Working in modern policing

By Oliver Green

This blog from a Trustee of CViE shares experiences working as a Police officer and arises from a group discussion about ‘Being a Christian in the Workplace’ at the CViE National Conference 2023.

The author is prayerfully hopeful that it will be a benefit to any who are considering their future career options, whether that be in policing or otherwise.

I always had a natural desire to be a Police officer, even from a young age, and I was encouraged by my parents who always assisted me, and I believed prayed for me, that this would develop if it was the Lord’s will for me. I completed a week’s work experience with my local force when I was 16 which I really enjoyed and it further encouraged my thoughts of policing as a future career path. At this stage of my life, I was not absolutely sure of what I wanted to do; however, I sought the Lord’s guidance, and my prayer was always that if it was not God’s will for me to join the Police, then the door would be closed on it.

Not being a natural academic, I struggled with exams, but decided to take my A/S levels and gain some further education at Sixth Form. After continuing to struggle with this, I made the decision to leave school and apply for a public facing job. I had been advised that this would be a good way of gaining some of the experience needed in the world of policing. I was successful in this endeavour and began working for Marks and Spencer in 2011 as a store assistant, where I spent four years. This work gave me valuable experience in dealing with the general public and helped me to gain confidence – as is often the way when starting out in any working environment.

During my time at M&S I continued to pray that a way would open up for me to join the Police force. At the time, police recruitment was frozen nationally due to the very poorly funded sector in the years of austerity brought in by the Cameron government. In 2013, my local police force opened up recruitment after five years and I decided to apply. The experiences I had learned from retail work hugely helped me in the application process, and I was thankful the Lord had guided me in this way. After a long recruitment process which lasted around 6 months, I was told I had been successful but could not be offered a starting position straight away. I therefore remained at M&S and took the opportunity to begin working as a volunteer ‘special constable’ which can be done alongside a full-time job. Due to the voluntary nature of this, a lot of the training was organised in the evenings or at weekends, and here I met with a need for the Lord’s help. I was booked onto a classroom-based first aid course being run on a Sunday, which although important, was certainly not ‘essential Sunday work’, but I was assured it had to be attended and could not be rearranged. I was very discouraged by this and assumed it was a sign that the whole thing should be abandoned. However, I committed it to the Lord and then spoke plainly to the training staff. I informed them that I wasn’t prepared to attend any training courses on Sundays due to religious reasons and I received a very favourable response, and an alternative course was duly arranged for me. I was very encouraged by this answer to prayer, and felt it was a sign of the Lord’s presence with me in my career plans.

I worked on a voluntary basis for around a year, when I received an offer of a starting position in police training school the beginning of 2015. I was very thankful for this and could see the Lord’s hand in it as I had been able to gain some experience of police work and the associated environment before committing to it fully. This is something I would recommend to anybody who is considering a career in policing as it really can provide a lot of insight.

My basic training lasted 20 weeks and consisted of a mixture of classroom and practical training exercises, after which I ‘passed out’ and began working as a response officer in Luton, initially with a tutor constable for 10 weeks. This was a daunting experience and coming from a fairly sheltered upbringing, made me apprehensive. However, much prayer was answered in the first few months of this process and I began to enjoy the job and grow in confidence. This is when I began working on a shift pattern and the requirement to work on Sundays inevitably arose. In these early days I was encouraged by the continued prayers that this was the right thing for me to be doing and I could clearly see the scriptural instruction on vital Sunday work such as in Luke 13:15-16,

The Lord then answered him, and said, thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

Working on the Lord’s Day isn’t an easy experience, especially when surrounded with such obvious sin and evil in the world, however I have usually managed to get to at least one service on a Sunday, depending on the shift. I was very thankful to often attend Bethel Chapel Luton after working a day shift in the town, and it was always such a haven of peace after spending Sunday with such ungodly characters. I’m thankful that I was kept from a rebellious spirit regarding the Lord’s Day, and the temptation to not bother going to a service didn’t materialise. This was all during a time when I hadn’t made an open profession of faith, and my chapel attendance was often for the sake of pleasing my family and appeasing my conscience, rather than the benefit of my soul.

