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Fulbright award takes Lauren to New York City

by Eve Dugdale
6/ 8/2008

WATCHING NYPD Blue or CSI on television is as far as most people get to policing US-style.

But Lauren Collins, a training manager for Greater Manchester Police, will be jumping straight into the core of the Big Apple when she swaps Mossley for Manhattan.

The former Copley High School and Ashton Sixth Form pupil is the first GMP employee to win a scholarship with the Fulbright Police Research Fellowship.

Only two scholarships are awarded to members of British police forces each year and Lauren (pictured), 27, will be spending six months in New York gaining experience of American policing.

"I’m really excited. It’s mostly doctors and academics who get these scholarships so I was quite nervous at first, but I went to a reception at the American Embassy in London and I thought, if they can do it, so can I!" she said. "It’s a fantastic opportunity but it’s a massive responsibility because once I’ve finished my research I’ll be coming back and implementing my findings, not just within GMP but in all police forces in the UK."

Lauren, who works in the operational communications branch at GMP HQ, had to come up with a research proposal to undertake in the States.

With her experience, she felt communications failure during major incidents within the realm of call handling was an area she could research.

"I looked at the hurricane in New Orleans, big forest fires in San Francisco and the attacks on 9/11 and I thought, we don’t have huge hurricanes or massive forest fires — we have moor fires but they’re smaller — so I thought it would be most useful to look at 9/11," she said.

"I want to look at how communications has an impact on major incidents, see the improvements they’ve made over there."

But Lauren will be given some time to relax.

She added: "I’m staying in Upper Westside Manhattan and I’ll be there for bonfire night, Halloween, Thanksgiving — it should be great. I’ve been to California and down the West coast, Vegas etc, and I went to New York in January to have a look and see what I thought. I’m really excited to go back. I’ll be there for the presidential elections too."