Leading 6 policing teams with finite resources, I manage competing demands and priorities, respond to management requests and make informed deployment decisions based on threat, risk and harm. I manage intelligence, complex investigations and the policing response to some of the riskiest areas in policing. This includes county lines, gangs, criminal exploitation and firearms intelligence. I work with law enforcement agencies and partners, recognising policing doesn't always have expertise to address issues alone.Building upon my previous experience as Coventry’s Stop and Search Lead, I was asked to become the Force Bronze for these highly controversial and scrutinised police powers. Managing the shaping of force policies, processes and training and ensuring data integrity and accuracy around the recording of Stop and Search, I took ownership for designing and delivering a training package to newly promoted Sergeants and Inspectors force-wide. Personally delivering the training face-to-face, I received excellent feedback. I also tailored this training package to educate the public: delivering inputs to university students and community groups. Tasked with improving WMP’s response to anti-social behaviour (ASB), as part of a force-wide project, I undertook research, benchmarked performance, visited other forces and worked with key stakeholders. Recommending the introduction of a pilot problem-solving team into WMP, I led the team and worked with key partners including housing associations and local authorities. Improving the response to ASB, the pilot team was recommended for a force-wide rollout by an independent review. Developing the team further to focus on serious organised crime, I have been approached by other forces looking to replicate the team in their own areas.

Overseeing a neighbourhood policing response to some of the most populated, diverse and deprived areas, I planned and managed neighbourhood policing strategies, directed resources and set and managed KPIs. Managing complex long-standing ASB and crime on the area, I sought alternative approaches to resolve the issues: analysing data to identify emerging crime trends and patterns. Attending community meetings, I formed close working relationships with local elected representatives and stakeholders, working together to address community concerns. Working with partners, I led the local policing response to a wide variety of planned and spontaneous events to prevent crime and disorder, manage public safety and address community concerns. Examples include managing religious events, acting as police community liaison following a child murder and policing Coventry City of Culture community events. Conducting initial investigations into any complaints against my team, I reviewed evidence before deciding if action was required and ensured learnings were shared. The local lead for Stop and Search, I regularly checked compliance, analysing bodyworn videos, policing systems and data - investigating any anomalies. I enabled scrutiny panel members and councillors to shadow police officers on patrol and observe Stop and Search in real time. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive and my work was recognised by the Force lead who asked me to deputise for him. One of the most enjoyable aspects of this role was managing the schools and colleges policing teams. Meeting with headteachers and attending schools’ policing panels facilitated a collaborative approach to problem solving. Whilst in this post, I restructured the department, moving teams to a different police station. Working with the community to provide reassurance, Estates and IT teams regarding logistics and HR and staff associations to ensure compliance with police regulations, the transition went smoothly.

Leading a team of over 40 Police Constables and Sergeants responding to priority calls from the public, I managed competing demands on a daily basis when deploying officers to calls for help, making informed decisions based upon my assessment of threat, risk and harm. Attending the scenes of complex or serious incidents, I directed staff and managed our response in line with legislation, policy and procedures.Monitoring and assessing assessed key performance indicators to ensure they were in line with force objectives, I also took ownership of the team’s well-being in order to maintain an effective policing response. With oversight of the custody block where over 20 prisoners could be detained at any one time, I conducted reviews of prisoners to make sure they were aware of their rights and entitlements and checked custody records to ensure those rights and entitlements were being adhered to. I also authorised PACE searches of suspects’ addresses, withheld rights and authorised intimate searches and samples being taken.

In a temporary management role, overseeing the strategic and operational delivery of neighbourhood policing, I tackled local issues, reduced crime through proactive engagement with the community and problem solving initiatives and improved community relations, gaining their trust and confidence in the police. Observing a decline in the levels of service we were providing around mental health issues, after completing some research, I identified that officers did not feel confident dealing with a mental health crisis due to lack of training. Sourcing solutions outside of policing, I discovered the Samaritans taught suicide prevention skills to other agencies and after explaining our situation to them, they agreed to deliver a similar package to police officers free of charge. The training was successfully delivered, receiving positive feedback, and through the relationship I formed with the Samaritans I learned they also provided outreach work to the vulnerable and offered counseling for families impacted by suicide. Negotiating the introduction of a new referral service to the charity, WMP were then able to refer staff and the public for support. This not only increased referrals to the charity but improved our response to mental health issues.

