Page 9 - WMPF Federation Feb-Mar 2020-flip_Neat

‘The tutoring I received

has had a lasting effect

on my career’

Sergeant Ryan Gardener says that even after 14 years as an officer he still remembers
much of the advice he was given when he was tutored by Chris Smith.
Chris became Ryan’s tutor at Brierley Hill where he was stationed after completing
his 18 weeks’ initial training. He was with Chris for nine weeks and had to complete a
portfolio to achieve independent patrol and work on his own.
“Chris was brilliant, he would review my portfolio and see what competencies I
needed to achieve. At the start of shifts, he would visit the dispatchers and tell them
what sort of incidents I needed to attend. This enabled me to complete the portfolio on
time as I was able to experience a variety of scenarios,” says Ryan.
“I felt that I gained a lot of experience in a very short space of time. I had an
increasing workload to manage due to the number of arrests we were making. I made
19 in my first month. The large workload enabled me to develop my skills in prioritising
and decision-making in relation to investigations. Chris was also an experienced
detective and was able to provide me with expert advice for interviewing suspects
increasing my confidence for future interviews.
“From a response officer point of view, I always remember before the days of sat
navs, Chris telling me to read every road sign as you turn into the street so I always
know where I am should I need assistance. I had to rely on this many a time and I still do
this now.
“The tutoring I received has definitely had a lasting effect on my career. Even though
it was 14 years ago I can still remember the majority of incidents we dealt with, how we
dealt with them and I can remember clearly the advice Chris gave me throughout.”
Ryan only had one tutor and stayed on the same department during that stage of
his training. Students now get moved between departments and are allocated different
mentors for every phase.
He found his tutoring experience so beneficial that after passing his two-year
student officer phase he enrolled on a tutoring course so he could support new recruits.
“I was able to pass on everything I had learnt from Chris to others and found the role
extremely rewarding,” he explained, “Tutoring is an extremely important part of a new
officer’s development and a tutor and student should be given the time and
opportunities to enable the student to develop. After all the student could be employed
for 30 years and, as an organisation, we need to give them the best opportunities from
the start.”
Having joined the Force in 2005, Ryan now works on the service improvement team
for the criminal justice department and is based at Lloyd House.

www.polfed.org/westmids federation February/March 2020 09