Student officer says policing is ‘best job’ ever

13 March 2022

“This is the best job I have ever had,” says an officer who this month marked a year in the Force, as he reveals he is hoping to work with the Federation to better support students with their mental health.

Luke Jemson, who joined West Midlands Police last year, says 12 months into the role he is still so pleased that he made the decision to become a police officer.

A year into training, Luke is hoping to work with the Police Federation to create support specific for student officers.

“Obviously every job comes with its challenges but I’ve definitely felt there have been more highs than lows in the past year,” said Luke.

“This is definitely the best job I’ve ever had, I have a lot of pride in what I do.

“But one thing I do want to improve is the support surrounding student officers, not just for those training but staff supervising them too – resource is low, officers do not always have the necessary time to support students.

“It would be good to have someone there to listen to students and hear our needs.

“Don’t get me wrong, police officers themselves provide a very supportive environment, I just think it would be useful to have a direct contact within the Federation for us to be able to speak to.”

Prior to joining the Force, Luke hit rock bottom after being diagnosed with colitis, a life-changing bowel condition. He was medically discharged from the Army before enrolling as a student police officer eight years later.

“If I could go back eight years ago, I wouldn’t recognise the person I am today,” Luke says.

“Even in just a year, I’ve changed massively as a person and I’m very proud of who I am. My mental health is probably the best it’s ever been.”

During the past 12 months, Luke has worked in several teams, including neighbourhood and in the investigation department, with his current role seeing him support the Locate squad which is dedicate to finding missing people.

“One of the benefits to regularly moving teams is definitely that, as a student, you use what you’ve learned in each department to help in each role,” added Luke.

“Working with the Locate team is quite an exciting role, and I’ve felt like I’m really making a difference to some people’s lives. There is a genuine reason behind some of these people going missing and I’ve helped safeguard them while putting support in place to stop it from happening again in the future.”