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We're celebrating the unsung heroes of North Yorkshire Police.
This week forces across the UK are coming together to honour the contribution made by police staff.
Launched by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), with support from the College of Policing, the first ever Police Staff Week of Celebration and Recognition hopes to shine a spotlight on the individuals who play an important role within the policing family.
As part of the week, forces will be celebrating the contribution made by those working across all areas of policing – including call handlers, crime scene investigators, PCSOs, as well as those who manage sex offenders in the community, analysts, fleet, finance and more.
It is also hoped the recognition will encourage other professionals to consider a future in policing.
As part of the National Week of Recognition and Celebration of Police Staff we’ve interviewed colleagues from North Yorkshire Police, you can read their interviews below.
Speaking about the week of recognition, Acting Chief Constable Elliot Foskett said:
“A lot of people often think police officers, ‘blues-and-twos’ and detective-work when they think of a career in the police. But many people don’t realise that behind-the-scenes, there are hundreds of dedicated staff working 24/7 within North Yorkshire Police to keep the force operating in the best way it can.
“From bolstering our efforts against criminal activity through investigative work, keeping our police vehicles on the road, and our technology continuously improving, ensuring we have the right people in the right place at the right time to keep our communities safe, and so much more - the crucial role played by our police staff is often overlooked.
“This week is dedicated to honouring their indispensable contributions and highlighting the diversity of career opportunities within our policing family. We’re joining police forces across the country to say thank you and highlight the vital role they play.
“Whether officers, staff, or volunteers, we unite as one to serve and protect our communities. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to each and every member for their invaluable service."
Commenting on the week, UNISON’s Assistant Branch Secretary Emma Newell said:
“Police Staff are vital to North Yorkshire Police, policing cannot function without police staff who bring a wealth of experience and are specialists within their roles.
“Police staff are dedicated, knowledgeable, skilful, and vital for the success of North Yorkshire Police.
UNISON would like to thank all police staff for their hard work and dedication to policing in our communities.”
NPCC Chair, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, welcomed the week of celebration and praised the contribution of police staff.
“The role that staff play across UK Policing is not widely understood and deserves higher profile. Police staff are at the front line answering emergency calls, keeping detainees safe and helping to progress investigations in our custody and investigation centres, and informing and educating our communities.
“Police staff lead and run critical national services, work across governments to ensure the policing business functions effectively, develop new technologies and keep us ahead of criminality by carrying out so many investigative and evidence gathering functions.
“This week is all about recognising that vital contribution and showing the public that police staff, just like officers, play an important role in policing, keeping communities safe and contribute to effective justice. There are so many exciting career opportunities.
“Our policing family is diverse and is made up of officers, staff and volunteers and the public should know that when they need us, we come together, serving as one to help.
“I’d personally like to thank each and every staff member and volunteer for the huge role they play.”
Fergus Johnston, Strategic Resource and Future Planning Manager
In one or two sentences could you sum up what your role is?
The job is to co-ordinate the deployment of force resources across the commands and to support frontline policing operations, including events and operations. It’s a lot around planning for what we know and making sure we can cope with the stuff we don’t know about when it lands on us.
How did you get into your current role? – what is your background?
I left the Navy and started working for the police in 1996 as a Comms Operator in Lancaster – I worked for Lancashire Police for 22 years in Force Control, ending up as the Operations Support Manager, before moving over to North Yorkshire. I was ready for a change and when I saw this role advertised, I decided to go for it and haven’t looked back since.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I am normally logged on for 8am to respond to emails and enquiries and then look towards the Force Daily Management Meeting at 9am, where I will contribute our force resource levels for the next 24 hours. There will generally be meetings at different times of the day, after that and any spare time in between, is taken up with more emails and planning work. Sometimes it’s chaos and sometimes it’s calm – it just depends what’s going on in the force! I tend to go to lots of force meetings as nearly all of them will require some kind of resource discussion at some point. Resourcing is challenging – there is always a “to do” list – and the Resource Management Unit (RMU) get through a huge amount of unseen work in the background to keep things ticking over.
