Police Constable Ellie Williams

When police officers helped her overcome being bullied at school, Ellie Williams knew she wanted to join the ranks herself.

Ellie struggled as a teenager during her studies because of the way she was treated and needed support. Officers who visited her school as part of their work with the community offered to speak to the people who were bullying her. From then, everything changed for Ellie, who is now 24, and she set her heart on becoming a police officer.  

She said: “I was being bullied in school and the police came in and helped me by mediating with the bullies. I thought - that’s the job for me, I want to help vulnerable people. Their presence at the school helped me out a lot.”

After leaving school, Ellie enrolled as a police cadet but eventually opted to follow her other passion in life – the performing arts – and was accepted at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA).

Ellie explained: “Being a police cadet gave me a great insight into the job but it was eating into my social life. I ended up going to LIPA but when Covid hit, I decided to follow my original dream of becoming a police officer. Without Covid, it could have been a very different story.” 

It certainly could have been, but LIPA’s loss is most definitely West Mercia’s gain as Ellie has now successfully completed her first 14 weeks of training as a student officer.

Along with 38 others, she is part of the Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) which is being run in partnership with Staffordshire University. The group were recently inspected by Chief Constable Pippa Mills before starting 20-week placements at stations across the force.

Ellie said: “It’s been hard and I've been excited, nervous and worried but I am going to have the best crack at it that I can.”

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