- guardian.co.uk, Thursday 20 March 2003 12.01 GMT
David Crinnion
I'm still a detective inspector with the British Transport police (BTP) responsible, as senior investigating officer with a team of about 12, for an area ranging from Berwick in the north to northern Derbyshire and Lincolnshire in the south.
I've been involved in a number of major inquiries in the past year. One in particular that people may have heard of was the theft of two-and-a-half miles of railway line at Penshaw near Sunderland. Two people have now been arrested for this but there have been a lot of related inquiries all over the north-east of England which have been very time consuming for me. On top of this, I have been carrying out another inquiry into a linked series of prostitute rapes adjacent to the railway in Leeds.
My typical day is still much the same as last year - I arrive at the office in Newcastle at about 8am, then do a number of administrative jobs such as checking my email as well as the crime book before going out on jobs. I would say my hours are still increasing; at lunch I usually have a sandwich at my desk.
I'm working an average of 60-65 hours a week. It's well over what I'm paid for. I don't get overtime. Interestingly, I was recently looking at one of my payslips from about 12 years ago when I was a detective inspector with the Metropolitan police in London and my wages haven't actually increased in all that time. In fact, my wages have decreased despite the pay rises because we don't get paid overtime now.
In theory, I'm meant to work Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, but on top of the extra hours I work every third Saturday with occasional Sundays and I'm on call every third week.
Dealing with travelling football fans is still the BTP's core business. In the last year there has been the Potter's Bar crash investigation and we supplied staff to it so my team of 12 was depleted by two for a period. We're also sending people from my area, mainly uniformed officers, to the robbery initiative in London so that also has an impact on staffing levels.
I'm still totally committed to public service, but the work pressures are certainly getting greater. We are now under more scrutiny and examination than ever before. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and various human rights legislation is making an impact. For example, if we want to undertake surveillance, we have to apply for authority that is subject to judicial review by the surveillance commissioner. This all means a huge rise in paperwork which is extremely frustrating. You can't just sit down and do an operational briefing now - you have to do health and safety, risk assessment etc. If you need to react to something quickly you don't always have the opportunity to do that. It's a common gripe among the force.
Colleagues are not saying this is a job for life any more. They're getting skilled up and they are moving on elsewhere. Typically, they move into sectors such as security or financial services investigation.
Public voices: March 21 2002
Detective inspector, British Transport Police
Salary: £39,000
Last year I was a detective inspector with the fraud squad at Scotland Yard and was investigating complex allegations of serious fraud in the private sector involving sums from £750,000 upwards. I was being paid about £46,000 a year - half the amount I would have got in a similar position in the private sector - and was working, on average, a 60-hour week.
Then, after 31 years with the Met, I moved back to the place where I grew up - County Durham. I'm now a detective inspector with the British Transport Police (BTP) responsible, as senior investigating officer with a team of about 12, for an area ranging from Berwick in the north to northern Derbyshire and Lincolnshire in the south. Basically, I cover all the counties of north-eastern England.
The BTP investigates all major rail accidents and all other incidents which occur on the railway system, liasing with our colleagues in other police forces.
A large part of the BTP's work is connected with travelling football fans and this takes up a large amount of time each week during the season. In addition, we provide a physical presence on the system to provide protection and reassurance to the public. However, with only about 2,000 officers, almost half of whom are London based, our resources are spread pretty thinly. Despite this, we provide a very good level of service.
A typical day sees me arrive at work in Newcastle at about 8am to check the incident log and crime-related matters. Then there may be meetings, or I may have to travel to other stations to supervise investigations. As I said, it's a large area and this can involve a lot of travelling. I am on call every third week, so the hours can be quite extended at times, but that comes with the job.
This job is a complete change for me, from a specialist branch to more general duties, and I am now more aware of the demands on the police service generally.
The major problem is that the demand is increasing faster than police numbers are, so the public perception is that we are doing less. That is not actually true, we provide a good service to the public, but it could be better. The situation is much more complex than it seems, but the remedy is not within our control.
The Common Good: March 21 2001
Detective inspector, fraud squad, Scotland Yard
Salary: £46,000
I have been in the police for 31 years, a detective inspector for 14 of those years, and currently run a team of 12 officers investigating complex allegations of serious fraud.
I am the senior investigating officer for 33 current inquiries, plus at least as many awaiting to come before the courts.
We work outside the mainstream area of policing and deal, in the main, with fraud in the private sector involving sums from £750,000 upwards.
I get paid about £46,000 a year and work an average 60-hour week. A comparable position in the private sector, say a private investigator working for a bank, would earn roughly double what I earn now.
The service aspect of the police is inherent - it's what we're there for. We deal with the things in society that other people don't want to deal with.
We have to gain the public's acceptance, but you're never going to get 100% acceptance. Policing is not a liberal occupation - policing is a regulatory arm of the state. The fact that the public may not like you, well, it goes with the territory.
I would hate to see a two-tier, public/private police system, however, properly constructed partnership agreements are extremely useful. Once you start walking away from your responsibilities, it's very difficult to face up to them again.
If you've got private security guards on an estate, for example, it's better than nothing, but the conditions of service would certainly be eroded.
I don't think the public is being better served by the police now than when I joined the force. There is a less visible police presence on the streets.
I drifted into the police by accident but I'm pleased I did because I have enjoyed it. I haven't enjoyed going home after 20-hour days but every so often you go home thinking, "that's worth it".
You can get very low as you deal with some dreadful things, but the highs can sustain you for weeks and weeks. It's worth all the aggravation. I don't think I would have enjoyed any other world more, expect perhaps the Royal Navy, but I wouldn't want my son to do it.