What is the best part of your role?
I love it when we are running large scale operations where there is an opportunity to attend the briefings and speak to the operational officers taking part. I always learn loads from being there and talking to officers. I can sometimes answer some of the common gripes and complaints at the same time – it’s a great chance to engage and get to know people.
Is there any career advice you’ve been given that’s really stayed with you?
I remember working for a chief superintendent in Lancashire Force Control who instilled in me the need to speak up, regardless of rank or organisational direction, if I felt that proposals or plans were wrong - that stayed with me to this day! She always insisted I give an honest view on the direction we were taking but, with the proviso I came with an alternative. It’s not always easy but it’s really important to give a view, even if it might be unpopular, and speak up if you feel strongly about something important.
Have you any advice for anyone wanting to come into a police staff role?
Police staff roles are many and varied and you would be surprised by the amount of knowledge and skill that you pick up as you go along in pretty much any police staff role. Make the most of the opportunities you get and don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone for a new role or challenge.
Are you a different person at work than at home?
Completely – this role requires the ability to prioritise and be organised – at home I have been known to turn up at Sainsbury’s in my slippers trying to remember what on earth I went there for – my wife is often exasperated with my disorganisation at home!
What’s one misconception you often hear about working in the police (as a police staff member)?
We often talk of people becoming police officers as a calling and having a strong desire to carry out a public service, I think there is no less of a calling for police staff who also feel that strong connection and desire to undertake a public service, no matter what role they undertake. I am very proud to work for North Yorkshire Police and of the public service that my team and I undertake for the people of North Yorkshire.
What’s one thing you’ve done in this role that you’re really proud of?
When the covid pandemic really took off we were tasked with setting up the contact tracing team and then sorting the testing centres and kits etc. The contact tracing team did an amazing job of keeping our workforce safe during very uncertain times, and we were then one of very few forces to be able to set up the in-house test centres before all the testing became home based. These were challenging tasks which we delivered on, and I am really proud of what the team and I achieved.
Is there anything else you’d like to cover/share/give an insight to?
I suffer from permanent hearing loss having been injured whilst serving in the Navy – without knowing it I learned to lip read quite successfully for years before I was properly diagnosed. This is something that can be really useful on Teams meetings as when people mute their microphone but carry on speaking on camera, I sometimes learn things I don’t think I was supposed to be party to!
Fergus Johnston
Sally Goodeve, Firearms and Explosives Licensing Team Leader
In one or two sentences could you sum up what your role is?
I manage the administration team in the Firearms Licensing Department, the role involves overseeing the issuing of certificates, monitoring incidents involving certificate holders and managing the responses to these. I organise the seizure of weapons from certificate holders who are deemed high risk due to health problems or criminal investigations, risk assess applicants for the grant of certificates and review process and procedure in the office.
How did you get into your current role? – what is your background?
I started in the department 17 years ago as the Post Desk Clerk and worked in that role for two years before being trained as an administration officer. I quickly developed knowledge in firearms and shot guns and started taking on team leader responsibility for annual leave and sickness. In October 2021 I was appointed Team Leader.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I start the day by reviewing the list of expired certificates and contact the certificate holders checking their weapons have been lodged or disposed of. I then review Daily Activity File (DAF) reports, checking for any hits for our certificate holders – this is a record of our certificate holders that have possibly been arrested in other force areas. I then deal with any work for a higher level and cover/help the new Inspector with the incident tasks.
What is the best part of your role?
Delivering a service which in October 2023 was ranked in the top five for Firearms Licensing and even though short staffed maintaining a high level of customer service to keep our stats within the top set of the country.
What’s your career highlight?
