The pandemic has forced the police service to think better and smarter.
That’s the opinion of experienced Detective Constable Gary Cliffe.
Gary says Staffordshire Police have adapted to the impact of Covid-19 to continue getting the job done.
“The pandemic has indeed altered our work and how we do it,” he said, “The more flexible approach to being in a building or at home is positive.
“We’ll always get the job done therefore how we get it done has been forced upon the organisation to think better and smarter, which is a good thing.
“I’ve coped absolutely fine as, on my department, we have an open and honest discussion about work practices and getting the job done through this pandemic.”
Gary has been a serving officer for 19 years.
“I joined the police out of a deep respect for the role,” he said, “I believed it would truly be a profession to be proud of and attempt to serve the community in which I was posted.”
He added: “The police is a broad church and needs every type of skill set and no one officer can be amazing at every role. Horses for courses, as they say.”
Gary became a detective in 2009.
“It was a very proud moment and a chance to work no major investigations,” said Gary, was speaking as part of the Police Federation’s focus on the issues detectives face.
“The role of detective to me has the necessity to keep an open mind, investigate, don’t speculate, turn the stones over, make sure you do the hard yards, house-to-house, research all persons involved, be persistent, use all available IT techniques, and use all available data and knowledge within the organisation.
“Exhaust all lines of enquiry,” added Gary, who is on child protection based at One Smithfield in Hanley.
He says the role has changed in the 12 years he has been a detective.
“The role has changed for me in terms of having a wider geographical area to police, meaning local knowledge and trends can be challenging to keep abreast of,” he said.
“Also the need for IT, digital data on all cases is now immense. Third party material and the completion of court-ready files prior to charge for the CPS adds extra pressure. The introduction of IOs has been a positive addition to the departments. The need for strong team ethics and camaraderie remains, and welfare and management support is vital.
“A constant learning environment and improvement in the way we police is also an ongoing commitment.”
One of the biggest challenges to his role is dealing with cases in a timely manner.
“The digital explosion of evidence and third party evidence means a great deal of work to meet the very high thresholds of evidence insisted upon by the CPS,” Gary explains, “Another challenge is the lack of other departments not being available out of hours.
“The displacement of departments and moving officers from one police station or building to separate locations is poor.
“The answer to overcome most issues is down to funding, unfortunately, but I do recognise and support working smarter with other emergency services to share resources and knowledge.”
He added: “The most rewarding part of my role is being the officer in charge in a case and the offender being convicted.”
