Victoria Brown, 14, took refuge in watching programmes and listening to podcasts about true crime during treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. It fostered an ambition to work for the police and thanks to Wiltshire Police Major Crime Unit, Victoria became a Detective Superintendent - known as The Boss - for the day.  

Victoria led a painstaking mock investigation to find the culprit who had killed and then dumped a man’s body on farmland by going to the scene to take a statement from witnesses. 

• Then she detailed off her team of specialists to follow up on various leads like the vehicle registration number.
• She, her Mum Cathy and sisters Eleanor and Becky donned white paper suits and hair nets so they could comb the crime scene for evidence.
• Briefed the investigation team back at police HQ
• grilled the prime suspect in the custody suite interview rooms - twice!
• elicited a confession before finally charging him and reading him his rights!  

Afterwards, she was given a Chief Constable’s citation for being such a good cop and – back to reality – was whisked off for dinner with the rest of her family in a limo to celebrate her wish day! 

Victoria said: “It’s just been an amazing day. I loved it and definitely still want to be a detective.” 

Her Mum Cathy added: “The day was something that Victoria was really looking forward to because she knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Wiltshire Police went above and beyond to set up this whole scenario for Victoria and so many of the team were involved. It was incredibly realistic, and we can’t thank them or Make-A-Wish enough for making it all happen.” 

Make-A-Wish^(R) UK grants life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Since the charity was founded in the UK in 1986 it has granted almost 14,000 wishes - registered charity number: 295672/SC037479 

A wish is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a focus for children living with serious illnesses whose future may be uncertain. It's something imaginative and positive for children and young people to look forward to and gives them the chance to be a child first and a patient second – even for just a day. More children have turned to the charity to apply for wishes in recent months – 1400 in the past four months alone and the charity relies solely on donations. 

To make a donation to help a child experience their wish, or to find out more, please visit make-a-wish.org.uk or telephone 01276 405060.