Winning the Chief’s Commendation for the work I did during COVID, we were one of the only forces to continue to accept and process grants during this. As our priority was still to do renewals and not let certificate holders fall into unlawful possession, I set up a system where security checks could still be carried out. The three of us won personal commendations, and the team was awarded a commendation too.
What’s the hardest challenge in your role?
One of the most difficult challenges arises when a certificate holder has either been arrested, or involved in a domestic incident, and their weapons and certificates have not been seized. This is a challenge because it is something that needs to happen as a priority, so it requires assigning additional tasks to my team and often involves cancelling pre-arranged appointments to accommodate this.
Sally Goodeve
Sheena Stone, MAPPA Administration Officer
In one or two sentences could you sum up what your role is?
I’m employed jointly by North Yorkshire Police and the Probation Service, providing support to both, through MAPPA. MAPPA is Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements for management of sexual and violent offenders. I have access to systems for both organisations and my responsibilities include sharing and recording information from/to the MAPPA Responsible Agencies which are Police, Probation and Prison as well as MAPPA Duty to Co-operate (DTC) Agencies to inform the risk assessments. There are a number of Duty to Co-operate Agencies, such as NHS England, local housing authority and social services.
How did you get into your current role? – what is your background?
Purely by accident. I was working in a payroll department in the private sector and applied for a job as a secretary with the Probation Service. This role included providing support to the MAPPA process and MAPPA meetings so when the joint Police & Probation Public Protection Unit was formed in 2005 it was a natural progression to become a MAPPA Administration Officer.
What is the best part of your role?
The variation of tasks, dealing with such a variety of different agencies and the amazing supportive team I work with. It never gets boring!
Is there any career advice you’ve been given that’s really stayed with you?
If you are unhappy in your work change it! You'll never be successful doing something you don’t enjoy. That’s how I ended up in this role and I’ve been very lucky that for the past 18+ years I have been happy with my role and continue to thoroughly enjoy my job.
Have you any advice for anyone wanting to come into a police staff role?
Don’t just think it’s going to be a boring ‘admin’ job or that your role won’t be as important as that of a police officer. It is anything but boring and without police staff the organisation could not function. You will make a difference!
Are you a different person at work than at home?
At work I am apparently efficient, knowledgeable, helpful, confident, organised, and forthright (some say bossy). At home I’m probably mostly the same, maybe a bit more forthright 😊
What’s the hardest challenge in your role?
The workload can sometimes seem overwhelming and the content of the material we deal with can sometimes be very traumatic, but I work with an amazing team who are always available with a listening ear and ready to have a laugh and a joke and keep things in perspective.
Dave Brown, Assets & Logistic Support Supervisor
In one or two sentences could you sum up what your role is?
I supervise 14 staff and a handful of volunteers, together we ensure the safety, cleanliness, maintenance and repair of all police stations and associated buildings, including the responsibility of being key holder and to provide a logistic service delivery across NYP & NYFRS force areas.
How did you get into your current role? – what is your background?
I started working at NYP in 2002 as a fleet workshop storekeeper and progressed to supervisor. I then transferred to the force clothing store in 2008 as storekeeper and progressed to supervisor. In 2016, I transferred to my current role as Logistic Support Supervisor.
What does a typical day look like for you?
To support business area functions, to maintain service delivery elements across the force wide area serving both NYP & NYFRS geographical areas, which means the tasks I do are very varied day to day. One day I could be keeping the outside grounds clean or gritting paths and carparks to then be transporting force mail, uniform, equipment, furniture or police vehicles. The next day I could be helping deliver and return exhibits to court, securely moving exhibits involved in crime to testing and calibrating our breathalyser kits. I also sort out office moves and setting up of meeting rooms, including setting up the rooms for our student officer passing out parades.
What is the best part of your role?
Satisfaction in my role when meeting deadlines that ultimately support the Business and Operational policing model and provide the service to the public.
Is there any career advice you’ve been given that’s really stayed with you?
Advice given to me as I can remember, was not to over promise and under deliver, as operational policing is achieved by meeting set targets and deadlines with a customer and stakeholder focused led approach.
