Policing Reading Festival: an interview with T/DCI Millie

Temporary Detective Chief Inspector (T/DCI) Millie led a team of officers at the Reading festival this year, working hard to ensure festivalgoers were kept safe while they enjoyed the likes of Liam Gallagher, Fred Again, Raye, and Blink 182.

Millie joined Thames Valley Police (TVP) eight years ago via Police Now – an entry route into policing that recruits, trains, and supports brilliant graduates to become frontline leaders in policing – and is now working closely with the organisation to lead its National Detective Programme. She tells us more about her role at the festival and at Police Now below.

What was your role at the festival?

Photo courtesy of Police Now

As a Temporary Detective Chief Inspector with TVP, I was elected as the Bronze Lead responsible for the team investigating and detecting crime reports. The role formed part of a clear command structure which is important for big events like a festival, so everyone knows who is responsible and accountable for decision making.

I worked the night shifts, between 7pm am 7am each day. Throughout the night I was responsible for reviewing incidents, making decisions on how we would respond, taking care of staff welfare, and liaising with other departments.

I led a team of officers and staff who investigated all reported crimes about the festival and led any necessary police work with partner agencies to safeguard children and vulnerable adults. It was also my responsibility to be the initial Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) in the event of a serious incident.

What did a typical day at the festival look like for you?

Every year, the policing team deals with a variety of incidents at the festival. Most commonly we deal with drug offences, thefts and assaults, and some sexual offences. In all cases, it’s important we look for opportunities to safeguard any children or vulnerable adults as well as bring offenders to justice.

I’d arrive onsite at around 6pm to catch up with colleagues on the dayshift before running through a detailed handover. At 7pm we’d have an information-sharing meeting with the partner agencies who worked together to keep people safe throughout the festival.

Here, we discussed any trends that were occurring – for example, the wet weather this weekend meant that the welfare tents had seen many more requests for spare tents and dry clothing. We also shared information on crime rates and patterns, as well as any significant investigation updates or safeguarding concerns. After that, the shape of my shift would very much depend on what happened during the night.

We had different shifts of officers working across the night – a new shift booked on at 11pm and the detective sergeant and I would brief them on any investigations that were running and allocate out any jobs. At about 6am the early team would start to arrive in time for their handover from us. Depending on how our night had been, we’d be handing over several investigations to progress throughout the day, as well as individuals who had been arrested and were held in custody awaiting interviews. I’d have some breakfast on site and then head home for some sleep.

What has been your favourite part of policing the festival?

It has been fantastic seeing different teams all working together, from public order officers, investigators, drugs experts, safeguarding officers, and the marine units (as the festival site is on a river, using boats is a very effective mode of transport) – and so many other specialists. When everyone comes together with the same objective – to keep the public safe at an event – it’s really amazing. It has also been great working with colleagues from all over the force and from our partner agencies, some of whom I personally only see once a year at the festival.

Why did you decide to become a police officer?

After completing my music degree and working in student politics for a couple of years I decided I wanted to work in the public sector. I wanted a career that meant something to me and that would align with my values. I’ve always enjoyed working with people and as someone who thrives in fast-paced, dynamic situations, I wanted to do something with variety.

I hadn’t considered a job in policing until I saw an advert for Police Now, but it ticked a lot of boxes. Police Now appealed to me because it offered me an opportunity to go straight in as a neighbourhood officer, working to improve my community’s trust and confidence in the police whilst still learning.

I joined Thames Valley Police via Police Now’s National Graduate Leadership Programme in 2016 – I never thought I’d be the kind of person that the police would want to recruit and I was quite amazed when I passed the application process! Since joining, I’ve worked across a wide variety of roles including neighbourhood policing, response teams, custody, priority crime (burglaries and robberies), and most recently domestic abuse.

I love the job – now that I’ve been doing it for eight years, I can see it was the best decision I could have made.

Outside of the festival, what is your current role in policing?

Whilst I am still a Thames Valley Police officer, I’m currently working for Police Now on a two-year secondment as Head of the National Detective Programme. I thoroughly enjoyed joining Thames Valley Police via a Police Now programme and I’ve been engaged with the organisation ever since. Over the last eight years, I have gained a huge amount of frontline policing experience, which I now bring to Police Now to help train and support brand new detectives via their programme.

I really love my role at Police Now but I also really enjoy the occasions I can come back to Thames Valley Police for more operational policing roles, like the Reading Festival.

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To find out more about a policing career with TVP – including how to apply to be a police officer, initial training, and the realities of working response, please visit our Police Officer page.