ROOKIE police officers are to be sent to Hampstead to complete their training on the streets.
Eighteen officers, who will be known as ‘student officers’ rather than their former ‘probationers’ label, are due to start work on Monday.
The move is part of a pilot project of Operation Initial Police Learning and Development Programme (IPLDP) – a Home Office plan to get new starters out of training college and into everyday situations as soon as possible.
Hampstead is one of only five areas in the country to try out the scheme which senior police chiefs propose, depending on its success, to roll out across the country at some point next year.
The new recruits will have already have spent a month at police college in Hendon but will arrive in Hampstead to forge improved relations with residents and traders.
A police spokesman last night (Wednesday) said full details of the scheme would be released on Monday, although confirmed the officers were on their way.
He said: “Candidates spend their first five weeks residential at Hendon then 25 weeks based at Hampstead Police Station, the 25 weeks will include street duties.”
Tory ward Councillor Brian Cattell welcomed the move but added: “We must make sure that these officers are not coming as a substitute to the officers that Hampstead should be coming to the area. I have always said that Hampstead is not a low crime area, there have been some nasty incidents over the last 12 months.”