Have you any advice for anyone wanting to come into a police staff role?
It would be for anybody to be proud and passionate in any role held that supports blue light service delivery to the public. It is not only the efforts of one individual that makes a difference, it is a collective support from many departments and staff.
Are you a different person at work than at home?
I try to be consistent with a focused approach in and outside of the working environment.
What’s one misconception you often hear about working in the police (as a police staff member)?
The general public sometimes don’t realise the unseen supporting functions and departments that make NYP the great organisation it is.
What’s your career highlight?
Being chosen by the chief constable to represent NYP at the Queen’s platinum jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace, as a reward for all my support to operational policing. This is a memory I will treasure for the rest of my life.
What’s one thing you’ve done in this role that you’re really proud of?
I spent 12 hours improving the appearance of the outside area of HQ including the memorial garden and general areas in preparation for the visit by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson & Home secretary Priti Patel and receiving special thanks from the Chief Constable for my efforts.
What’s the hardest challenge in your role?
Trying to carry out my role in supporting operational policing with a limited amount of resource given the substantial workload and logistics covering the full geographical area of North Yorkshire.
Dave Brown
Beth Southern, Intelligence Development Officer
In one or two sentences could you sum up what your role is?
I’m an Intelligence Development Officer within the ANPR Hub (Automated Number Plate Recognition) in the FCR. I do the analytical and intelligence work around anything in relation to vehicles that affects our force. Involving both live time incidents and also slow time investigations/operations. That could be identifying a suspect vehicle involved in a kidnap that has just taken place, or working on an investigation that can span across months.
How did you get into your current role? – what is your background?
I originally planned to go into the Crime Scene Investigation world as that’s what I studied at university. But ultimately, I realised that my passion was more for the intelligence and research side of things; I joined NYP 10 years ago now and have been in the ANPR Hub for nine of those. Overall, it’s definitely much warmer in a nice office so I think I made the right choice!
What does a typical day look like for you?
A lot of what I do is proactively responding to live time incidents, or enquiries coming into the ANPR Hub itself, every day can be different. I’ll usually look into anything that has happened overnight that might be worth some digging in to, and look at live time incidents occurring across the force. As well as proactively look into if there are any ongoing investigations that I can help with. We do also have a lot of admin work that needs carrying out on a daily basis as well.
What is the best part of your role?
I think for me, it’s that satisfaction I get when I find a suspect vehicle. Some of the enquiries we get can be headed up with ‘I know this is a longshot...’ and when I’m then able to find them the answer and they can then take that away and make further enquiries or even arrest the suspects based on what I have found. It’s such a personal high to know that I’ve helped in some way. Some of the jobs that I work on can involve very vulnerable victims, and so knowing that I have helped them really does make it all worth it.
Is there any career advice you’ve been given that’s really stayed with you?
To be fair I’ve had a lot of good advice over the past 10 years! I’ve always struggled with not taking work “home” with me, and sometimes I can let it affect me too much. I was given a piece of advice that you don’t always have to be the best, and there isn’t always an answer to everything. As long as you keep coming back in and trying, that’s sometimes all you can do, and to take the wins when you get them. That one has definitely stuck with me.
Have you any advice for anyone wanting to come into a police staff role?
I’d just say if you’re thinking about it, then do it! It can be so rewarding; I don’t think that people know enough about all of the different kinds of police staff roles there are. You really can make a difference, and honestly, it’s such an interesting arena.
Are you a different person at work than at home?
I think my friends and family would say I’m definitely the same. I wear my heart on my sleeve with all things and can be quite obsessive! But I like to think that’s what makes me good at what I do.
What’s one misconception you often hear about working in the police (as a police staff member)?
