Activelife
A day in the life of
CHRIS COCKERILL - CHIEF INSPECTOR, LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE
I
’m now a chief inspector at police HQ at Enderby but I started in the police force after seeing an advert on the TV for special constables. I was fortunate because as soon as I started the job I knew I’d found what I wanted to do, and I’ve enjoyed every minute ever since. I’ve had a number of roles across the ranks. I was head of operations and contingency planning which involved planning major operations, football matches, firearms and public order operations as well as potential incidents at East Midlands Airport and other critical sites. As new threats emerge, we shape our response accordingly. I used to be the local policing unit commander responsible for Leicester city centre. It was a busy, very pressurised job but also incredibly rewarding. City centres have many challenges, such as homelessness and street drinking, so I worked with Leicester City Council and voluntary agencies to help reduce that and other anti social behaviour. It’s important to remember we’re there not just to arrest, but to support vulnerable people as well. Prior to that I was chief inspector in charge of criminal justice so I was responsible for things such as custody, identification suites and all the firearms and alcohol licensing. I‘m currently working with the five East Midlands forces to bring on board a common IT platform for the recording of crime, intelligence, prosecution case preparation and custody. Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire are already on it and by June all the forces will be live so it means we will use the same database. We will all instantaneously view the same information, transfer it at the touch of a button and have much closer collaboration between us. It will be the first time five forces in the country will be able to do that. Each day is different and I travel across the region a lot. People often have the impression that policing is all about racing around with blue lights on. Those things happen, but most of the time keeping our communities safe is done away from public view. The force is currently in the midst of a big recruitment drive for special constables – it’s a really great way of helping your community. In the 22 years I’ve been in the job I’ve dealt with some very challenging incidents that, quite rightly, most people never get exposed to. There will always be incidents that stick with you and how you manage that is key. You have to have huge resilience and fortunately after a traumatic experience we have a debrief process with
‘Most of the time keeping our communities safe is done away from public view’ counselling and support. Policing is a very demanding career but also very rewarding. I’ve recently got back into motorcycling and my bike is a Triumph Tiger. I forgot how much I enjoyed riding after being away from it for 10 years. My wife tells me that it’s something to do with my age, and it may well be but it clears my head and is great fun. I also enjoy clay pigeon shooting. We have a team in the national league and championship representing the force. I’m the chairman and Leicestershire came second last year. There’s always a friendly rivalry between us and Lincolnshire Police. I was lucky enough to win a
medal at the national championships last September – my first one in 12 years shooting. I’m also really interested in the First World War. My great-grandfather joined the 9th battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment in 1915 and was wounded and captured in 1917 at the Battle of Polygon Wood. I found some paperwork in a shoebox a relative gave me and since then I’ve done a lot of research and try to go to the battlefields in France and Belgium at least once a year. I go with a group of friends from work who are also interested in history, so we usually make a bit of a trip of it. This year is the first year I’m going on the bike.
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