CRIMINALS in Worcester had better watch out because Katie Curtis is about!
After just 10 weeks on the job as a police officer, the 24-year-old has already set a new record for the number of arrests.
And it would seem not even drunken football fans or men wielding bottles and knives can stop PC Curtis in her line of duty. The Malvern-born officer has made an impressive 46 arrests in her first 10 weeks on the beat - a new record for South
Worcestershire Police.
She has had to face violence in her new job and said the most harrowing arrest was during the World Cup when she had glasses thrown at her.
She said: "Strangely, that was actually more alarming than two separate, incidents in which we disarmed two men, one with a bottle - who still came towards us despite CS spray being used on him a few minutes earlier - and one with a butterfly knife."
Luckily, PC Curtis, who is based at Castle Street police station, hates standing or sitting around and getting bored.
"I don't think that is ever going to happen when I'm on police duty because I can get out and deal with people in all sorts of situations," she said.
The former Chase High School pupil worked in the National Health Service before embarking on her police career.
She said: "Even there, I came face-to-face with violence - specifically when working as a receptionist in the Accident & Emergency Department at a hospital in Watford. We always carried panic alarms."
Her early arrests are now developing into court hearings and she is spending more time preparing for court dates.
She said: "Because of the nature of the job, there has to be a balance between the work on the street and the resultant judicial process."
PC Curtis made the 46 arrests during her training with mentor PC Pete Myatt, who says the new recruit is ready to go out on her own.
"It is not just about the number of arrests she has made, which is impressive enough in its own right," he said. "It is also about overall performance and her commitment to serving our communities."
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