but it also provided him a platform to break into leadership.

“Overall, what I achieved in this role was helping to change the perspective on certain children from being seen as criminals to vulnerable people preyed on to facilitate crime,” he continued.

Custody

“After a while, I was promoted to sergeant and asked to build a team around this vulnerability work and impart my knowledge on a wider scale, which was an opportunity I absolutely relished.”

After briefly returning to response duties to become substantive in rank, Mitch was then subject to another unexpected change in role with an enforced transfer to custody.

But just like in his first experience of this, a deep-rooted dedication to his profession remained the bigger picture for the sergeant – making it easy to adapt and thrive.

“It was supposed to be for 18 months, but I’m still here now two-and-a-half years later because I’ve come to love it.

“I think it’s important to stress that I’m not suggesting every officer just accepts whatever is thrown their way in policing, but purely speaking for myself, I have always welcomed and got on with new challenges, however they’ve come about.

“Custody has not always been seen as the most glamorous post, but as I got to know it more, I wanted to help change the perception of it as a ‘punishment posting’.

Inspectors' exam

“I’ve tried to do this by engaging with colleagues from all areas of the Force, promoting what custody needs from them to work efficiently, and vice-versa.”

And in recent months, Mitch has extended these engagement efforts beyond internal channels and out to the public, appearing in viral content on the Force’s social media accounts and earning a ‘colleague of the month’ award for February as a result.

It’s all been part of a busy start to 2026, which shows no signs of slowing down, with Mitch now set to sit his inspectors’ exam as he looks towards his next chapter.

“For me, I’ve never wanted to get too comfortable – I like the idea of learning a role, becoming good at it and then moving onto the next challenge to make me a better, more rounded officer.

“I think a lot of that comes from having a clear idea of what I wanted from policing from the very beginning.

“If I were to sum up what that is, it’s just wanting to have a positive impact and make a difference to as many lives as possible. It’s important we never forget the impact we have, because it’s the reason every single one of us was called to this career.”

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