Page 12 - WMPF Federation Oct-Nov 2021-flip_Neat

Detective recruits

Trainee detective

inspired by ‘superhero’

superintendent father

nspired by her “superhero”
superintendent father, a trainee
Idetective says she feels honoured to be
part of the first ever West Midlands Degree
Holder and Detective Entry Programme as
she says all she wants to do is serve and
protect the public.
Amelia Asquith (23) is currently in her
fourth week of training, having decided to
follow in the footsteps of her father, Phil
Asquith, who is a superintendent with the
Force.
She is one of a handful of students
taking part in a two-year work-based
training programme supported by off-the-
job learning, with a specific focus on
investigating. This is the first of its kind at
West Midlands Police.
“When I heard this programme had been
made available, I applied as soon as I
finished my university degree,” said Amelia,
who spent three years studying English
literature in Lincoln.
“I thought being a detective was years
down the line, but I’ve managed to achieve
my dreams sooner. It’s crazy to think I’ve
achieved my dreams in the middle of a
pandemic, at the time when the world had
stopped. It was as if everything just fell into
place, like it was meant to be.
“I feel so honoured to be in this position.”
Amelia’s passion for policing stems back
to her childhood, which saw her growing up
around the Force, looking up to her
“superhero” dad, whose achievements have
always propelled her to do her best.
“I’m inspired by my Mum and my Dad.
Dad has always motivated me,” she says,“I’m New recruit Amelia with her father Superintendent Phil Asquith.
in awe of him. I’ve had so many
compliments on him from my peers.” the kids to stay in the lake, I pushed for them colleague’s trousers off and cut the blood
It was during a stint at Camp America to get out,” she recalls. circulation off.
that Amelia says she realised she was meant “The second incident, which was the real “She nearly lost her leg, she could’ve
to be a police officer. determinator for me, was when a colleague died,” she added.
“There were two specific incidents which got bitten by a snake. It was a copperhead “I’d always wanted to follow in my Dad’s
encouraged me to consider a role in the snake, which can be severely dangerous and footsteps but I didn’t ever think I was
Force. One of which was when I was working sometimes fatal. It was chaos, everyone was capable. It was during my time at Camp
in Texas and noticed a snake’s nest in the screaming.” America that I realised I could do this.”
lake the children were swimming in. Despite Amelia remembers having “tunnel Amelia discovered she had been
my superiors telling me that they wanted vision”. She explains that she ripped her accepted onto the course on her Dad’s

12 federation October/November 2021 www.polfed.org/westmids