Police work is intense at times both mentally and physically and requires immediate attendance at simply any situation imaginable, not just the stereotypical ‘burglars and thieves’, although this is still a large part of the role. During my time working as a response officer there was a lot of fast-paced work, particularly at night when the roads are predominantly quiet and empty. This environment can pose its own dangers. For example, I was responding to reports of a ‘burglary in progress’ during the early hours one morning and was travelling very quickly through Luton with no sign of any other traffic at all. As I approached a junction, I suddenly noticed a vehicle pull out directly in front of me and stop dead in the road. I knew I couldn’t stop in time and would almost certainly hit the driver and so slammed on the brakes causing the Police car to spin several times. Mercifully, I avoided the stationary vehicle by inches and ended up on the pavement without touching anything. Despite feeling shaken up, I was immediately aware of God’s preserving hand and took a few moments to thank Him for keeping me from a serious collision before carrying on with the initial call.

Often the nature of the incidents I am exposed to brings me into contact with violent individuals. There have been several times when I could have easily been physically overpowered in altercations but this hasn’t happened, thanks to the Lord’s sovereign protection – Psalm 124:2-3, If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: Then they had swallowed us up quick when their wrath was kindled against us.

I’ve often been reminded of the Lord’s sovereignty when dealing with death, a responsibility that policing frequently deals with, as I have attended suicides, fatal road crashes, elderly sudden deaths and medical emergencies. These experiences really remind you of the reality of eternity and the need to be right with God – Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon Him while he is near (Isaiah 55:6) – and I am thankful for these experiences as they were used on several occasions for this purpose in my spiritual experience. I have often found that these situations spark a natural conversation with people about the mortality of life and can provide an opportunity to discuss the need for a saving faith in the Lord. Sadly, I often feel I have stumbled at the vital time when these opportunities have arisen.

After working in frontline policing for several years, I began to consider my options moving forward to a slightly different role although not really actively looking. I was pleased when a temporary opportunity arose for me to work on a small team dealing with the sudden rise in violence in Bedford during the end of 2018. This role then developed into a full-time permanent opportunity in 2019 and I was offered a job working on the team dealing with gang crime. This was at the time I felt a desire to be baptised, and the more social hours of the new job meant I would be able to attend services every Sunday and weeknight. I was very thankful for this provision and was later baptised in April 2019 after many encouragements from the preached word.

This has been my role now for 6 years and has provided me with many opportunities to progress in policing with specialist training and many other interesting and enjoyable experiences. Working in this role has also shown me how fragmented the Christian family model has become in society. Most of the troubled young people that become involved in criminal gangs are from broken homes and lacking a father figure in their lives. This void is inevitably filled by violent groups who seek them out as they are so vulnerable and easily influenced. The lack of a father figure problem is now openly acknowledged by various authorities and support charities which is encouraging, but much prayer is still needed, that Christian principles and family life would be restored nationally.

Anybody working in policing will be exposed to both the best and the worst of society but I can say from experience that it is a very supportive and inclusive environment. Before I joined, I was often concerned that I would be sidelined if I told people I came from a Christian background but the opposite has been true. The general police force opinion is to support all minorities which provides an environment where, for the most part, you are not judged on your background or opinions. I’ve often found that Police Officers are some of the most open-minded people to speak to about my Christian beliefs and background.

Encouragingly in November 2023, the Met Police commissioner Mark Rowley banned all officers from supporting any ‘woke’ causes in the form of badges and livery on cars whilst on duty, with the exception of the poppy at remembrance season. The reason he gave was that Police Officers are to be impartial while on duty which is completely true and is so important in being able to Police society fairly.

My desire in writing this short account is purely to give the Lord the honour and glory for all His support to me, and to hopefully provide some encouragement to any who may be considering their future career paths. My main advice to anyone thinking of joining the Police would be to do so for the right reasons and to prayerfully consider it first as with any future venture. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance to any in this situation.

Here are some of the question and answers which were included as part of the CVIE conference in 2023.

Questions

What has been the scariest experience of your career?

Spending any time with deceased people while on my own.

Have I ever been challenged on my beliefs?

Never challenged, however once colleagues know I am a Christian, I get lots of comments about it and people never forget it.

Advice for joining the Police?

Never join the police unless you have prayerfully considered it and feel it is the Lord’s will, much the same as any job.

You will have to work on Sunday but don’t be put off as this is a necessary reason.

Avoid using it as a way of ‘doing something different’ – do you have the communications skills required?

It’s not all fast cars and excitement. There is a lot of bureaucracy and ‘red tape’.

Do something else first to give yourself some experience of working / dealing with the general public.

Policing is dangerous, how do you find the motivation to do it every day?

Yes, it can be dangerous, but on average it is no more dangerous than many other jobs such as construction or farming for different reasons. The risk assessments are all there to avoid you coming to harm.

I find the motivation as I enjoy my work and feel God has provided it for me.