I think sometimes the importance of police staff is lost to the public. Not much is known about all the different roles we cover and areas that we work in. Some roles do get publicised but a lot of the back-office research work, you don’t hear about. Every member of staff I’ve worked with or met has all had the same mindset and passion about the job, one thing I would say is that we all care, it’s why we joined the Police.
What’s your career highlight?
This one is really difficult as I’ve been very lucky to work on a lot of different investigations over the years. I think the most impactful one would have to be when I worked on a stranger sexual assault investigation a couple of years ago. The entire team just went above and beyond on it, we literally had very little to go on, but we all just spent ages searching every possibility and ultimately my role was that I identified the suspect vehicle and nominal involved. The team then took that and ran with it, and we got an amazing result at Court as well. I think it’s stuck with me because of the victim impact? Luckily stranger sexual assaults are very rare, but the effect they have on the victim is astronomical. To know that I helped that victim potentially feel safe to go outside again and live their normal life has given me a massive amount of pride.
What’s one thing you’ve done in this role that you’re really proud of?
I wouldn’t say it’s specifically ‘one thing’ but I’m very proud of the fact that we’re able to make a difference in the ANPR Hub. The entire unit is so hard working, and everyone really does go above and beyond every day. I’m proud of every result we get, every vehicle that is identified, every arrest, and every victim that feels a little bit safer. I think ANPR can sometimes just be seen in the media as something that is used as a ‘big brother’ tool, but it’s the complete opposite.
Is there anything else you’d like to cover/share/give an insight to
I’m incredibly grateful that I’ve been selected to give an insight into what I do, although not 100% sure I’m the most deserving. I think it’s an absolute amazing idea to celebrate and recognise our police staff across the country. I just want to say that overall, there’s thousands of us all working away day in and day out and everyone deserves that recognition as it’s a tough job sometimes.
Beth Southern
Gina Cormack, Citizens in Policing Liaison Officer
In one or two sentences could you sum up what your role is?
I am a Citizens in Policing Liaison Officer for North Yorkshire Police. I feel privileged as I get to recruit and look after our Volunteer Police Cadet units and police cadet leaders at our York, Skipton, Malton and Harrogate cadet units.
Our cadets range from 13 to 18 years old and get to learn about policing from a young age, take part in community events to help their local communities and at the same time, make new friends.
I oversee the entire process from recruiting new cadets, organising their passing out parade, getting them involved in events, organising guest speakers and providing support for our fantastic police cadet leaders who all volunteer their own time to teach our cadets about the law and our fantastic police service.
How did you get into your current role? – what is your background?
I have worked for NYP for over seven years, and I’ve loved every second!
I started my working life in sales – after my A-Levels I worked as a sales assistant in a jewellery chain in Whitby, then progressing to being a manager of a luxury jewellery boutique at the age of 19, which I loved. I only left that role due to moving to York and I continued in sales for a further year and a half selling cars. I enjoyed sales but I knew for a long time I wanted to work for the police in some capacity. I kept an eye on our NYP vacancies’ website, and I saw the opportunity come up to volunteer - I thought this was a great way to help people and see if the police was for me. I volunteered where I could for a couple of years which I loved, and it made me realise that I wanted to work for NYP full time.
I kept an eye on any police staff vacancies that would suit me, I loved cars and anything traffic related. I saw the opportunity to be a Traffic Bureau Support Officer processing traffic offence tickets from the Safety Camera Vans and tickets issued by frontline police officers, such as ones seen on Traffic Cops. I applied and was lucky enough to get the job. I worked in the Traffic Bureau for six years and absolutely loved it, but I felt I needed a new challenge. I knew I wanted to stay within the NYP family so when I saw we were recruiting for a Citizens in Policing Liaison Officer I was curious what this role entailed. When I learned that the Citizens in Policing team look after and support our police volunteers, I thought it was the perfect fit for me. I love helping people and I started my journey with NYP as a volunteer and I thought I could really bring that experience and my people skills to the role. I started my new role in September 2022, and I fit straight into the team, and I absolutely love my job!
