THE CHAIR ASKS Nick Ellis


“As a detective, you take that pressure home”


PFEW National Chair John Apter discussed topical issues in policing with two front line officers, Fed rep Nadia Rana, a busy detective sergeant on Leicestershire Police’s Crime and Intelligence Directorate, and DC Nick Ellis of North Wales Police.


John Apter (JA): Nick, I understand you started your working life as a journalist. How did you go from that into policing, and what has been your experience?


Nick Ellis (NE): “Before joining North Wales Police as a Special and then a Regular in 2008, I was a journalist covering black and hip-hop music and then worked on a local newspaper in Rhyl. In the black community where I came from, people who spoke to the police were viewed as “grasses,” and it wasn’t the done thing to join up. But when Stephen Lawrence was murdered, I realised he was exactly my age at the time and, given similar circumstances, it could have happened to me.


“There was a lot of animosity against police officers back then and I felt I wanted to do something to help change attitudes for the better. However, I have been called all sorts by individuals and all kinds of racist terms. Although I never, ever tolerated this, I came to expect, and anticipate, the abuse. I would recommend policing to anybody with a BAME background. Anyhow, I’ve never classed myself as a BAME police officer. I am a police officer.”


JA: Nadia, tell us about your policing journey. What inspired you to join and to become a Fed rep?


Nadia Rana (NR): I lived in a really deprived area and our family was routinely burgled loads of times. It was this background which led me towards being a police officer.


“Women from my community background were not expected to become police officers and were encouraged to play a more traditional role. It wasn’t accepted at the time. It was only after I met this bobby by chance and two children later when he thankfully pushed me towards applying.


“Due to his badgering, I turned up for a Force seminar six weeks after giving birth. I had caught the bug. Thanks to the Fed, I have met some incredibly supportive people, both as members and local and national reps. They started as strangers and have now become lifelong friends.”


JA: We don’t have enough detectives, and I have spoken to career detectives who are really questioning whether they want to stay in the role. Nadia, what do


you think the issue is, and what is your experience?


NR: As a detective, you are the main person dealing with a job and you take that pressure home. You have got that caseload, that victim, that suspect, and there’s nothing you can do to put that down, even momentarily, including on rest days or annual leave.


There aren’t enough detectives, and there isn’t enough experience out there anymore. I think that’s what brings the challenges - the amount of work we are having to do.


But, in saying all that, it is a brilliant world to work in. I want people to remember that – I think people should dip their toe in, look at what it is like, and decide whether they want to stay. Yes, it is challenging. Policing is challenging. Yes, we need more staff – sort it out John!


JA: Nick, you’re a detective in North Wales. What’s your experience and that of your colleagues?


NE: The issue is managing the workload, especially as we’re now coming through the pandemic. Things are picking back up again, and we are getting back to normality so it’s a lot busier. It’s about dealing with that and managing it.


JA: I want to talk about the officer uplift programme. I think everybody agrees that the 20,000 uplift to officer numbers should just be the start. Nick and Nadia, what would you like to see the Federation do to ensure those who come into policing really do represent our communities?


NR: Locally, we will do a lot of work with our communities, and forces are engaging with key individuals, but that can be completely buried with one bad media article. So, I would like the Federation to have our members’ backs and challenge what the media puts out there. We need to give people the real picture about what has happened and what our police officers are like. That one incident the media portrays, which is often wrong and doesn’t give the full picture, can completely diminish the good work we have done.


JA: I agree. One of my big frustrations is the whole issue of “trial by media”. Those snippets are put out on social media and our colleagues are vilified for it. I can challenge those individual cases all day long. Often during the pandemic, I was the only voice out there in the media supporting and defending our colleagues. Sometimes we are heard, and sometimes not. I’ll also raise things directly with the Home Secretary and Policing Minister and make formal complaints to the media when they have overstepped the mark.


I have also gone to the National Police Chiefs’ Council to ask chief officers to change their policy about releasing body-worn video to redress the balance. That policy has gone through but sadly not every force has adopted it.


NE: I echo what Nadia has said about the media. As a former journalist myself, I know


“I know first-hand how the media portrays ethnic minorities and how a spin can be put on a story to sell newspapers or magazines”


first-hand how the media portrays ethnic minorities and how a spin can be put on a story to sell newspapers or magazines. It needs to change from the grass roots really. The media needs to change its focus. The media needs to see portrayals of people are damaging and can lead to issues.


JA: Nadia, what are you doing in Leicestershire, and what can we do nationally, to encourage officers to become reps?


NR: Previously, PFEW had protected seats for women and under-represented groups. That has gone. I wanted to ask – is there any scope for that to come back? As much as myself and other Fed reps can go out within Leicestershire and try to encourage people from under-represented groups to put themselves forward, it’s a democratic process and they’ll need to be voted in. Is there anything that can be done to have these protected seats, so we can be representative within our Branch Councils? I know within Leicestershire we are, and our Fed reps are representative of our members. That might not be the case in other branches.


JA: PFEW went through a massive reform – rightly so in my view. As part of this process, the protected seats, as they were called, were done away with. There is still an element of protection for female colleagues and for black and Asian officers who stand. We’ve now got PFEW’s self-


22 I POLICE I AUGUST 2021


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