Page 12 - WMPF December-January Magazine.url_Neat

Rep retiring

Giles reflects on 30

years in policing: ‘This

job is like no other’

iles Dean says police officers are in a
unique position to make a difference
Gto people’s lives as he prepares for
retirement after almost 30 years in uniform.
Giles, who chairs the West Midlands
Police Federation Health and Safety
Committee, was speaking as he looked back
over a career which began in 1991 when John
Major was Prime Minister and (Everything I
Do) I Do It For You was number one in the
charts.
“This job is like no other,” he said, “The
highs are very high, the lows can be very low
and on any given day you don’t know what
will be in store for you.
“We have unique and privileged insights
into people’s lives when they’re at their most
vulnerable or exposed. By talking and
understanding, we can learn so much about
the human condition and use our
experiences to help others in the future.
“Given all of the changes that have
happened, and all of the moaning and
complaining that I have done over the past
30 years would I do it all again?
“In a heartbeat, yes.”
Giles added: “Catching the ‘bad guys’ is,
and always has been, the fun bit and my first
nine years on response were probably still
the most chaotic, scary and exciting times of
my career. I look back on those days and the
team with a great deal of affection.
“I’m very grateful to be coming out of the
other end relatively unscathed. Apart from
the usual cuts, grazes and bruises, the worst
injury I received was a couple of fractured
ribs.
“I’ve seen the job damage the physical
and mental health of some colleagues over Giles Dean prepares for retirement.
the years and have supported many of these
people as a Fed rep. to my wife Lisa for being so understanding.” delivered in a speech by the then branch
“It has also damaged a lot of Giles said that one of the key chair Tom Cuddeford, to the 2014 national
relationships and there’s no doubt that shift achievements of his Federation work was conference that saw all 36 recommendations
work and over-time can very be difficult for helping to draft a motion from the West of the Normington report accepted, marking
some partners to cope with, so many thanks Midlands Joint Branch Board, which was a pivotal point in the Federation’s history.

12 federation December 2020/January 2021 www.polfed.org/westmids