Port of Tilbury-Police Constable

[StTerry * 2]

Hello. Quick couple of questions if you'd be so good as to help me:

 

Would it be unusual for 2 Sergeants to work together in a team (like a partnership)? This is for a drama I'm writing so doesn't have to be 100% realistic, but enough so that people don't spit out their tea! One is actually an acting Sgt.

 

My other question is related to missing persons - a student has gone missing (again, this is fiction). Totally out of character and no information apart from she was last seen getting ready to go on a date a few nights ago. No idea who with or where. Would this be assessed as medium risk for now? Would officers do general checks - mobile number, CCTV, ask around etc - but not be working on it 24/7?

 

Thanks

 

[XA84 + 434]

3 hours ago, StTerry said:

Hello. Quick couple of questions if you'd be so good as to help me:

 

Would it be unusual for 2 Sergeants to work together in a team (like a partnership)? This is for a drama I'm writing so doesn't have to be 100% realistic, but enough so that people don't spit out their tea! One is actually an acting Sgt.

 

My other question is related to missing persons - a student has gone missing (again, this is fiction). Totally out of character and no information apart from she was last seen getting ready to go on a date a few nights ago. No idea who with or where. Would this be assessed as medium risk for now? Would officers do general checks - mobile number, CCTV, ask around etc - but not be working on it 24/7?

 

Thanks

 

I'm not an officer but do have a little experience of missing persons. 

When a member of the public calls the police either on 999 and 101 and report a missing person in this case lets say it was the persons mother then the telephone operator will take a brief missing person report over the phone, they will grade it themselves initially depending on risk so for instance if somebody called in and said they can't find their child whose under 5 or their friend has gone missing and they left a suicide note it would be regarded high risk and get an immediate response where as somebody who regularly goes missing with no risk factors would likely be regarded as a low response. 

In terms of your your situation the operator would gather enough information regarding the misper (missing person) to assess time last seen, is this common/uncommon, do they have any medical issues/mental health issues, did they take a car, were they meeting somebody, is there phone ringing, when was the last time somebody spoke with them, have you made contact with other friends and family, are there places that they are likely to go, how were they went they left was anything bothering them as well as other questions along those lines. With that they will send this to district and an officer will be assigned to make contact - depending on the initial grading of the call. An officer will be sent out to the address where she is missing from and speak with the reporting party and complete a more in depth report about the misper - again this is where a review of the grading would take place. 

If somebody is considered high risk then it's quite normal for the force control room to continue trying the mobile number to see if contact can be me, CCTV checks and be requested from there too. The force control room can also request ping requests to see where the mobile was last activated. If the missing person was driving then they can organise ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) checks to see where the car last pinged up. 

I'm sure officers will be able to advise you on the processes once they get to the scene and start taking further details. 

 

[StTerry * 2]

Thanks, that's very useful. I think based on the circumstances I have in mind the student will be medium risk as there's no immediate threat to life but it is out of character. There's also little information for my officers on where she went on the date or who with, as she didn't tell anyone.

 

Would be interested to know about the Sgt thing too. Thanks!

[Richhamdo + 872]

22 minutes ago, StTerry said:

Thanks, that's very useful. I think based on the circumstances I have in mind the student will be medium risk as there's no immediate threat to life but it is out of character. There's also little information for my officers on where she went on the date or who with, as she didn't tell anyone.

 

Would be interested to know about the Sgt thing too. Thanks!

@StTerry *   I have never been a police officer but was a special constable for a fair while working in a very large rural area.I am retired now.

I can only speak from my observations when doing the usual duties, ie Friday Saturday nights, weekend and bank holiday jobs,race meetings that sort of thing. I always worked with every shift and I must say I can never recall a sgt/ acting sgt working together. 
if a sgt was poorly or on his or her holidays then one of the shift would act up for however long it was required .

I know we had someone as an acting sgt for well over a year, to all intents and purposes he was the Sgt and knew all about it.

I cant speak for the big  cities but from what I saw in the various town stations in my division the sgts were up to their ears in admin and all that sort of thing. Sorry to be downbeat about this but speaking from my perspective I don’t think it would be reality, thats very important with these sort of things. Just take Z- Cars for example,that was about the most realistic from the  seventies from what i remember, my tutor when I started told me about the fifties /sixties policing and its a pity they didn’t have PACE then instead of Judges Rules, thats all I can say.

