ACC Katy Barrow-Grint of Thames Valley Police shares her journey into policing and her experiences as a detective.

She was inspired to join the police after studying girl gangs and being interested in women and violence.

She started her career in response at Cowley Police Station and later joined the child abuse investigation teams, which she considers her favorite job.

ACC Barrow-Grint discusses the challenges of working in child protection and the support provided by the police. She also talks about the recruitment of detectives and the skills required for the role.

Takeaways

• ACC Katy Barrow-Grint joined the police after studying girl gangs and being interested in women and violence.
• She started her career in response and later joined the child abuse investigation teams, which she considers her favourite job.
• Working in child protection can be difficult, but it is rewarding to make a difference in the lives of children.
• Recruiting detectives can be challenging due to the nature of the work, but Thames Valley Police has implemented initiatives to maintain detective numbers.
• Skills required for a detective include tenacity, investigative thinking, forensic capability, and digital media expertise.

Sound Bites

• “I was interested in girl gangs because I’m a black belt in karate and I was an England silver medallist for sparring, for fighting.”
• “Being in that child protection environment, you know, literally feeling like you have saved children’s lives that are ruined by child abuse type offences.”
• “There is nationally a problem in terms of detective recruitment. Quite a number of forces are finding it difficult to maintain their detective numbers and get constables to take the detective exam.”

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Katie Barrow-Grint’s Journey
• 03:26 Working in Child Protection
• 06:55 Recruiting and Maintaining Detective Numbers
• 08:47 Skills and Qualities of a Successful Detective