Story by: ADAM LAZZARI VISITORS to Tesco supermarket in March witnessed police investigating cases of robbery, shoplifting, petrol theft and theft from vehicles, all in just one day. However, it was not that there had suddenly been an unexpected crime sp

Story by: ADAM LAZZARI

VISITORS to Tesco supermarket in March witnessed police investigating cases of robbery, shoplifting, petrol theft and theft from vehicles, all in just one day.

However, it was not that there had suddenly been an unexpected crime spree at the store. It was in fact a training exercise to give 16 new recruits at Cambridgeshire Police their first taste of life on the beat through role-playing exercises.

The recruits had received five weeks of classroom training and are expected to be sent out on shifts within the next 10 weeks, working in March, Wisbech, Cambridge, Huntingdon and St Neots.

David Edwards, initial police learning and development programme trainer, said: "This gives the new recruits the chance to put their training into practise.

"Being a police officer can be a tough job and we want these guys to be well prepared - there is only so much they can learn in the classroom."

The new recruits were given four scenarios at the event on Tuesday last week: dealing with a suspected shoplifter, being called to reports of a man acting suspiciously looking in cars in the car park, dealing with a suspected robber and a case petrol theft from the garage.

They were assessed on their performances throughout the day.

New recruit Michael Grady said: "It's really good to be out, getting some hands on experience."

The training officers also studied the new recruits' physically positioned themselves.

Andy Morris, divisional training officer, said: "We want to make sure the officers take control of a situation, don't leave themselves in a vulnerable situation and make it home alive at the end of each day."

These training exercises have previously been carried out at various locations including Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge and Neale-Wade Community College, March.

Charles Parker, security team leader, at Tesco, March, said: "This is a good way for us to build a relationship with the police and help the community.

"We welcome paramedics, fire-fighters and all emergency services to use our facilities for their training.