I am T/DC Jake Pryce. I am 25 years old and did most of my growing up in south Norfolk, surrounded by tractors and farm animals.

My parents are British, but my dad’s parents are from Jamaica, so my heritage is half-British, half-Jamaican.

My dad is a scientist and my mum works for the NHS; they are both very supportive and proud that I am representing the Met Police.

I joined at the end of March 2020, right when the first COVID-19 lockdown began. I joined after watching the BBC series Bodyguard, and felt inspired to serve the public by the positive (albeit, quite dramatised) depiction of the police.

I have worked in Camden and Islington for around 18 months, investigating domestic abuse, as part of Public Protection.

Every day is different and I enjoy the challenge of dealing with new situations. It is also a great feeling to be helping those who are at their most vulnerable, having been betrayed by their partner or family.

Domestic abuse is so common that there is always important work to be done. Every situation is so unique that you have to look at the case with great care. It is not always about simply bringing offenders to justice - the victims are at the heart of what we do.

I would recommend joining the Met. It provides us the opportunity to help those who are in need, and to have our voices heard within the organisation.

My request to people who don’t trust the police is to please respect the decisions that the police make, even if you don’t agree with them. It is a difficult job and not everyone will be pleased with whatever outcome is made. Having that respect for the police makes the job a lot easier for everyone involved, including members of the public.

I am currently gathering evidence for my detective constable workbook, which is a challenging part of developing a career as a detectives. When the time is right, I see myself moving on to Specialist Crime to work in a Murder Investigation Team or with Trident tackling gun crime.

I love working in Camden and Islington and would really like to continue working here, even after I move roles.

There’s lots of places to go out, certainly more than in my early days with Covid restrictions in place. Just an evening in pub or bar with a pool table would be great - so that I can impress everyone with my potting skills.

I am Tufaek Ishaque, a 37-year-old British Bengali who was born and bred in Croydon.

My siblings are teachers, a librarian, a chef, a PA and a company director, and they sometimes wonder how I do this job. They definitely respect the fact that day in and day out I am trying to help people.

Before joining the police I worked for Sainsbury’s, including a stint as a baker.

I joined the Met in 2016 at a time when I thought the police had lost touch with the normal person. I didn’t feel like I was being represented in the police as a BAME Londoner.

I was sitting in the mosque one day and was listening to a lecturer before Friday prayers and the imam said we need to be in the roles of police, doctors and paramedics to be there to help as well as educate those already there. I knew that the police didn’t always have a good reputation and some people thought of them as being racist.

I wanted to change that – and change is better influenced from the inside.

I have worked in Camden and Islington as a police constable for six years. I am now a Tutor Constable on street duties.

The best thing about being a tutor constable is being able to instil confidence in new recruits and seeing the difference as they progress within the course.

I am in a great place to influence the new PCs coming through to see more than just what is in front of them. Camden and Islington are made up of so many different cultures, religions and communities and the right approach is often the key to a positive outcome. I can show the new generation how to have those approaches from the start.

In my job I see the best and worst of London, but the important thing is being there to try to put things right. You wear so many different hats in a day in terms of what you are dealing with and your approach to the different calls.

I recommend the job to everyone who is willing or wanting to help somebody else. I meet a huge variety of people and work with great people. The biggest challenge is in wondering if you have done enough when you clock off and you’ve just been with a victim who is terrified.

To people from my background who don't trust the Met and want to see it better, my message is as simple as this: be the change you want to see.

I am Michael O’Grady. I am a 55-year-old Irish Londoner.

I have lived or worked in the two boroughs that make up the Met’s Central North area, Camden and Islington, since June 2002.

I joined the Met in December 2011 because I wanted to make a difference.

My role helps me to make that difference. I work as a Street Population Engagement Officer on Camden borough.

I’d recommend my job for people thinking about a career in policing. The variety of work that I deal with every day is an upside, and so is working with some great partner agencies.

There are challenges, of course, with ever ongoing issues that the Street Population Community presents.

Camden is the second busiest borough or area for rough sleeping and associated street population anti-social behaviour not just in London but in the whole of the United Kingdom.

