Page 134 - Once a copper 10 03 2020

Another benefit gained from Trevor’s arrival at
Kingstanding was that he immediately put me
forward for a Standard Police driving Course,
which came through with a start date of 27
th
November, completing on 7 December 1984.
th
How delighted I was to pass. Another step of the
plan under my belt.

What I hadn’t accounted for was the amount of
extra duties I would be expected to perform as
a local area driver on units that were short
manned.

I wasn’t about to complain though, this was
another string to my bow. I knew it would open
more doors for more arrests and one day, when
I got the place I wanted on the CID, it would be another box Figure 57 Mobile at last
ticked as I would have use of the CID vehicle, such that it was.

Driving grades

There are three different levels of driving grade within West Midlands Police
which are as follows:

Officers with a basic driver grade are able to drive marked and unmarked
vehicles but are not allowed to exceed speed limits or use the lights and
sirens. The basic driver course lasts around half a day.

Standard driver: The standard driver grade allows officers to exceed the
speed limit by up to 20 mph and conduct the initial stages of a pursuit
providing it is safe to do so. The standard driver course is three weeks long.
Advanced driver: Drivers holding an advanced grade are able to drive
higher performance vehicles at speeds above the extra 20 mph granted to
standard drivers and receive additional training in pursuits and specialist
techniques such as making a silent approach towards incidents. The
advanced driver course is four weeks long.

Meanwhile another Christmas was upon us and I would soon be into 1985
and my 5 year in the job. New Year brought a new course for me, ‘Public
th
Speaking’. I’d volunteered for this one as it was suggested by Trevor that it
would be good for my progression, as there would be times when I would Page134
have to accompany or ‘stand in’ for him at the community meetings. I must