I joined the police for moments like this; to save people, to be there for someone who has no one else.

As I was driving into work, I came across a man who looked very distressed and was standing on the wrong side of a road bridge railing, peering down into the traffic below.

I was immediately on the alert, realising that this man was going through some sort of crisis.

He was looking down and crying hard, so I stopped my car and ran towards him.

As I was in civilian clothes, not in uniform, he wouldn’t have known that I was a police officer. Luckily, I had my radio with me.

I begged him not to jump, and I told him that if he gave me a chance, I would do whatever I could to help him.

He told me he had enough and that he wanted to jump; that he couldn’t take the pain any longer and that he had been crying out for help, but no one was listening to him.

Seeing him so distraught, and shaking, and thought to myself, I need to convince this man to give me a chance.

I said to him: “Let me make one call, I promise you I will help you”, and I said this over and over to him.

He began shaking again, and I thought he would let go of the railing, so I pressed the emergency button on my radio.

My team mates quickly responded, and closed the road down to stop the traffic.

I showed my radio to the man and said “Look, I am getting help for you, just give me a chance”.

Once the man heard the chatter over the radio, he began walking to a safer spot on the bridge.

Shortly, another officer arrived on the bridge, and we both grabbed hold of him, and took him to a place of safety where he will get the help he so badly needed.

I joined the police for moments like this; to save people, to be there for someone who has no one else, to help people with their problems, and to be someone a vulnerable person can look to and ask for help.

Working as part of a team and helping people that need it the most.

PC 610 Naseeb Khan
Team 3 North Response

Whether you’re concerned about yourself or a loved one, there are mental health charities, organisations and support groups that can offer expert advice and help.

Anxiety UK

Charity providing support if you have been diagnosed with an anxiety condition.

Phone: 03444 775 774 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 7.30pm; Saturday to Sunday, 10am to 2pm)

Website: www.anxietyuk.org.uk

Bipolar UK

A charity helping people living with manic depression or bipolar disorder.

Website: www.bipolaruk.org.uk

CALM

CALM is the Campaign Against Living Miserably, for men aged 15 to 35.

Phone: 0800 58 58 58 (daily, 5pm to midnight)

Website: www.thecalmzone.net

Men’s Health Forum

24/7 stress support for men by text, chat and email.

Website: www.menshealthforum.org.uk

Mental Health Foundation

Provides information and support for anyone with mental health problems or learning disabilities.

Website: www.mentalhealth.org.uk

Mind

Promotes the views and needs of people with mental health problems.

Phone: 0300 123 3393 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm)

Website: www.mind.org.uk

No Panic

Voluntary charity offering support for sufferers of panic attacks and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Offers a course to help overcome your phobia or OCD.

Phone: 0844 967 4848 (daily, 10am to 10pm). Calls cost 5p per minute plus your phone provider’s Access Charge

Website: www.nopanic.org.uk

PAPYRUS

Young suicide prevention society.

Phone: HOPELINEUK 0800 068 4141 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 10pm, and 2pm to 10pm on weekends and bank holidays)

Website: www.papyrus-uk.org

Rethink Mental Illness

Support and advice for people living with mental illness.

Phone: 0300 5000 927 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 4pm)

Website: www.rethink.org

Samaritans

Confidential support for people experiencing feelings of distress or despair.

Phone: 116 123 (free 24-hour helpline)

Website: www.samaritans.org.uk

SANE

Emotional support, information and guidance for people affected by mental illness, their families and carers. 

SANEline: 0300 304 7000 (daily, 4.30pm to 10.30pm)

Textcare: comfort and care via text message, sent when the person needs it most: www.sane.org.uk/textcare

Peer support forum: www.sane.org.uk/supportforum

Website: www.sane.org.uk/support

YoungMinds

Information on child and adolescent mental health. Services for parents and professionals.

Phone: Parents’ helpline 0808 802 5544 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 4pm)

Website: www.youngminds.org.uk

In my opinion, there’s no other job like it

Detective Constable Dave Brecknock has been a police officer for almost thirty years, working on high profile cases and in a number of specialist roles. Here he tells us how his passion for investigation means that being a detective is the best job in the world.

I’d been working as a silk screen printer, but knew factory life was not for me, and I wanted to do something that made a difference to people’s lives.

One day, a police officer knocked on my door during house to house enquiries about a murder in the local area, and we got talking. It was him who suggested I should apply, and he even brought the information pack and application form round for me to fill in.

After I’d completed my basic training, I joined Bedfordshire Police full time in July 1992, and my career began as a beat constable in Luton town centre, and later in Marsh Farm. 

