'No two days are the same': Leighton Buzzard PCSO reflects on her 30 years in the police force
A Leighton Buzzard PCSO has been reflecting on her 30 years in the force after meeting a fellow retired police officer, who had spent 30 years in the role himself.
PCSO Rachel Carne met retired officer Jim Harris, who worked for Bedfordshire Police from 1964 until 1994, when Jim, 93, came to the police hub trying to find a retired police officer.
She told the LBO: “We were chatting away and I recognised his name. Jim left in 1994, two years before I started, and we reminisced about mutual colleagues that we worked with.
“I asked a bit about his history, and he shared a few stories, including one day when he forgot his baton and so he improvised and made one using a torch so his sergeant didn’t know he had forgotten it!
“We talked about how policing had changed, and how he was very much an ‘old-fashioned’ community police officer.”
Jim’s policing career started in Kent in 1961, before he moved to Bedfordshire Police three years later, serving in Luton CID.
In 1988, aged 55, he was required to retire due to police service age restrictions in place at the time.
He soon rejoined as part of the Leighton Buzzard Scenes of Crime team, before his final retirement in 1994.
After leaving the force, Jim continued to assist with major investigations including the murder of Carol Morgan in Linslade, offences linked to Malcolm Fairley, a British sex offender known as ‘The Fox’, and a historic rape investigation in Shefford.
PCSO Carne reflected: “My takeaways from our chat were how dedicated he was to the force – you could tell that he did it for the love of the job and to help the public.
“Some people go from job to job and don’t sit and think about things, whereas older officers are much more like a dog with a bone.”
One of the themes of PCSO Carne’s chat with Jim was the changing relationship between the police and the public, something she said she had experienced during her time with the force.
PCSO Carne said: "Policing has changed a lot over the years, and people quite rightly expect a lot from us. Sometimes people want answers or results quickly, but many issues are complex and can take time to resolve or are out of our control such as decisions or sentences at court.
“One thing that hasn't changed is the importance of building trust. Taking the time to listen, have conversations and support people in our communities remains a huge part of the job.
“PCSOs are often at the heart of that. We are out in communities every day, getting to know people and building relationships. Because of that, many people see us as more approachable and feel comfortable talking to us about concerns or issues affecting their area."
PCSO Carne said that growing up as a child, she was influenced by her own parents to be part of the police.
“When I was born my dad was 67 and he also served in the police,” she recalled.
“I had a very inquisitive mind, and I had strong morals and principles that I wanted to instil in others.
“I am very proud to work for the police and do everything I can to build that reassurance with the public and go the extra mile to help them. I try and build up relationships with different generations and people who don’t like the police.”
The family tradition is continuing with Rachel’s daughter Sarah joining Bedfordshire Police four years ago.
Sarah is based in the Flitwick and Ampthill policing area, although occasionally works alongside her mum.
PCSO Carne explained her daughter was inspired to join the force after years of hearing about what she was up to at work.
“Sarah spent her whole life listening to me talking about my job,” she said. “I remember one day, while Sarah was working at Champneys, I had been helping a child who fell over and injured themselves in the park.
“Sarah said she had spent her day helping someone whose false nail had broken, and she then decided she could make more of a positive difference to people’s lives working in the police.
“Her sergeant told me that because of all the chats we had, she was months ahead of other new recruits. She said to her colleagues a lot, ‘I can remember my mum saying that.’”
PCSO Carne said she believed the Channel Four series 24 Hours in Police Custody, which follows the work of officers from Bedfordshire Police, alongside colleagues from Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, had helped to enhance the public’s understanding of police work.
“It is amazing what that programme has done, giving people more confidence in reporting incidents, and helping people understand the work that we do,” she said.
PCSO Carne said no two days were the same and, as an example, highlighted spending the day with the High Sheriff of Bedfordshire Ismail Anilmis.
“He shadowed me for a day in Leighton Buzzard, and said it was a massive eye-opener,” she said.
“We started by doing a welfare check on a house that had links to cases of drug addiction and cuckooing.
“We then went out and chatted to various businesses and then I took him to the CCTV control room, and he was able to look at footage of incidents in town.
“I had then arranged for him to go and meet some of our traveller communities, and so we had lunch on a travellers’ site at Tilsworth.”
PCSO Carne highlighted an event she organised at Parsons Close Recreation Ground in Leighton Buzzard on Monday, August 24.
“The purpose of the event was to encourage people to get free bike maintenance, but we also set up activities including riding police crazy bikes and Connect Four,” she said.
“Nine children brought their bikes, got their tyres pumped up, and had their bikes serviced.
“We had a police car there which some children enjoyed looking around, and we spoke to the parents.”
As a final thought on her policing career, PCSO Carne said it had been ‘interesting’ but that she worked on the mantra of treating everyone in the same way.
“I have eaten dinner with homeless people in ditches, and I have eaten dinner with Boris Johnson {former Prime Minister}, and to me these are both important,” she reflected.