Page 34 - Once a copper 10 03 2020

soon realised that the wages of two retail managers would not satisfy our
ambitious hopes.

STAND UP AND BE COUNTED

So it was, I started to consider other career
options. One of my colleagues at the store
was a former policewoman who was
married to a serving officer. In conversation I
mentioned that I was looking to change my
career path and the subject of policing was
suggested.

Distant memories of Dixon of Dock Green, Z Cars and Figure 15 Jack Warner starred as
PC George Dixon
The Bill, sprung to mind as I excitedly considered the
possibility of becoming a police officer.

Not just as a well-paid career with a prestigious position in society. Perhaps
somewhat naïvely for an immature 19-year-old, I’d always loathed injustice of
any sort and something inside of me felt some of the hurt I’d seen innocent
victims of crime, cruelty, abuse and suffering at the hands of criminals. It
seemed to me, that there were more bad people enjoying the freedom
deserved by the innocents exposed to the criminal behaviour and its
consequences.

I felt I could make a worthwhile contribution. I could do some good for others.
Corny as it sounds, it was how I felt.

Married for only a few months, I found myself filling in application forms for a
career that if successful, would provide me with a grounding of experiences
that would have a positive influence on so many aspects of my life, for the
rest of my life.

Just after Christmas in 1980, I was invited to sit the entrance exam at West
Midlands Police Headquarters in Lloyd House in Central Birmingham. it was a
multiple-choice type examination comprising of Maths, English and reasoning
questions. I’d got chatting to another candidate called Trevor Davies and we
nipped out for lunch to The Filibuster a nearby pub. We conducted a post
mortem of the test and realised we lived near to each other and had a lot in
common. We talked about the procedure and training if we were fortunate
enough to pass, what stations we might be posted to. Back at Lloyd House
there followed a full medical exam and a series of fitness tests.

With the entrance exam over, came the waiting, something I was to learn I
would have to accept as the norm in the police.

Within a fortnight I received my letter confirming that I had passed the exam Page34
with a good mark and I learned that home visit background enquiries would