PC Donald

Police Constable Donald is a former student at New City College Havering Sixth Form, who recently returned to the campus as part of the MetGirlz initiative – which educates female students about the various roles and opportunities available to them in the Metropolitan Police Service.

PC Donald studied A Levels during her time at college, from 2006 to 2008, and says she always knew from an early age that her dream career was in policing.

We caught up with her to find out how college helped her to progress to her current role in the police as a dog handler.

What subjects did you take at college?

I took Sport, Biology, Psychology and Film Studies A Levels.

How did those subjects help you with your ambition to become a police officer?

Taking Sport helped me because working within the police is quite physically demanding. The course also helped me to become familiar with aspects of fitness and how to keep my health in check. Psychology showed me an insight into the criminal mind and how someone can be drawn into illegal behaviour. In Biology I found out about the human body, the bones and the skeleton and this has also helped in some areas of my job. The bone names are similar within humans and dogs, so it has helped me to understand working with dogs better. Being a dog handler, I have to be very knowledgeable about the anatomy of the dog. Biology has also helped with forensics, which is a huge part of policing.

Why did you want to get into policing?

I wanted to help people and get crime off the streets. I do it for the victims whose lives have been affected by criminals.

How many years have you been a police officer?

After college, I took a part-time job in retail but this was just a stepping stone until I managed to get accepted for police training. I started my career at Hackney police station in 2009 when I was 19. I was there for two years and then in 2011, I moved to Tottenham and Haringey. I spent four years there until I moved into the TSG in May 2015. TSG stands for Territorial Support Group and its role is to provide immediate and expert support to major incidents, public order situations and security patrols in London. I have been in my current role working with police dogs since July 2020.

How has policing helped you to grow and develop over the years?

Since working in policing, I have grown in confidence, and I have been able to open my mind to the struggles of others. I wouldn’t have seen or have known about half the things I have come across if I hadn’t trained to become a police officer.