Daughter of L'Ecume II skipper and former Jersey Reds Captain join police force

PC Rebecca Michieli, the daughter of skipper Michael Michieli, and PC Lewis Wynne, former Jersey Reds Captain, are two of 10 new police recruits, training to serve Jersey's community.

Both have been sworn in as officer and are in their second week of training.

PC Michieli says she had previously considered policing, but following her father, Michael's passing, the police officers who worked with her family inspired her to pursue the idea.

"The police were quite present, and we had Detective Chief Inspector Beechey come to the house, and he was just the epitome of what I expected the police force to be like, and it inspired me to do that myself and be like that one day.

"My mum came and watched me for the swearing in, my sister is away in Manchester, but she would have been there if she could have, but they're both very proud."

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PC Wynne, who was the Captain of the Jersey Reds' 2023 RFU Championship-winning squad, told Channel 103 that going from being a professional athlete to policing was not too drastic.

"Rugby and professional sport are quite similar in terms of the code of ethics that the police have, so it seemed quite natural for me to go towards it.

"The other nine people that are here and I are ready to do a good job for the police."

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He mentioned that the support they have received has been outstanding.

"It's always scary starting a new job, but we've been massively supported.

"I know it's only been two weeks, but I feel like I can ask questions; everyone around the station is absolutely amazing, they're really nice and want to talk to you.

"They want to be involved in your progress."

Credit: States of Jersey Police

PC Lewis Wynne says the police have a massive presence in the community, and he wanted to be a part of that.

"You see the officer going down the street, they've got their ties on, they've got their shirts on, they look very smart and approachable, which is amazing.

"With all the training we're getting, there's no reason why we ca't go out and do the same as the police officers who are already out there doing a great job as well."

When talking about their plans in the force, both recruits mentioned that they want to look into several things before they set their sights on a particular role within the constabulary.

PC Rebecca Michieli says training in the War Tunnels was really interesting.

"We got put into different teams, it was fun to be a team leader, my team were great, we did come out, and we did manage it."

"We've got so many secondments that we can go on with the training so many, then I'll get a better idea of what I want to do."

Credit: States of Jersey Police

The recruits get trained for 20 weeks on-island with a range of topics, ranging from self-defence to legislation, and leadership skills to public communication.

Force Development Manager, Paul Smith, says they look to take on 10 new starters each year and being able to do it all in Jersey has a raft of benefits.

"Policing itself is a craft, so to be able to do it all from scratch, all on-island, and in addition to that, we've now got their firearms range, it's all a bonus.

"We've been heavily invested in, and we don't take that lightly, all to give the best to islanders.

"Jersey is a very safe place to be, and one of the reasons is all of the hard work that the police officers are putting in.

"The 20-week programme is virtually the same structure as the UK, but we adjust the amounts given the demographics of where we are.

"It's quite intense in terms of investigation skills, in self-defence we follow the national PPST programme, it's exactly the same across the UK and all of the small islands as well."

The States of Jersey Police will be looking to advertise for recruits in mid-2026.

It is a six-month process of exercises to get the right people.

"We had just over 100 applications for 10 places [this time].

"If you're thinking about it, engage with police officers and come and talk to us about it."