Detective case study: Richard Longley
I left the Armed Forces in March 2020 after a 22-year career in the Royal Military Police, having served in Germany (twice), Bosnia, Northern Ireland, Cyprus and Afghanistan (again, twice). At that time, based on qualifications attained, experience and transferable skills, I thought that I would have no trouble at all securing myself future employment. Little did I know that three days after I returned my uniform, the Government introduced the first National lockdown measures to deal with the initial wave of COVID infections spreading in the community. Employment in every sector ground to a halt.
Fast forward eight months to October 2020, during which I spent without employment home-schooling my four-year-old daughter, and I was finally able to gain employment with Suffolk Police as a Police Staff Investigator (PSI) with the West Safeguarding Investigation Unit. This, however, was a temporary position which, by the time I got my feet under the desk due to delays caused by COVID, turned out to be more temporary than I thought. Therefore, I was placed in the unenviable position of having to complete further job applications during my first week in post.
In January 2021, I started a post as a PSI with the West Serious Crime Detection Team, investigating County Lines and Organised Crime. At that time, as one of two civilians remotely located with a team of Detective Constables, managed by a Detective Sergeant and a Detective Inspector, I was treated very much as one of the team, a Detective without a warrant card and the power of arrest. This fuelled my desire for more and I was signposted by the DS to the Suffolk Police website and the Direct Entry Detective scheme.
My application to join the scheme was successful and, on 19th September 2021, I left Suffolk Police and my employment as a PSI and, the next day, I joined Suffolk Police as a trainee recruit.
After completing the initial training, 13 weeks tutorship and four weeks of investigations within the Custody Investigations unit, I took up post in South Safeguarding Investigation in April 2022, and completed the PIP 1 qualification in November 2023. I then completed the PIP 2 in June 2024, qualifying as a Detective Constable.
I have now been with SIU for a little over two years and, during that time, I have worked on a range of investigations, such as: assaults on and sudden unexplained deaths of children, child abduction, indecent images of children, assaults on vulnerable adults and serious sexual offences. This has led to me working with a multitude of supporting agencies and cementing long lasting professional relationships.
I’m not going to lie, being a detective is very demanding, challenging hard work and the rewards are few and far between, but it is definitely worth it. I joined the police to make a difference in people’s lives and to help people who are unable to help themselves. I know that I am doing that on a daily basis, even though, sometimes, I do have to remind myself.