Ex-Hucknall firefighter returning to blue-light service as a cop

Jason Bailey, aged 34, clocked up five years in the fire service at Hucknall after leaving school and, more recently, has worked for the Ministry of Justice, managing high-risk offenders released from custody.

Now, he is about to return to responding to 999 calls after becoming a student detective.

As part of his training, he will spend the next six months on the Beeston Response team to gain valuable policing experience.

He said: “Having previously been a firefighter, I’m looking forward to going back out on blue lights and feeling that buzz again.

“I’m looking forward to helping people.

"It won’t be easy, there’ll no doubt be challenging situations when you’re going out to people who are having the worst moment of their life – possibly as bad as a loved one dying.

“People in those moments are looking for a miracle.

"When I was aged 19 and a firefighter, I had to be that miracle.

"Now that I’ve joined the police, I might have to be that miracle again.”

Jason was among 15 student detectives who took part in a passing out parade on Friday, June 14, at Nottinghamshire Police Headquarters, having completed their initial period of training.

After their time on Response, they will join the force’s CID department as part of the next phase of their detective training.

Jason continued: “For me, I’ve always wanted to help people, it’s like a moral calling in life.

"I enjoy working with people and getting stuck into challenging situations.

"I also like experiencing an adrenaline buzz and making a difference.

“I’m really excited to get going.”

The passing out parade of new recruits was overseen by Nottinghamshire Chief Constable Kate Meynell.

She said: “The training they’ve received over the past 21 weeks will stand them in really good stead to now go into the communities that we serve and try out their skills in real life situations – and to understand the level of quality service we want to deliver.

“We want to provide the best possible service to victims of communities right across Nottinghamshire and I wish all the new recruits well in their roles.”