Careers Story- Meet Nitin Patel

From the private sector to policing, Nitin’s career journey was driven by a desire to make a meaningful impact. In this blog, Nitin reflects on his motivations for joining the force, the highlights and hurdles along the way, and how his love for the outdoors continues to shape his life in retirement.

Nitin Patel

Previous roles within TVP: Deputy Property Services Manager, Acting Property Services Manager & finally Capital Schemes Manager.

Other roles: Civil Engineer (BSc) by profession, working initially for the private sector as an Architect/ Structural Engineer before joining TVP in 1987.

Age at joining: 33

Length of Service: 18 years

What encouraged you to join TVP/ why did you leave the private sector?

Having worked in the Private Sector and having the knowledge that the public sector was under continuous scrutiny to provide value for money, this is what motivated me to join TVP. My active participation during the Home Office audit in relation to how the force procured its professional needs in relation to Property Services matters was a testament to this.

What were your family’s thoughts on you joining the force? Were they supportive or not?

When I initially joined the Police Service, both my family & friends were very supportive of me joining. Their view at the time was that the Police Service was a very responsible organisation to work for. I was quite committed to my job, but with a young family, I had to maintain a balanced life with my young children, both in their schooling and taking them on holidays during their vacation. My son, being a keen cricketer, also involved me in coaching our under-9s local village cricket team.

What was your experience as an ethnic minority staff member?

Loyalty and integrity come first, but along with that, there is also a lot of hard work and stretching that extra mile to strive to be recognised and being treated fairly when it comes to career progression! From my own personal experience, being Asian from an Ethnic Minority background, I had experienced racial/ glass ceiling syndrome from within the force, where I felt my career didn’t progress in the direction I planned. I believe if I had the right support, it would have been different.

Best moments of your career within TVP?

My best moment working for TVP was, as Acting Property Services Manager, I played a key part in the Home Office Audit Commission’s report recommending the Police Authority to break ties with the Constituent Counties in relation to Property Services related matters, and I was personally tasked to set up a professional department in procuring these Services in-house.

What is the best piece of advice you can give to anyone from a Black/ Asian Ethnic Minority background considering joining the force?

Best piece of advice to Ethnic Minority Officers thinking of joining the force – despite my own personal experience, I would urge all staff Civilian/ Uniformed Officers to join in delivering a Police Service which is inclusive/ representative of the Ethnic Minority public we serve and to rise to all challenges both within & outside to make Great Britain proud of the Ethnically mixed population it has!

Can you expand on whether you are working these days and what your hobbies are?

Spending time with the family, etc. – I have a love of the outdoors, so in my spare time I took up hiking and encouraged my family to do the same by arranging holidays in the Lake District, Scotland, and Wales, enjoying the countryside together. With this passion, and in support of raising funds for the charity SCAPE, I raised money and participated in a hike to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. This love for the outdoors has continued into my retirement. For my 70th birthday, I took all my family to Nepal to hike to Everest Base Camp in November last year. In retirement, I’m also a keen swimmer and aim to swim a mile a day at my local swimming pool.