Cadet journeys

Read more about the journeys of some of our current police officers who started their careers as a cadet:

PC James Meeds, former cadet and current cadet leader

I started as a Boston police cadet in 2015 and I was extremely nervous, anxious, and shy as at that point in my life, I had never been in any groups aside from Taekwondo for a brief period. I remember filling the application in with my dad and sending it off and not hearing back for a while. It was only when I received a phone call to say that I had been successful and was asked to come in for a taster day and interview that is when I realised I had passed the application stage.

At the time, Boston grouped new applicants into smaller teams and sent them to different activities. Each activity had a cadet leader and current serving cadets, an involved tasks like working out a puzzle without speaking, acting as a magistrate, and my all-time favourite, a scenario to see what you already knew. After that there was a short interview to get to know me as a person and we were then sent back home to wait and hear. After around a week, I was told that I was in and this is where the exciting part happened, we were given our own exclusive training group full of new applicants, two current cadets that knew how things worked and a cadet leader to help guide us. Throughout the years there was a lot of laughter and fun. At one point in my cadet career, I was also a deputy section leader which meant I had responsibilities for our own section and, if the section leader was not around, I was in charge.

Around 2017 I applied to Boston Borough Council as a CCTV operator which, at the time, was my first ever job in the big world. One of our cadet leaders was also a member of the community safety team for the council and so I had the opportunity to visit the CCTV suite to see whether it was something I wanted to pursue. I became particularly good at my job and was confident with knowing camera placements and which camera to pick to locate a potential suspect or someone in distress if needed.

In 2019 I applied and started as a special constable with Lincolnshire Police; this was a jump from being a cadet as the situations we were dealing with were the real deal. Not only that, but from my previous job in CCTV, rather than looking from a camera high in the sky, I was on the ground dealing with incidents there and then. I left the police cadets a few months before becoming a special constable and was invited back to cadets to give a talk about my experiences during the training! I loved being a special and I did this role for two years but unfortunately because of a promotion at my fulltime job, I gave up my role as a special constable. I tried to apply as a police constable with Lincolnshire Police, but unfortunately my qualifications did not meet the eligibility, so I was unable to progress with that route. This was disheartening as my main goal in life was to be a police officer.

I then saw Lincolnshire Police was recruiting for PCSOs. I had never thought about being a PCSO, but reminiscing back to when I was in school/college and cadets, I had seen the importance and key role that PCSOs played in policing and the community and thought it would be a different change of pace for me. I have been a PCSO for over a year and have loved every moment that I have had with that. As I started my PCSO training I was also convinced to join the police cadets again but as a leader.

Now, I’m leaving my role as a PCSO to start my training as a police constable. It just goes to show that with determination, dedication, and commitment, you can get to where you want to in life.

PC Spencer Bull, former cadet and current cadet leader

I’m a police officer currently based out of Bourne Police Station and have been a volunteer cadet leader since 2021.

I started my policing career in the latter half of July in 2018 as a cadet in Spalding and later in Bourne. Joining the police has always been something I have wanted to do and becoming a police officer was my dream job. Joining the cadet programme gave me an insight into what policing could be like and I loved every minute of it!

When I turned 18 I decided to stay in the cadets programme as a volunteer cadet leader and have loved making a difference to people’s lives for the better since. Becoming a cadet leader really helped me when applying as a special constable, and I got a lot of great advice from serving officers who were also volunteering as cadet Leaders. In 2022 I began my training to become a special constable and then fully started that role a few months later. I stayed as a special constable until March 2023 where I started my training to become a regular police constable. Throughout my time in training and whilst employed, I have given insights to the cadets on what policing is like and routes on how to join the police. Since becoming a police constable, I am still a volunteer cadet leader and often the cadets will request to learn more about my role and what I get up to. I take great pride in talking to cadets and giving them a feeling of what policing is like.

Overall, I wouldn’t be where I am today without the cadet programme and the great inspirational people I have met on the way. I hope I am an inspiration as they were to me!