Supervising a team of police constables and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), I coordinated and managed our response to criminality and ASB in the local community. Allocating resources, directing activities, managing risk and reviewing progress, I ensured an effective response was provided, building public confidence in policing.Identifying increased demand, violence and criminality within a retail park in Coventry, I met with local businesses and internal stakeholders. Devising a policing operation which I then led, the operation was received positively and calls for service reduced significantly.Managing PCSOs as well as regular officers, they revealed they felt disengaged, unmotivated and were considering alternate employment. Spending time with them to understand their concerns, I implemented several initiatives including a PCSO away day. Working with staff to ensure the content was in line with their training and development needs, I invited guest speakers and held table top exercises. We also used the day to design a city-wide PCSO development plan by collectively identifying developmental gaps and barriers to performance. The development plan was then used as a template for subsequent activity such as addressing a lack of lateral development for those wishing to become police officers by introducing a series of mock interviews and assessment centres using trained assessors. Reinvigorating and chairing a PCSO forum, I provided a supportive environment where PCSOs from across the city could share experiences, raise concerns and actively contribute towards the delivery of wider organisational aims and objectives.During this time, I received several awards – a Pride of Coventry award for Outstanding Bravery, Chief Constable Bravery Award and an award from The Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire for distinguished conduct whilst engaged in the rescue of life from fire.

Back on the Response Team, this time as a Sergeant, I provided daily supervision, guidance and support to a team of 40+ constables, balancing the demands of rapid response policing with maintaining officer safety and ensuring legal and procedural compliance. Coordinating and monitoring the policing response, I ensured sufficient numbers of officers were deployed, providing support and guidance when needed. When attending incidents myself, I made dynamic on-the-ground decisions, prioritising public safety and officer welfare whilst coordinating resources and managing communications between teams, the control room and other emergency services. Overseeing the performance, welfare and development of my team, I ensured standards were met, regularly reviewing initial investigations and documentation such as statements and case files prepared by the officers. Making sure officers were adequately trained, I also closely monitored their wellbeing, providing comprehensive debriefs after particularly harrowing incidents and watching for any signs that officers were struggling so I could provide help and support

Managing the day-to-day running of the Control Room, I ensured calls were handled and allocated in line with service level agreements and reviewed incident logs to check they were being recorded, graded, updated and closed in accordance with force policies.Noticing we were missing some calls and taking too long to answer others, after some investigation I identified that we did not have sufficient numbers of staff working at key periods and because of this we were spending too much on overtime to fill the gaps. Working with staff, staffing associations and Human Resources (HR), I designed and implemented a new shift pattern which ensured more staff were on duty at key times whilst also complying with police and staff regulations. As a result, call handling and service delivery improved, overtime costs were reduced and staff were more motivated.

Taking up a people management role in the Custody Unit where people who have been arrested are detained, processed and held whilst decisions are made about their case, I managed my team of staff in addition to the safety of up to twenty detainees. Ensuring all detentions were lawful and compliant with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), I also managed any risks associated with the detainee, completing regular risk and welfare assessments. Decision making was a significant part of my role. Responsible for making charge and bail decisions, I had to weigh up a variety of information including legislation, force policies and guidelines before making my final decision.Whilst in this role, I became a specialist TACT (Terrorism Act 2000) Block Supervisor, managing persons arrested under this legislation. This required an in-depth understanding of the legislative requirements for dealing with suspects arrested for terrorism and the highest level of confidentiality. Using my experiences in this role, I worked with Estate representatives, architects and Counter Terrorism officers to help with the design of a specialist terrorist custody block.

Joining West Midlands Police after spending two years as a police cadet, I started on the Response Team working on the frontline, providing a fast and effective response to emergency calls from the public. Never knowing what I would be facing on a daily basis, I had to be prepared for anything and think quickly with the safety of others being my priority.Putting my communication skills to the test, I used them to provide reassurance and gather information from distressed or injured victims and witnesses, direct colleagues, members of the public or other emergency services and negotiate and defuse potentially volatile situations. All whilst I was constantly assessing the risk and threat of the incident whose status could change at any given moment.Moving to Neighbourhood Policing, I continued to use those communication and relationship management skills to develop good rapport with the local people and businesses. Gaining their trust and confidence in the police by providing a visible presence - conducting regular patrols of the area and attending community events and meetings - we worked together to identify and address local issues. I was promoted to Sergeant in 2005.