#GMPeople: meet the response cop who swapped NHS frontline to GMP frontline

PC Samantha Hewson

A response cop who swapped her role from the NHS to the policing frontline is one of the many officers responding to emergency calls every single day.

PC Samantha Hewson talks more about her role since making the swap in October 2020 as part of Response Policing Week 2022.

Sam joined GMP in October 2020 and is currently a response officer based in City of Manchester North. After years of working in the NHS after joining as an apprentice, the 27-year-old worked alongside officers almost daily in one of her roles in a major trauma centre which led to her wanting to see things from the ‘other side’

She said: “I worked in the NHS for eight years as a health care assistant at a hospital in Middlesbrough, where I’m from.

“I went straight from school into the NHS as an apprentice when I was 17 and we came across the police in A&E a lot where I always admired the role and knew there would be a good chance of progressing in a career.

“I decided to join to be able to see things from the other side. I also admired how patient they had to be, the variety they always seemed to be faced with.”

Sam is one of the many officers attending communities’ in Manchester’s emergency calls, and was one of the first responders to last week’s incident in Miles Platting where a teenager died.

She added: “Being a response officer mainly means attending grade 1 incidents which are the priority emergencies where there’s a risk to life.

“We take details, arrest offenders, take witness statements, guard scenes and record and investigate crimes every day. A lot of the demand is domestic and mental health-related meaning sometimes we’re there to help protect and help some really vulnerable people.”

She added: “Being a police officer and a response officer is very rewarding with a lot of different opportunities. You can really learn from all of the experiences you’ve exposed to and constantly improve.”

Are you interested in swapping your career and being one of the 20,000 new police officers to help us build a better GMP? Find out more and apply here: www.gmp.police.uk/jointhepolice