AWARDS


proud I have done 18 years on the frontline because it is hard mentally and on the body. I’m going to continue to do my best with the 10 years I have left.” Night shifts are a normal part of a police officer’s career as they dedicate themselves to work around the clock 24/7, 365 days of the year to protect members of the public. But any shift worker knows how tricky it can be to recover and reset. David discussed the importance of


listening to your body to aid during these periods. He said: “I think everyone has their own tactics for dealing with recovering from a night shift and putting their body back in sync, but I just do what my body thinks at the time. If I wake up at two, I wake up at two, if I wake up at 10, then I wake up at 10. I don’t have a specific plan I just let my body tell me it needs an extra hour of sleep for instance.


“I think the hardest things with shifts, though, is when you get older is you go through life, so you have a partner and children. Having young children and doing this is hard because you’re constantly having to juggle the children and school.” At the time of the interview, David was coming up to a whopping total of 1500 arrests, with his record for a year being 174. His force revealed he is the most experienced response officer on this team and mentors a significant number of students and young service officers, sharing his techniques and processes and is always available for advice and support. All students are given shifts with David


at the start of their response journey and through their probation periods to learn “street skills” and develop their overall approach to response. He is seen as a role model across the wider local policing unit. On advice to new-in-


service officers, he said: “The best thing you can do is watch, soak it up, learn and don’t feel like you’re under any pressure to do something. “If my colleagues want


“I remember going to a job once where a man was missing from Thames Valley, 25 stone and six foot six, having a mental health breakdown”, he said. “He turned up at a farmhouse in Cheshire, took a woman hostage, cut the phone lines and was wielding a hunting knife and a Taser. We


“My biggest piece of advice is if you have a problem, put your hand up and say you need a bit of help. Don’t be ashamed because that help is out there and if you bottle it up things can play on your mind.”


to have a go at something but start tying up, I will naturally step in to help. I reassure them they have a safety net. “Everyone has got their own way of doing things though, so I would encourage them to watch how I do it then they can eventually find their own way of handling situations.” With such a lengthy career on the frontline, David has experienced many hairy and traumatic moments. He recalled the time where he responded to a missing person case.


were grappling with him for more than half an hour and only managed to safely detain him and get him the help he needed as he became tired, for his own safety and for the safety of the public.”


More than 14,500 officers were signed off work over the financial year 2023-24 due to stress, depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. David emphasised the importance of asking for help when the job takes its toll.


“You’re always going to have things you see that upset you and I would say if it’s gotten to the point where something is affecting you, you’re not sleeping, then ask for that help,” he explained. “I can understand how difficult it is to deal with traumatic scenes, especially if you’re relatively new to policing. Don’t be ashamed to say that’s affected you because it should, it’s how you then deal with it. “Mental health is a lot more understood now than when I first joined the service. I had frontline


shifts with big bad ex-squaddies, and it was seen as a weakness to say something was wrong.


“I have seen horrendous things. I have seen things that no human should see. My biggest piece of advice is if you have a problem, put your hand up and say you need a bit of help. Don’t be ashamed because that help is out there and if you bottle it up things can play on your mind.”


35 | POLICE | DECEMBER | 2024


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44