Fresh Cops: 'We see so much hatred and it's generally on social media'

Working on the Response Unit, he could be out in town on a Saturday night and see a drunken attack - but with CCTV and witnesses, the case is resolved quickly.

"I love any sort of job where you've got a victim who's genuinely happy," he says.

Jake, who joined the force in 2020, is one of the young officers featured in BBC Three's Fresh Cops, following Leicestershire Police's team as they tackle everything from stop and searches to sudden deaths.

Day to day, Jake deals with break-ins, drunk-and-disorderly suspects and thefts. In one incident, he was called to a scene to investigate reports of a woman wielding a knife.

Jake says he loves the adrenaline-filled side of the role, like being called upon to chase a suspect on foot or turning up to a scene and spotting a burglary in progress.

Until recently, he worked on the Child Exploitation Unit, where he handled cases involving county lines and child sexual exploitation.

It was tough dealing with "such horrendous crimes and horrendous people," he says. As a coping mechanism, he became "numb to any sort of emotion" at work.

And the child exploitation cases he worked on would often take years to resolve because of how legally complex they are.

'Strained' relationship between police and public

The Chief Inspector of Constabulary has warned time is running out if the police and the government are to restore public trust in policing.

In a report of policing in England and Wales, Andy Cooke said police forces were experiencing "one of their biggest crises in living memory", with police failing to keep up with rising demand from the public and too often not doing the basics right.

"I can't recall a time when the relationship between the police and the public was more strained than it is now," Mr Cooke said.

Jake says he struggles with the public perception of the police.

"We see so much hatred, and it's generally on social media," he says. "You get the occasional bit in person, but it's a lot less."

He says he finds it "challenging" because in real life he feels as if people don't hate the police.

"I almost just want to say, 'I wish you could see what we do day to day because we are not bad. We're good.'

"And we go out every day to help people."

'I wanted to show people I am capable'

While Jake has now been a police officer for nearly four years, PC Philippa Blakely is newer to the force.

"There's a lot of pressure, as people often come to you in their moment of need and want my advice," she says. "They're not seeing the fact I'm 23, they're seeing me as a police officer."

Being a police officer has "opened her eyes" a lot, she says. "I've seen a lot of things on the job that most people my age haven't."

From aggressive suspects to domestic violence victims, Philippa has already had to navigate dangerous situations.

But, she says, "when you put that uniform on, you really feel like you can tackle anything. My mind goes to: what do I need to do to sort this situation out?"

And Philippa is keen for people to expand their image of what a police officer looks like.

"Something I feel is really empowering is being a female in what people [think of] as quite a male-oriented career," she says.

"I wanted to… show people that I am as capable as my male counterparts."

While she might be physically smaller than her male colleagues, she says "there are qualities I have that make me a good officer, that other people don’t have". 

"A lot of the people I work with now are young females like myself, and they really inspire me as well, because they're really strong characters."

Fresh Cops series two is available on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three.