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Editorial - Metropolitan Police Service
Chris completed a degree in Criminology
with Psychology at Kingston University
before joining the Met in 2007. He also spent
four years in the Territorial Army, and is now
a front-line Patrol Officer in one of our core
response teams covering Westminster.
Why the Met?
I think deep down I'd always wanted to be
a Police Officer. However, it was spending
time outdoors and away from an office
environment that spurred me on to join as
soon as I left university. I chose the Met over
any other force simply because London has
always been my home and naturally I feel a
duty of care to the people that make it the
fantastic place it is.
Tell us a bit about your job
In my current role I respond to 999 emergency
calls, run police stations and help to deter
crime. I get a great deal of satisfaction from
helping people and making a visible, positive
difference to a community. It's when someone
comes to me in the street to say "It's so nice
to see a policeman walking up and down" or
"I feel that bit safer for seeing you around
here" that I feel both content and proud to be
doing the job.
The very nature of my role means there's no
such thing as a typical day! As a front-line
officer I really could end up dealing with
anything on any given day. One minute I
could be giving directions on the street, the
next I could be called to an emergency where
someone is in real danger and the decisions
I make will be critical. At the moment my
team are focusing on tackling street crime,
burglary and drug abuse in and around North
Westminster.
What's surprised you the most?
I had never really appreciated the sheer
scale of the workload the Met deals with.
We receive an average of 12,000 emergency
calls a day across London, all of which must
be dealt with thoroughly and in a timely
manner. And that's on top of all the ongoing
investigations, planning, preparations and
operations going on. Although the workload
can be high, the satisfaction can be too!
However, what's struck me most has been
the importance of teamwork. Every officer
comes from a different background and has a
unique skill set, making us more efficient and
professional as a public service.
How have you developed?
On joining the Met I was enrolled on the ninemonth-
long police learning and development
course, which equipped me with all the skills
I needed to become a competent, independent
Police Officer - from legislation and policy,
to officer safety, self-defence and emergency
life support. Since then I've had regular
development reviews and annual appraisals,
which are given to all officers regardless of
rank and experience. As well as checking
performance, they're also there to help shape
your career path.
What does the future hold?
In five years' time, I'd ideally like to have
gained enough investigatory and conflict
management experience to take on a
specialist role and move up through the ranks
in the Criminal Investigation Department or
Territorial Support Group, the Met's public
order team. In the meantime, I know I'm in
the best place to be learning these skills, and
hope to be exposed to as many events and
incidents as possible.
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