What was your role at the festival?

In my capacity as a DCI with Thames Valley Police, I was elected as the Bronze Lead responsible for the team investigating and detecting reports of crime. The role formed part of a clear command structure which is really important for big events like a festival, so everyone knows who is responsible and accountable for decision-making.

In this role I was working the night shifts, between the hours of 7pm – 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 crime in relation to 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 deal with a variety of incidents at the festival. Most commonly we deal with drugs 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 a number of investigations to progress throughout the day, as well as individuals who had been arrested and were held in custody awaiting interview. 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? What led you to this role?

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.

As the Head of the National Detective Programme, I am responsible for the design and delivery of the programme from the initial academy training to graduation, and I get to work with an incredible team of people who make it all happen. 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 Reading Festival.

Do you have a favourite band from the festival this year? Did you get to see any music while you were on duty? 

Sadly, working the festival doesn’t get you access to the music! We’re too focused on our policing duties anyway, but I’d have loved to have been at Lana del Rey’s set, it looked incredible. Other than that, my teenage self would have been very keen to see Blink-182!