Among the consequences of that is an impact on specific communities within the borough, and I will continue working with partners to try to reduce that impact.

I am Georg Herbert and I work with the Serious Sexual Offences Team within Public Protection at Holborn police station.

I grew up in the Alexandra Palace area. Dad was a builder, Mum was a secretary but became Police Staff in 1992. Dad was massively proud and Mum still is.

I joined the Met in November 1991, age 17 and straight out of school. As I was too young to become an officer, I served 10 years in a civilian role, which led to being a Diversity Recruitment Manager.

I always wanted to be a cop though, and on becoming a police officer I have been based in Camden and Islington since 2002. I haven’t left and probably will not leave this area.

I work as a Specialist Sexual Offences Officer, having undergone extensive training in sexual offense investigative techniques.

I love what I do and in particularly I love working with victims of crime. Those are the positives. The challenges are the occasional sleepless night, and I am always concerned about the potential for ‘compassion fatigue’.

I would absolutely recommend joining the Met. To those who insist that they don’t trust us, I would say that you’re entitled to your opinion, but I would really like you to get to know more about us.

The next big step for me may be retirement or switching to a civilian investigator role. But the most important thing is to keep the Central North team as the best performing Sexual Offences Team in London. Let’s keep the momentum going…

If you asked me where I’d like to be tonight then one of the music venues on our patch would be perfect. Let’s say Duran Duran at Kentish Town Forum. I’d happy to do special police backstage security work for that one!

“I am Costas Ioannou, a Safer Neigbourhoods officers based in Camden.

“I am Cypriot born and moved to London from a village called Dherynia, Cyprus. I am 66 years old and although I am a British citizen, I identify myself as Cypriot.

“I joined the Met as a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) in January 2003. I’d had my own business for 13 years, and while waiting for the sale to go through I was wondering what I would do next. I saw an advert promoting the role of PCSO, I thought that it would interesting work and I applied.

"I have worked in Camden since then – fast approaching twenty years – and I had lived in Camden for a couple of years too. Camden has always been a borough close to my heart ever since I arrived in the UK. Most of my community started their migration within Camden, starting from around Mortimer Street and Goodge Street, with the women working in sweatshops and the men in restaurants or hotel kitchens.

"I am a PCSO on the Haverstock Ward. No two days are the same. The biggest challenge is explaining to community members who seek police help that we can’t always provide exactly what they expect. Where we can’t help directly we try to provide the right information, for instance it may be a local authority issue.

"I always recommend this organisation to people, whether from the Cypriot community or just discussing careers more widely.

"If I was a young man in my twenties I would apply to join as a police constable, where one has the opportunity to apply to a multitude of units. For me, I have around a year to serve before retirement, which is something I am not looking forward too.

"I frequently find myself telling people that the Met has changed from the organisation you see described in negative press reports. If any individual is anti-police the naturally whatever you say they would disbelieve. But I try and convince them that we are an unbiased organisation whether we’re talking about faith, gender or cultures.

"The big challenges for us all within the Met are to eradicate knife crime and ensure that all women and girls can go about their lives without fear. Also gangs and ‘county lines’ are a concern, in particular the way they’re using social media which is problem for society.

"If you offer me a night out in Camden right now, then I think I’d say that I’d ideally rather a night out in Cyprus! But if that’s not possible then one of the good Greek restaurants that we have in the area would be just fine."

"I am Shameem Ahmed Ali. I’m a 43-year-old British Bangladeshi Muslim and I work as a police community support officer, specifically assigned as a dedicated ward officer in Kilburn.

"I am from a large family of three brothers and three sisters. All my sisters work in early years education. One of my brothers is an engineer with British Gas and the other brother works for a Housing Association as a project manager. All my siblings are happy that I work for the Metropolitan Police Service, they are pleased that I work in an environment where I am helping people especially people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

"I joined the Met in October 2002, I genuinely wanted to make a difference to the lives of people in London. I have worked in Camden since 2008.

