Get to know Jennifer – recipient of the British Empire Medal

“She is THE most caring person I know and will go above and beyond to help absolutely anyone regardless of their background… She is truly one in a million and I will remain friends with her and her family forever” – excerpt from one of Jennifer’s award nominations.

We recently caught up with Jennifer, one of our Contact Management Police Staff Supervisors – a recent recipient of a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the King’s New Year’s Honours to learn more about the policing journey that has led her to this recognition.

Congratulations on your award! It’s something you’ve received for Services to the Policing – what has that service involved?

Goodness me, I will have been at TVP for 34 years in June, and when I first joined I didn’t know about Specials – I wanted to be a police officer, but my eyesight wasn’t good enough so I couldn’t sign up. I learnt about the Specials and joined, and I got the best of both worlds because I could go out and work when I wanted to. I absolutely loved it, and the best bit was that because I was already working within TVP I felt like I had that extra bit of knowledge.

As Specials we got training once a month, but with all that extra knowledge from being in the working police environment, I was better equipped to make the right decisions and do the right things. I was able to help the probationers too because I’d already been working for TVP. I also helped to lead the local cadets group.

I was working in the farmhouse when I joined TVP (in Kidlington) and then moved to the Oxford crime desk, which I loved because I worked on the same shift with officers who were on duty. We had a good relationship because in my day job they’d come to me for help with the crime recording system and just doing investigations – and then on my days off I’d go out and it felt like fun.

What was your day job during that time?

My first role in TVP was as an admin assistant. I did the HO/RT1s (Home Office Road Traffic Form 1) which is a document “producer,” and I did a bit of file prep and sat with the people who did collision records, so it overlapped a bit.

Then when I went to Oxford I worked on what was called “Customer Services.” It was a crime desk and help desk, and there wasn’t another one in the force. I think of that as the precursor to Contact Management which I moved to 22 years ago.

Contact Management must have changed a lot in that time – what are the biggest changes?

Everything is digital now. When I worked on the crime desk we had ‘CID/1s’ which are crime reports, and were in triplicate – we used pen and paper for everything. We didn’t have email, we had a fax machine, so if somebody went missing we’d fill out all the paperwork and we’d fax it through to IRB. If someone was found we’d have to cancel it by fax because that was the only system we had.

And we had an answering machine! So if someone couldn’t get through to us and wanted to report a crime they’d leave a message.

Is there anything that stands out as a memorable call?

We worked the same shift pattern as the police officers. It was earlies, lates, seven nights, and then you got six days off, and we worked the same shifts as the people in the control room. In that whole unit, everybody knew everybody and everybody got on.

I remember the control room rang down one day and told us that a lady had her car stolen – no further details. But the lady hadn’t just had her car stolen, she’d been robbed at gunpoint! I called her and took down all the details and sent the information back up to the control room. What was great is that you could hear feet running down the stairs because that job had just gone out over the radio – everyone ran out into the yard.

I looked out the window and saw the officers all jumping into the cars. You could hear the sirens going and see the updates in the log, so you could see what was going on. On that particular job, the description the victim gave had been really good, and due to heavy traffic in Headington the stolen car hadn’t got far, they were able to intercept it and get an arrest. Then when they came back I could look out of the window and see the suspect being brought in. You could see that the description the victim gave was spot on.

What attracted you to policing in the first place?

It was the overriding want to help people. When I was at school we didn’t really get careers advice, and I didn’t really know about university. I did exams and some of the results weren’t very good, and the teacher who was responsible for A-levels said “Just go and be a nurse.” Then as part of my Duke of Edinburgh, a former superintendent ran a policing course in the evenings that I did once a week after school. It covered all aspects of policing, and I think possibly that planted the thought in my mind that I could be a police officer, so I think that’s where it started.

We mentioned the differences in Contact Management from when you started that role, but what has changed the most for you in terms of policing since the ’90s?

The positive side is that if you want information on somebody, or you’ve got CCTV footage, you can get their name very quickly. But the bad side is that misinformation travels around just as fast. But technology is a good thing – the amount of information or intelligence you can get because someone has walked down the street. You can’t hate on that, but I don’t like the negative side.

You’ve had a long and varied career with TVP – what would you say to someone thinking about embarking on their own career in policing?

They need to be committed and prepared for hard work – because I haven’t come across any job that’s easy! They need to be focused and you need to be disciplined.

If you’re prepared for the hard work and have that passion to want to help people then you’ll find your spot.

Have you been to collect your medal?

No, that hasn’t happened yet. It’ll be a local presentation by the Lord Lieutenant of Oxford so that won’t be at the palace, but I will get invited to the palace for a party in the spring. I’ve got to get two dresses! I’ll have to get my hair and makeup done – which I will enjoy!

If you’ve been inspired by Jennifer’s story, you might be considering your own career options in policing. To learn more about being part of our Contact Management team, please visit our Contact Management webpage. Or to learn more about volunteering as a Special Constable, please visit our Special Constables page and apply today.

Contact Management Special Constable