This month’s talk was given by members of the Suffolk Police and proved to be an enlightening look into modern police work.
The talk was given by Detective Superintendent Brown of Suffolk Police and retired Detective Sergeant Darren Bruce. DS Brown talked about police work in general and explained how it is possible to work through the ranks after completing a minimum of two years in uniform. Officers can choose to stay in uniform or move on to other fields such as guns/ dogs/ helicopters. Modern policing requires hours of surveillance including dashcam footage, doorbell Ring film and dredging through the Social Media accounts of suspects. Darren explained that he had worked in Suffolk for 14 years and ended up in the field of Major Crime. Previously he had worked for the RSPCA and had found this experience useful when he twice had to rescue a swan single-handedly.
The officers were keen to stress that the the key to modern policing is Public Confidence and Public Safety. We were given the opportunity to look at an example of a “Jury Pack” which was a photographic timeline of all the evidence gathered in the murder inquiry of a young boy in Ipswich. Called “Operation Ruddock” it demonstrated just how painstakingly the evidence had been gathered and put together.
All in all it was an illuminating glimpse into the world of policing in Suffolk.