Sussex Police officer celebrated with prestigious award

PC Harriet Parkes was named the Sussex Police Undergraduate of the Year by Cumbria University at a special ceremony held at Carlisle Cathedral on Thursday, July 20.

The award is an outstanding achievement and the culmination of hard work which started in June 2020 when Harriet enrolled on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA). It was the second ‘lock-down’ cohort and therefore students had to adapt to multiple changes.

Following initial foundation training and after achieving independent patrol status (IPS) in January 2021, Harriet came under the tutelage of PC Chris Berke, a Professional Development Assessor.

Chris said: “Harriet’s operational work was always very good. She’s a good all-rounder. I nominated her for the Sussex Police Student of the Year, so I’m delighted she’s won this external award. It’s a fantastic achievement.

“Harriet’s management of time is exceptional, she’s receptive to developmental feedback and we had a great working relationship. She successfully juggled home life, study and work and has done really well. Harriet is a joy to work with. The perfect student.”

Harriet is currently a Response officer in Haywards Heath but her policing journey started in 2012 working in the property stores at Crawley. Harriet then moved to Operations Planning, gaining experience of coordinating large police operations and liaising with multiple departments to deliver policing support to football, large events such as Brighton Pride and Lewes Bonfire, and even arranging an overseas operation to provide support to the British Virgin Islands hurricane recovery efforts in 2017. Harriet’s former Inspector then inspired her to take the step to become an officer.

Harriet achieved a First Class degree after studying at the University of Cumbria – one of four higher education institutions that make up the Police Education Consortium (PEC), delivering the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA), Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP), and Detective DHEP schemes to new recruits at three police forces in the South East region: Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire.

Educating different waves of cohorts, the four universities – Cumbria, Portsmouth, Canterbury Christ Church and Middlesex – started to deliver the PCDA in 2019, expanding to include the DHEP and Detective DHEP.

Cumbria was the first university within the Police Education Consortium to deliver the Detective DHEP, led by experienced ex-detectives, now lecturers, who have been instrumental in shaping the curriculum and assessments.

Harriet said: “I hadn’t studied since school but I really enjoyed it. At the beginning we had to learn online due to Covid and it wasn’t always easy juggling study, work, and family life but the award was a nice surprise. I am honoured to be recognised with the award.

“Currently I enjoy being a Response officer alongside other secondary specialist roles such as a football officer. This means attending home and away matches for all Sussex teams, interacting with fans and building public confidence. I am Public Order trained and am looking forward to undertaking training to become a search officer. In the future, I look forward to studying for my sergeant’s exam.”

Harriet’s sergeant on Response, A/PS Ryan Oakley, said: “Harriet is a great officer, dedicated, and with a positive attitude – she goes the extra mile in everything she does. She is a delight to have on the team and a credit to Sussex Police.”