Student officers complete training on-island for the first time in a decade

Friday, 29 May 2026 10:26

Nathan Bizouarn, Jade Watkins, and Lewis Wynne

Ten student police officers have formally finished 20 weeks of their initial training.

They're the first group to complete the entirety of their training in Jersey since 2015.

It has been marked with the 2026 Pass Out Parade and march past at Mount Bingham, where each student received their completion certificate, and additional awards were given out.

Nathan Bizouarn and Jade Watkins were named the fittest male and female, with top fitness scores.

Nathan told Channel 103 that being able to stay in Jersey encouraged him to join the force:

"I recently purchased a house last year, so moving away wasn't something I wanted to do.

"For a lot of the other trainees, it was the same; we have a lot of young families, so it wouldn't have been feasible for them without it being on-island."

The trainers' award, or the student officer who has shown specific leadership, determination and teamwork skills across the 20-week training programme, also went to Jade.

She said:

"It's quite good to say I've never had an award in my life, and now it's taken 31 years to get two!

"It's been good, we've done fitness along the way, supporting each other, it's been a team effort."

The training used to be done in Norfolk, with the students then returning to the island for a three-week course on local laws and procedures.

The entire course being done on-island hopes to encourage more people to join the force.

We're told it will also save around £150,000 yearly in training and travel costs, which were previously paid to Norfolk Constabulary.

The deadline for applications for this year's cohort is 2 June; last year, the force received around 200 applicants.