Essex Police have officially welcomed 59 new officers who proudly “passed out” their intense training today.

Officers pledged their commitment to protecting residents during a special ceremony at the county’s headquarters in Chelmsford following an 18-week course.

Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills, Assistant Chief Constable Andy Prophet, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst and Essex County Council Chairman Councillor John Jowers welcomed the new members into the force.

Ma’am Mills thanked the officers for all their hard work during their training at Essex Police College and wished them well in their future roles.

Addressing the group, she said: “I want to welcome and congratulate our amazing police constables.

“As an officer you will be asked to do three things; help people, keep them safe and catch criminals. I look forward to hearing the stories about you doing just that.”

A display of the newly licenced dog handlers and their dogs were also congratulated during the day’s celebrations.

PC Tony Mayo with PD Astra, PC Ian Patterson with PD Zane and Sgt Trevor Edhouse with PD Goose proudly took part in ceremony.

During their training, the officers were split into three intakes and each held fundraising events as part of their training course to become police constables.

Intake J1 chose the Mid-Essex Health Trust Robotic Surgery Appeal and raised £2,413 and presented the cheque to a representative of the charity.

Intake J2 chose to raise money for The Brain Tumour Charity who raised £1,648 and presented the cheque to a charity representative.

Intake J3 chose the Royal Brompton Hospital in honour of an Essex Police officer who sadly passed away last year, raising a total of £1,381.

PC Amelia Morris was awarded the Essex Police College Shield and PC John Parkin, PC Scott James and PC Steven Tissier won the ‘Class Trophy’ for each of their intakes.

Essex Police are currently recruiting for their next group of police officers. To find out more, visit www.essex.police.uk/fitthebill