Page 223 - Once a copper 10 03 2020

from another. Everyone arrives in their own way what to hold on to and what
to let go of. Trusted companions, professionals and rituals can help when
matters become overwhelming by helping to raise the right concerns and
point in the right direction. But they can’t determine the correct path, for the
way forward is uncertain. Nor can it prescribe how long it will take to recover,
for that is unknowable. To say more is wishful thinking and sometimes
positively harmful.

All we could do was bring the rotten swine to justice. I wish we could have
done more for the poor victims w met so often.

The majority of police work is all about the everyday routine stuff, the
burglaries, car crime, assaults and woundings, fraud, petty theft and the
occasional blackmail or minor sexual assault. The weeks that followed
brought more than what would be considered a fair share of these matters so
we were never idle.

Working with Gavin Buckley there was never a dull moment. Between the two
of us we had developed enough knowledge and contacts to keep the PIC
(Person In Custody) sheets filled week by week. What we all worked towards
was cultivating informants, in the hope that a snippet of information might
yield more opportunities to clear crime and lock up the baddies.
My First Night Duty As A Detective

The first 10pm – 6am shift for any night duty detective creates apprehension.
Will it be busy or quiet? Will it bring new challenges or run of the mill stuff? I’d
been a DC for a few months before my name appeared on the night duty
rota. In hindsight, I was perhaps confident beyond my tender experience and
there were those that hoped my inexperience would bring me down a peg
or two.
The first couple of nights were routine with very little to report on the CID night
note. Night duty CID Officers in those days had to type up a summary of
events called a ‘night-note’ for the early and day staff, including any further
follow-up action that might be required.

Confidence replaced my initial apprehension and I looked forward to the
third of seven nights in anticipation that something would present itself to get
my teeth into.
I learned quickly that most detectives relied upon informants for snippets
about crimes that had been committed or were being planned. ‘Sahbuts’
(believed to be derived from ‘sabotage’) as they were known, were often of
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the criminal persuasion and fed officers information in the hope of a good
word being put forward to influence cases they were on the anvil for.