What does a typical day look like for you?
Every day for me can be completely different one day to the next which is part of the reason I love my job; no two days are the same! There is always something going on to keep me busy, whether it’s liaising with leaders, recruiting new leaders and getting them through their Safeguarding and Safety training, to reaching out to departments within NYP to try and organise guest speakers to come in and meet with our cadets. We’ve had some fantastic visits such as from our Roads Policing Group, the Police Dog Section to Crime Scene Investigation where the cadets got to try on all the kit and learn all about CSI!
What is the best part of your role?
My favourite part of the role is getting out to visit my Volunteer Police Cadet units and getting involved with activities, as well as chatting with my cadets and leaders. I love seeing new cadets progress from first meeting them at their interview in the springtime, to seeing them start with their new unit in the September and getting issued with their cadet uniform. It’s great watching their confidence grow and see them make new friends over time. It really makes my job worthwhile to see everyone’s smiling faces from the cadets to the leaders with them all having a great time.
Is there any career advice you’ve been given that’s really stayed with you?
You have to love your job as you spend more time at work then at home so find something you love and are passionate about, and you’ll never work a day in your life!
Have you any advice for anyone wanting to come into a police staff role?
Go for it, you won’t regret it! Some days can be hard as we work hard but the feeling of being part of a team that’s like a big family is truly fantastic and there is always someone to support you. We always look out for each other. Every single police staff member within NYP play their part in protecting the public.
Are you a different person at work than at home?
I am lucky enough that I get to be the same person at work as I am at home, I get to be my bubbly self and people accept me for who I am. It is important to know how to act at the time as sometimes you need to be professional and deal with an incident that might have occurred but other times you get to have fun and can really let your true bubbly side out when visiting cadet units and get involved in the games and activities.
What’s one misconception you often hear about working in the police (as a police staff member)?
A common misconception that I’ve heard from members of the public is that the police can be aggressive, not friendly or approachable. I’ve loved interacting with members of the public over the seven years I’ve worked for NYP and where possible I like to go above and beyond for people as that’s why you join the job, to help people. Even if it’s something as simple as talking with a member of the public over the telephone that interaction might be someone’s only interaction with the police and it can really shape their viewpoint of the organisation overall. I’ve had many comments over the years about how friendly, understanding and approachable I am, and it’s increased their confidence in the police.
What’s your career highlight?
My career highlight has been watching police cadets progress. The cadet programme is about giving young people a safe space to learn about the law, and a number of our police cadets go onto join the police as officers and staff so we’re training some of our future generation which is a fantastic feeling knowing you are helping young people into their dream career. For instance, when I joined we had a cadet who was approaching 18 years old and they became a police cadet leader at their unit and they have just started as a police officer in NYP. Watching that progression is definitely the highlight of my role.
What’s one thing you’ve done in this role that you’re really proud of?
I organised my first ever recruitment for volunteer police cadets in 2023, something I had never done before so this was new territory for me. I reviewed the processes from previous years, liaised with our People Services department and Positive Action Team to see how we could make the application and interview process easier and more accessible for young people as for a lot of the applicants, this would be their first official interview. We adapted the application process, changed the interview questions so they were easier to understand, involved the brilliant NYP School Liaison Officers to promote the recruitment in schools, and utilised social media to spread the word of police cadets and the recruitment further. The recruitment campaign was a massive success and we received record number of applicants, with over three times the number of applicants compared to 2022.
What’s the hardest challenge in your role?
The hardest challenge in my role has been to select new recruits for our police cadets, some of the applications and interviews were fantastic. I would just love to give a place to everyone that applied but sadly we only have limited spaces.
Is there anything else you’d like to cover/share/give an insight to?
There is such a vast array of jobs in NYP, there really is something to suit everyone. Every day is a learning day and being part of the NYP family as a police staff member you really do get to meet and become friends with some amazing people - that is what makes NYP great, the people that are in it.
Gina Cormack