Dealing with the public in the town and surrounding communities, I did my best to make it a better place to live and work for all the people I met.

Along the way, there were further training opportunities which saw me qualify as a firearms officer, a self-defence instructor, an advanced driver and motorcycle officer, a surveillance officer and a financial investigator.

I also qualified as a scene of crime officer (SOCO), a specialist search and exhibits officer, a bomb scene manager. I trained in public order, and in methods of entry – yes, I got to put doors in with a big red key!

Over the years, I have been seconded to New Scotland Yard as part of an investigation into a terror plot, and I worked on the London tube bombings investigation in a counter-terror unit representing Bedfordshire.

I also got to work in a regional crime investigation team working on cross border crime in surveillance and investigation.

Is it as exciting as it sounds? You bet it is, and the support and training you receive in policing can’t be bought or experienced in the civilian world. Of course, there are difficult times, and unpleasant tasks, but the training and support are there to equip you to handle it.

I always thought that working in Special Branch was the pinnacle of my career, but moving to CID opened my scope for investigations and I embraced life as a detective.

One of my later cases featured in the award-winning television series “24 Hours in Police Custody”. The Detective and The Surgeon told the story of a four-year investigation and an eighteen-week court case, which all started with the report of a burglary and some stolen antiques.  The surgeon is now serving eight years for fraud and perverting the course of justice.

There is still no other job like policing. Once you are in, and if you want it, you will always have the opportunity for promotion, or if you find a department or a specialism that interests you, aim towards getting a job within it.

We are recruiting for our Accelerated Detective Constable Programme now, and if you are looking for a career like no other, then visit our ADCP information page to find out how you can apply.

Closing date for applications is Sunday 26 July.

Helping a victim to overcome honour-based abuse

Today (14 July) is the annual day of remembrance for those killed in so-called “honour” crimes, and to raise awareness of the often hidden crimes of honour-based abuse and forced marriage.

Holly Burton, Victim Engagement Officer, shares a recent experience of honour-based abuse.

In my role as a Victim Engagement Officer (VEO) with the Emerald team, I’m trained to support the victims of domestic abuse, in whatever form that takes, and however much or little help is needed. Some victims just need advice and a listening ear, others need more practical help, or measures to keep them safe from their abuser.
While our specially trained police officers deal with the investigation of a case, we are there purely for the victim; to provide help and assistance with anything and everything, at what is probably the worst time in someone’s life.
A few months ago, I visited a young woman in hospital, where she was being treated following an attempt to take her own life.

Accompanied by the detective who would be investigating the abuse that this woman had suffered, we heard first hand about the unbearable torment her family had put her through.

She disclosed that they disapproved of her boyfriend, and were pressuring her to end the relationship, but more worryingly, she had also been assaulted by multiple family members for refusing to marry someone else.

In sheer desperation at her situation, feeling hopeless, and not knowing where to find help, she overdosed on paracetamol and tried to drink bleach. Luckily she was taken to hospital where they saved her life.

Together with support from the hospital’s safeguarding lead, and an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA), we were able to keep her safe, and I was then able to find temporary accommodation on her release from hospital.

She was concerned about her job, and that her family might go to her workplace to find her, so I liaised with her employer to implement further safeguarding measures. They were sympathetic to her situation and amenable to finding a remote-working solution, so she could continue her role while she got settled.

Happily, she has now made a permanent move to a new location, and I just heard that she’s engaged to marry her boyfriend. I am delighted that we were able to help this woman escape the so called honour-based abuse she had suffered, which is often masked by culture, tradition and religion, and hidden within the community.

If you are a victim of honour-based abuse or violence, there is much we can do to help.

Your personal safety is the most important, and if you feel that you are in danger, you should contact the police immediately.

To report a crime, call police on 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.

14 July would have been Shafilea Ahmed’s birthday and was chosen as the day of remembrance by Karma Nirvana, a national charity to support victims of honour-based abuse and forced marriage.

Shafilea Ahmed was a 17-year-old British Pakistani girl from Warrington, who was murdered by her parents in a suspected “honour killing” in September 2003 in the belief that their daughter was too Westernised, and refused a forced marriage.

Forced Marriage Unit – Foreign & Commonwealth Office www.fco.gov.uk/forcedmarriage
Freedom Charity www.freedomcharity.org.uk
Domestic Abuse National Helpline (24 hour line) 0808 2000247
Karma Nirvana helpline 0800 599 247

NB: Some details have been left out to protect the victim’s identity.

Holly Burton – Bedfordshire Police VEO