Helping the Police Family Financially Helping the Police Family Financially

Helping the Police Family financially Helping the Police Family financially No1 CopperPot was founded in 1986 to help the Police Family financially. We imagined a lot of you had a good reason to join the Police Family too. To celebrate our anniversary, we asked you why you joined the police. Here are our 10 winners, plus some extra stories which we couldn't leave out! Helping the Police Family financially 7-year-old me joined the police because I wanted to arrest the baddies and send them to jail! 15-year-old me joined the police because I wanted to make people feel as safe as the police made me feel when I was the most scared I had ever been. 24-year-old me joined the police because I needed to buckle down and start a proper career, time to stop messing around! 30-year-old me realises I joined the police 6 years ago because I genuinely care. What you do makes a difference, and you need to decide what sort of difference you want to make! Every person's life I enter at work changes right there in that very second, and I am confident that I am making a difference by caring and acting in small ways as well as in the big moments. "Helping one person might not change the world, but it could change the world for one person". Chantelle Metropolitan Police Helping the Police Family financially On the 7th July 2005 I was working in Russell Square, London. I left Russell Square tube station, making my way to the building I was working at, only minutes before the bomb went off. I also walked through Tavistock Square only 20 minutes before the bus bomb. I heard the explosion and straight away knew it was a bomb, I was on the phone to my father at the time and told him straight away what it was and that I had to go. I was managing around 20 removal men at the time and knew I had to get them out of the area. We all climbed into a small lorry and I got them away. I could see all the emergency services rushing to different scenes which was a sight I will never forget. From that moment on I knew how lucky I was and wanted to help others. Seeing everything going on made me want to be on the other side of that barrier tape. A year later was my first day of training with Thames Valley Police. Douglas Thames Valley Police Helping the Police Family financially I joined the police as a cadet It was my best decision yet For 30 years I walked the beat With the public that I loved to meet A different challenge every day Never knowing what may come my way Some days good, some days bad Some days happy, some days sad Meeting anger, violence and even death Hardly pausing sometimes to take a breath But, through it all a sense of pride And satisfaction, deep inside To help give the public inner peace That is why I joined the Police. David South Wales and Gwent Police Helping the Police Family financially I grew up in the 1980s within a working class home. Whilst money was tight and jobs were scarce, if nothing else we grew up with love. As a kid and even now in adult life, my passion was fishing. Most summer evenings after school and all summer holidays I fished, it kept me out of trouble. For my 10th birthday my parents bought me a new fishing set. I had wanted it for what seems an age but they couldn’t afford to just buy it me. I later learned my parents did extra shifts to buy me this tackle. It was my pride and joy, even to this day I have it. That summer our house was broken into. Along with some of my dads tools and my brothers bike, the thief stole my prized fishing tackle. I was devastated. Several weeks later as I was walking home from school, I spotted my fishing tackle in the window of a local second hand shop. It was unmistakably mine and I could see where my stickers had been removed. My mum politely explained to the shop owner and politely explain that the tackle was mine and it had been stolen. I remember the man being rude to my mum and told her he would not return it, but sell it to her for a discounted price. We just didn’t have the money and I remember walking out of the shop feeling angry and upset. As we left the shop my mum spotted a local Bobby walking towards us and immediately sensed something was wrong. Enquiring as to if we were okay, my mum told him what had happened and the shopkeepers response and I vividly remember the Bobby saying, "Don’t worry love, this is why I joined the police, to help people." He asked me to describe my fishing tackle and told us to wait nearby. He went inside and within a matter of minutes came back out and invited us both inside the shop. He told my mum that the shopkeeper had kindly agreed to return my goods and ensured the man apologised to my mum. I was only 10 but I knew then and there I wanted to be a copper. I couldn’t put it into words what the officer did for me and my mum. He could have walked away, he could have ignored us but he didn’t. He did the right thing and proved to my mum that some police were good. He gave her the ability to walk out of that shop with her head up and he gave me a lifetime of summers and happy memories fishing. He gave me the appetite and drive to join the police and here I am 20 years later doing my best every day and never forgetting what it means to do right by people. Thank you PC John Stone. I will never forget your name. Martin Greater Manchester Police Helping the Police Family financially I worked in high net worth insurance, had a good salary and spent my days talking with millionaires. Then I decided to do volunteer work with the homeless and spent my days seeing two polar ends of society. The hardships faced broke my heart and I wanted to do more. So I ended my career where money drove everything and joined the police to do more. My bank account regrets it. My heart never has. Thames Valley Police Officer Helping the Police Family financially Growing up, I changed my mind regarding my future career depending on what film I'd watched recently. After watching Speed I wanted to join the bomb squad. Top Gun, a pilot... you get the gist. Despite this, there was always a common theme, that I wanted to help others and to make a difference! I think that's what most of us want when we join the Police. After 13 years as a frontline officer, my passion for the job and values remain the same. Helping others is what I do best and I will continue to do so until my final day and beyond. Rachael Leicestershire Police Helping the Police Family financially From the age of 12 years old I became a child carer for my Father, who was a sufferer of Multiple Sclerosis. My parents separated when I was 10 so other than extended family, I lived alone with my father. I had a happy upbringing and attended school alongside my home responsibilities as normal. Due to this, I did not receive qualifications that I would normally have done as my mind and loyalty was elsewhere, but I was confident that this would not hold me back in the future. On leaving school I obtained a variety of experiences in different working roles. My father unfortunately died when I was 17. Although I was learning a trade, I was never happy as felt I wasn’t helping people, something I had grown up doing. I was made aware when I got into my early 30’s that the Police did not require you to have any academic qualifications with life experience and common sense being the main attributes of an officer. I applied in the confidence that I could fulfil this ambition and major career change in order for me to start helping people again. Proud to have attained the post of Constable nearly 18 years ago making my family, including my father I’m sure, extremely proud. Greater Manchester Police Officer Helping the Police Family financially I had joined a Tae Kwon Do class along with my son who had been at school for a couple of years and I was ready to start working again. During a sparring session, I was teamed up with a 6' 3" well built male, I am 5'3". Somehow, I managed to land an excellent (semi contact) right jab into his lower ribs. It turns out this man was an Inspector at GMP. He was so impressed with my determination and fearless approach that he approached me after class and talked to me about joining GMP, and the rest is history! Elaine Greater Manchester Police Helping the Police Family financially I joined the Police because I was told that it is not a job for women to do and definitely not for an Asian woman. So I joined the Police to encourage others like myself to join and to get rid of any misconceptions that people have about it.

Load more