"One of the challenges is trying to maintain public confidence in the Met, especially within certain communities. However when you build a positive relationship with hard to reach communities or those who had previous negative experiences it is the most rewarding aspect of this job.

"Working with people and knowing that I am making a positive difference for the community is what my team and I are all about.

"I would definitely recommend a career in The Met Police for someone from my background.

"I am living proof, after nearly 20 years in the organisation, that someone like me can have a long and rewarding career in The Met. This is the right job for me, as I enjoy being close to the local community.

"I have not experienced any form of discriminatory behaviour towards me in my time at The Met Police. If people don’t trust us, just look at the modern Met. You can clearly see that a lot of people from all of London’s communities are working here. If they did not trust the organisation they simply would not work for the Met.

"I would also encourage them to see if they can go on a ride along with police and to get genuine experience of how we work.

"Obviously the recent issues with Violence Against Women and Girls have been on the minds of our communities in Kilburn. To regain trust I have gone on walkabouts with women’s group in Kilburn to listen to their concerns and address them.

"Away from work, if you gave me the choice of spending an evening anywhere on the Met’s Central North Command patch, there’d only be one answer. Although it’s looking tight at the top of the Premier League, I would love to go and watch Arsenal play at The Emirates on a Champions League night."

"I am Nicky O'Hara. I joined the Met as a community support officer in 2009 when I was around 20 years old. I became a PC just before the 2012 Olympics, and that really was my dream come true. I might not have got a gold medal like Jessica Ennis but it was still a big year for me!

"Both of my parents were born and raised in Watford and I too have lived my whole life just north of London. My mum works for the NHS and my Dad is a delivery driver, both are hard-working and super proud of me. They love watching all the police shows on TV to get an insight into the policing world.

"I joined at such a young age because I really wanted a job where I could help people. The thought of helping someone when they are in need really is the most rewarding thing.

"Camden has been my patch for around ten years now. I love working in the borough as it’s so interesting and diverse.

"I initially joined the Bloomsbury Town Centre Team. This role was a mixture of day and night shifts, including tackling organised crime networks and policing the night-time economy. My current role is Acting Sergeant for the Highgate and Hampstead Town wards.

"My favourite part of the job is the long term problem solving. Sometimes you need to think outside of the box, try new things and work alongside partner agencies. When you can solve an issue that has been ongoing for potentially years, it’s so rewarding. You can literally change someone’s quality of life by the hard work you put in.

"Of course, there are challenges. At the moment there is a frequent turnaround of new staff on Safer Neighbourhoods Teams, which can make it tricky to have consistency on the wards. Residents want to know their local officer ‘on the beat’ but if those officers change too frequently it can be difficult for the residents to feel like they know who we are.

"I would definitely recommend a career in the Met to any women looking for a job like no other. There are so many opportunities within the police, no two days are the same and you can really make a difference in someone’s life when they are most in need.

"I have just passed my sergeants promotion process, so I will be posted as a substantive sergeant in the near future. I hope in my new post I can continue to make a positive impact within the community.

"It can be tough, and balancing family life and looking after young children with a job in policing is challenging. As so many other people found, the Covid lockdowns and home-schooling were hard, but there was support from the Met alongside the demands for resilience that Londoners expect from their police force.

"Recent news has highlighted dangers that women can face. I understand that some women may feel that the police have let them down, but my honest experience is that the Met officers I’ve worked with have just wanted to help people. These are hard-working men and women on the street and behind the scenes doing their best to keep everyone safe."

“I am Abdul Kamara, a police constable in the Met. I work as a Safer Schools officer in Islington.

“My parents moved from Sierra Leone when I was a child. I spend the later part of my childhood in London, attending secondary school in Lambeth.

“The vast majority of my family are happy that I’m working in the Met, They can see how much I get out of my work. But there are one or two who are concerned due to encounters they’ve had with police in the past. That shows how important it is to work hard to minimise those problems and misunderstandings

“I joined the Met in 2017. As a child, I actually always wanted to be a police officer. I think I was influenced by crime programmes on TV, and that led to me studying criminology with sociology at university. The head lecturer was a former officer who was a brilliant guy; he really inspired me and coached me so that I was determined to join and knew I could do the job.

