This week, some Lincolnshire Police officers and staff are sharing their stories of what the past 12 months has meant for them – both professionally and personally – as they have continued to work in their roles throughout a global pandemic.

Today two officers who work in the city centre will be sharing their stories. Here Police Constable James Boden talks about starting his training as an officer as lockdown began and his work since.

"Joining Leicestershire Police was the start of an exciting and challenging career change, as I had previously taught in secondary education for five years. My training began on 30 March 2020, one week after we entered the first national lockdown.

"I was apprehensive to begin with as we were instructed to train from home. This meant I was not able to share the full training experience first-hand with my cohort, as I initially had hoped. Needless to say, this made me feel resentful towards COVID given that it had been a long application process.

"From a personal point of view, it was difficult that I could not share the successes and struggles of training with my family and friends due to COVID restrictions, and of course, that no family members could attend my attestation. Following on from my training and going operational, I was initially nervous that I would feel under-prepared. I was also concerned that given the nature of my role, I had to be extra careful around family members when off-duty.

"However, to my surprise, much of training took place at the Force Headquarters, which gave me plenty of opportunity to get stuck in and to share experiences with my cohort, which relaxed my initial concerns. I felt I was able to learn at my own pace whilst working from home and quickly become independent which benefitted me once I was I was operational.

"Further to this, much of front line policing has adapted during COVID, which relaxed my initial concerns about putting my family at risk. Finally, I have contributed to the fight against COVID with my involvement in the enforcement of lockdown legislation to protect public health.

"This year has presented many challenges both personally and professionally, however, I feel that joining Leicestershire Police during COVID has provided me with a great foundation and left me well-equipped to tackle the challenges of post-COVID policing that undoubtedly lie ahead."