Isle of Man Guide

THE ranks of the Isle of Man Constabulary will be swelled on Monday by a new intake of student officers.

The 11 trainee constables will be sworn in before embarking on a 15-week induction course at the Winchester Court development centre in Onchan. This will combine classroom sessions and practical training to expose them to the wide range of duties performed by a modern-day police officer.

Each student officer will then be assigned a personal tutor and spend 10 weeks working with one of the Island’s five neighbourhood policing teams. A further one-week refresher at Winchester Court will be followed by 18 months of independent patrol to complete a two-year probationary period.

Student officers will spend approximately nine months in Douglas and nine months in one of the out-of-town NPTs, carrying out a variety of uniform foot patrols and vehicle patrols. Continuous assessment takes place throughout the probationary term to ensure that high standards are being achieved and maintained.

The new recruits will be welcomed to the Isle of Man Constabulary by Home Affairs Minister Adrian Earnshaw MHK. He said:

‘The Isle of Man is justifiably very proud of its reputation as being one of the safest places in the British Isles to live and work. Police officers play an important role in maintaining that quality of life by combating crime and responding to the needs of the community. A challenging and rewarding career in one of the Island’s frontline services awaits these 11 individuals and I am confident they will serve the Manx force with distinction. It is also pleasing to note that police training, which previously took place in the UK, is now undertaken by a dedicated staff development team in the Isle of Man.’

The student officers have already passed through a rigorous selection process in order to gain an offer of employment with the IoM Constabulary. A total of 67 men and women applied to join the force in August last year and that number was whittled down after fitness tests and classroom assessments.

Thirty were short-listed to attend the Ardwhallan outdoor pursuit centre in West Baldwin where they tackled a series of exercises structured around the 12 national police competencies. Members of the staff development team were joined by senior officers to assess the candidates on their ability to achieve results under physical and mental pressure. The highest scorers were then required to pass a full police medical before being offered the chance to become a student officer.

Inspector Keith Kinrade, the IoM Constabulary’s Staff Development Manager, said:

‘We believe that we have identified 11 individuals who are prepared to work hard to meet the challenges associated with serving their local community. The main objective now is to equip our student officers with the knowledge and training to deal with the wide range of situations they will encounter during their working lives.’

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