“My first posting was to Islington, which coming from Lambeth is still something people comment on. Being born 4,000 miles away in West Africa is one thing, but sneaking over the Thames is something else!

“I work as a Safe Schools officer, based at an Islington secondary school. My role also covers quite a few local primary schools. There’s so much that police can achieve by engaging with young people, helping them to understand what behaviour is and isn’t acceptable under the law and to society in general. It’s important work.

“You get a lot of engagement time with young people. I talk with them one-to-one a lot of the time, and it’s very rewarding when you make such an impact in the lives of young people.

“Stop and search is something that we discuss, and I talk about the thought process of the officers. I’ve been stopped by police myself, just a couple of weeks after starting as a PC, but I was still shaking. It’s really important to have conversations, and to explain that the aim is to find weapons or drugs and to do what’s needed to keep people’s communities, their friends and their families safe.

“The biggest challenge is the trust factor. It takes a while to pierce through that misconception about police always treating people unfairly. A lot of students may want to ignore me and even with teachers the trust isn’t something that you can take for granted.

“In the beginning there was hard work to be done. But you work at it and, having been in the role for longer, they’re now coming to me for advice.

“I’d absolutely recommend the job to anyone, and especially to Londoners of any background.

“That’s not just something I say. I do recommend joining the Met to friends and they really have joined. I have a sales background so maybe I’m just very good at persuading people…

“I usually point out the key benefits are that it’s rewarding work that makes a difference but also it is a career with great opportunities. And to anyone who is uncertain about the institution, well you can’t change a system being on the outside criticising. You need to make some attempt to see what it’s like and see what part there is for you.

“My aim for the next few years is to build my experience and skills in different roles. The work is so varied and it’s important to experience a good range of police work. In the next few years there’ll definitely be more and more use of technology so that’s something I want to stay on top of.

“Being based in a school, I don’t see quite so much of Camden and Islington as officers who are out on patrol, but I really like my area. Friday nights with a few colleagues at a pub in Upper Street or Chapel Market are something to look forward to. I get weekends off too, which helps a lot!”

“I am PC Neil Abbott, a police constable in the Met. I am a dedicated ward officer for Clerkenwell Ward.

“I was born in North London and I am British; my family are Londoners including Jewish heritage. I spent most of my youth in Camden’s clubs and I have worked in Islington for sixteen years, but can’t afford to live in either borough…

“When my youngest brother was very young, the first thing he said when he heard I was joining the police was “Hmmm, you’re going to get shot.” Long may he be wrong on that one. My family are generally proud of what I do – but I think people get most of their ideas about police officers from movies.

“I joined the police because I was turning into the sort of person who was complaining about troubles in society but not doing much other than complain. I was already a teacher and it seemed like a natural progression to become a police officer and put my money where my mouth was and do something about crime and deterring people from going into harmful ways of life.

“I have always been on the frontline of policing as it seems to be what the public generally appreciate seeing. If you go for a stroll you regularly find a problem no one knew about before.

“I enjoy the variety of work and the dedication of my colleagues. At its best the Met pulls together people from all walks of life and gets great results for the community they serve. Society forms the Met and all our institutions. The Met is not populated with aliens – it is full of people that are at heart like you and me – just trying to make society better wherever we come from.

“Although there is never enough time, and what we are expected to deal with is added to again and again, I would recommend becoming a police officer. Challenge and surprise yourself!

"It is a completely unique role – detective, bouncer, social worker, lawyer and occasionally street cleaner. Sometimes all in the same day.

“The biggest challenge is young people in gangs throwing away their lives – and sometimes those of others. I see it as the biggest problem for both boroughs and it generates suffering and crime. Taking part in deterring people from this dangerous lifestyle is time well spent.

“When my shift is finished, I’d ideally like to go back in time to the old Camden Palace. But, since that’s not possible, I’ll settle for a walk around Belsize Park and the Heath, a few drinks around Upper Street and end up in La Divina for something fresh and garlicy.”