On the Front Line with Thames Valley Police

Have you ever wondered what life is like on the front line for both Thames Valley Police and the public they are protecting? I did so I worked a shift with an Incident and Crime Response (ICR) crew – the officers who respond to 999 calls.

We deployed on a Saturday evening and it was busy from the very start, with a top priority call to respond to a report of youths carrying knives and baseball bats in the south of Reading. We joined other crews to do an area sweep but the suspects had left the scene.

Things carried on in a similar way, dealing mostly with violent crime and domestic violence incidents, as well as some less serious incidents such as a road traffic collision. All 999 calls are prioritised and incidents where there is a risk of harm to anyone are given top priority.

Getting to the scene quickly and safely involved plenty of high speed driving on blues and twos. The driver needs a cool head and split second reactions, it’s not for the faint hearted.

Events finally quietened down in the early hours of Sunday, partly because there were additional units on patrol to deal with the inevitable Saturday night incidents due to the night time economy. 

In the early hours of Sunday the shift ended. We returned to the station and I had a chat with one of the supervisors. He advised that during the shift all of the most serious incidents - where there was a risk of harm to anyone, had been successfully attended. He added that although during the shift there were as usual more 999 calls to respond to than there were crews available, the less serious incidents would be followed up later.

As an independent observer I was very impressed with how TVP prioritised calls, responded quickly and dealt with situations professionally, with a focus on keeping the public safe. Thank you!