Response Policing Week: An Inspector's Q&A

 

As part of #ResponsePolicingWeek, we are bringing you an insight into the roles, lives, and stories of the officers who work on GMP’s response teams.

James Grundy is an Inspector on Response in Oldham and has taken part in a Q&A to give you a little more information on what his job is like…

 

How long have you been in response policing?

I have been an Inspector on Response in Oldham for the last 10 months. When joining the force, I was posted to Response at Stockport and worked there for 3 years.

 

What do you like most about being involved in response?

I really like the fact that no two days are the same.  Every day has its different challenges and rewards.  You might be responding to a large-scale fight one minute, then having to support someone in a mental health crisis or having to check on the welfare of children the next; it really is that varied.

Being the first officers to get to an incident is difficult but rewarding.  You get to see instant results to your work which makes you feel proud to be in the role. 

 

What is your proudest moment as an officer?

I’ve had lots of moments where I’ve felt grateful and proud to be doing this job.  One incident that I remember is as a PC on response.  I responded to a report that a child has been sexually assaulted as they were walking home from school. I was able to conduct a primary investigation and obtain a good description.

The next day, I made sure that I was in the area where this occurred, conducting stop checks of people fitting the description.  Whilst I was speaking to a male, the victim, who was being driven home from school by her family, called the police to say that I was with the offender. He was arrested and subsequently charged with numerous sexual assaults. 

He was convicted at court and due to this was able to be managed by the Sexual Offender Management Unit (SOMU) to look to stop any further offending.  This not only protected other people in the community but gave the victims closure which is an important part of them dealing with what has happened.

The balance of responding to incidents and conducting proactive policing makes me feel proud.

What is the most challenging aspect of the job?

I think one of the most challenging aspects is that sometimes you have to see things that most people in the public will never see or understand.  This can have a detrimental effect on your personal wellbeing at the time as they can be very traumatic. 

Having said that, the camaraderie, the team support, and the positives of the role far outweigh this. Knowing that you have been there for someone in their time of need is something that you can reflect on to know you have done everything you can.

How does your role as an Inspector differ to a PC in response?

The PCs main roles are to respond to emergencies, investigate and solve crime.

My role is more strategic in so much as I have to make sure that the staff are supported to ensure they can do their job to the best of their abilities.  The priority is managing risk and how to do that.  This might involve looking at training, development, wellbeing, mentoring or providing plans to ensure we focus on the district priorities. 

I have the important role of reviewing all domestic abuse prisoners and crimes to make sure we’re doing everything possible to obtain a positive outcome and support victims, ensuring we reduce the threat of further incidents occurring.

There are of course different pressures to PCs responding to incidents, but on nights I like to get out and support them at incidents as well.

If you could give advice to anyone wanting to become a response officer, what would it be?

My advice would be to do it - there isn’t another role like it.  You will develop as a Police Officer so quickly due the differing nature of the incidents you attend.  The sense of being part of a team is huge and it’s one of the only roles where you conduct briefings together, work team policing operations around pubs and night clubs and have training days together.  You always have support of your colleagues and supervisors if you ever need it.

There are so many avenues for personal development; there are so many courses you can do and the response driving course is one of the best courses you can do in the Police.  We all want to work somewhere where we feel personal pride when we go home and working on response, I feel that the most.