“It’s safe to say the colour of my blood is blue,” says DC Dave Stubbs. And, with 12 members of his family being in the Force at one time, this is hardly surprising.
He says policing is in his blood, with his hunger to join up stemming back to when he was a schoolboy. Dave became an officer nearly 25 years ago, inspired by his big brother, an officer in the Met.
After 21 years spent living his dream in the Force, he joined CID as a detective nearly three years ago.
As part of a month-long focus on detectives led by the national Federation, Dave, who is also a Staffordshire Police Federation workplace rep and the branch lead on PIP, says there are challenges for detectives to face that the highs of the role mean he’s never looked back.
“Being a detective is the most rewarding job in policing. Yes, it can be stressful and involve some long hours but you also get a lot of job satisfaction,” he says.
“I often work beyond my shift; there can be some really long days, but this can’t be avoided due to the nature of the incident we are dealing with. However, the supervisors acknowledge this and they are as flexible as they can be at other times.
“I have only been in CID for just over two years but in that time there has been a lot of change. Most noticeable has been an increasing demand on fewer resources, while we are losing experienced detectives due to retirement or them moving into different roles.”
Taking its toll on both officers’ mental and physical health, Dave says the budget cuts combined with encouraging experienced officers to become detectives are huge challenges the team is currently up against.
“I know a lot of people feel that part of the problem is that detectives no longer work in the same buildings as their uniform colleagues, which means the working relationship that once existed is disappearing,” he adds.
“An unintended divide has developed but this is nothing that cannot be rectified with better communication between the two teams.”
Concerned that there is a lack of advertising and promotion about the role of a detective, he suggests allowing officers to go into CID to shadow detectives and see what is involved.
“To be honest, I can relate. I’m ex-Met, although I never mention it. I enjoyed my work in uniform; I was an advanced driver and Taser trained, I loved the chase and responding to emergencies.
“I took the decision to give becoming a detective a go during the restructuring of the Force and I have enjoyed every minute since.
“What do I find most rewarding about the role? Putting hardened criminals and those who cause the most harm and pose the most risk to our community behind bars for substantial periods of time. Doing what we joined the police to do.”
Despite the rewards of the job, he admits work still takes its toll on his wellbeing.
“Juggling the demands of the job with the growing amount of work in your tray is one of the biggest challenges,” Dave explains, adding that more support is needed to help with officers’ mental health.
“As a detective, you are investigating the most serious and complex enquiries that you can’t afford to get wrong, so you have that pressure as well as the pressure of new demand coming in each day. We need less talk about welfare and more action,” he says.
With no plans to return to uniform, David only looks forward to what life as a detective will bring.
“Working in CID was the best thing I have ever done,” he concludes, “I work with some great people who are some of the most dedicated and committed officers you could find anywhere in the country.
“I would recommend it to anyone and would urge any colleague to consider following this career path if the opportunity arises.”
