My preface: I don’t know which force you’re in (please don’t feel you have to say, in fact I recommend you don’t).

I may end up against the grain here, but firstly, you can be competent at the basics of policing in under a year. By that I mean you know enough to hold the fort at a job until someone else arrives if needs be.

It sounds like you’ve got the right attitude in getting stuck in as best possible and this job is purely what you make it, you’ll never be able to go to or experience everything and there isn’t anything wrong with that. I spent my probation entirely on SNT (neighbourhoods) and I remember feeling almost cheated when I started, having the dream to go to response, but actually I had a superb probation and worked on a great team and I pushed myself to do whatever I could and I gained knowledge in the role I’d never have got if I went straight to response and stayed there. After my probation I then ended up on response, and I still have around 30 years to go.

Colleagues will slate the scheme and I have worked with one awful police now officer, but I’ve also worked with and heard of some great officers who came through the scheme. You have to let your work do the talking so to speak and your reputation will build on that.

Response is a big part of frontline policing but it is not the only part.