Incidentally, if you are able to say, is this story going to be about detectives like “Cagney and Lacy” sort of thing for example or uninformed officers working on a normal shift in the present day?.Rich.

[samwich2203 * 2]

In my force most response teams have two stripes who will run the team. Not uncommon for one to be acting or awaiting a permanent posting 

[StTerry * 2]

2 hours ago, Richhamdo said:

@StTerry *   I have never been a police officer but was a special constable for a fair while working in a very large rural area.I am retired now.

I can only speak from my observations when doing the usual duties, ie Friday Saturday nights, weekend and bank holiday jobs,race meetings that sort of thing. I always worked with every shift and I must say I can never recall a sgt/ acting sgt working together. 
if a sgt was poorly or on his or her holidays then one of the shift would act up for however long it was required .

I know we had someone as an acting sgt for well over a year, to all intents and purposes he was the Sgt and knew all about it.

I cant speak for the big  cities but from what I saw in the various town stations in my division the sgts were up to their ears in admin and all that sort of thing. Sorry to be downbeat about this but speaking from my perspective I don’t think it would be reality, thats very important with these sort of things. Just take Z- Cars for example,that was about the most realistic from the  seventies from what i remember, my tutor when I started told me about the fifties /sixties policing and its a pity they didn’t have PACE then instead of Judges Rules, thats all I can say.

Incidentally, if you are able to say, is this story going to be about detectives like “Cagney and Lacy” sort of thing for example or uninformed officers working on a normal shift in the present day?.Rich.

 

Hi Richhamdo and thanks for your interesting reply. Yes, it's basically going to be a pair of officers who search for missing people, a bit like the detective series you mention. It doesn't have to be 100% realistic. They won't be in uniform and they will of course get the most 'exciting' cases! It's a bit like X-Files but with missing people instead of aliens!

 

It's not so much realistic police procedural. I guess my idea with the Sgt thing is that the acting Sgt will be 'mentored' by the more experienced one, and there will be power struggles between them.

[StTerry * 2]

10 minutes ago, samwich2203 said:

In my force most response teams have two stripes who will run the team. Not uncommon for one to be acting or awaiting a permanent posting 

Cheers for the info - by stripes do you mean Sergeants? Sorry I'm not up with all the lingo! My two characters will be running the missing persons team in a big city. One acting and the other more experienced.

[samwich2203 * 2]

1 hour ago, StTerry said:

Cheers for the info - by stripes do you mean Sergeants? Sorry I'm not up with all the lingo! My two characters will be running the missing persons team in a big city. One acting and the other more experienced.

Sorry yes stripe is sergeant haven’t spent any time with the locate team on my force but would be surprised if there isn’t two possibly a couple more 

[Zulu 22 + 4,575]

I have a little experience having retired after 30 years and, served in two Forces. In the whole of the 30 years I never ever saw anyone acting up as Sergeant. In acting ranks I only knew of Acting Inspector's. That was grossly misused as they occasionally made someone acting Inspector prior to attaining the full rank.  As a Federation official we took this up, with some success, with Command as we believed that it was a misuse tending to use it when they were not quite sure that the officer could hack it in that rank.  They accepted that it was a misuse when we stress that it showed that the persons making the Promotions was too hesitant for doing the job.  Bear in mind that when someone is promoted they are on Probation for 12 months before their promotion is confirmed.

I could not envisage a Temporary Sergeant heading up any specialist team, especially Missing Persons.  There is always the potential for things to go very wrong with Mispers.

[skydiver + 1,099]

I was a acting PS when I first went regging as I didn't have an OSPRE part 2 pass.  Since that time the part two has been abolished so the second time I went regging I was called a temporary sergeant, so in my case I was a T/DS.  In the last 12 months my force for its sins has found that it has a shortage of sergeants, so has been putting unqualified people into sergeants roles as acting sergeants.  It has always been the case in my force that you'd have to pass your PS exam before being considered for a regging spot but we've changed our approach due to shortages.

Unlike Zulu's experience which IIRC is from Greater Manchester, my county mounty force does put reggers into specialist roles so I have seen regging PS in our misper team as well as in sexual offences and domestic violence among others.

I have also seen two part time sergeants working together on a shift with their hours or patterns complementing each other.  Our response teams also used to have 2 PS per shift  to cover the major city but the counties response shifts only had one PS per shift.

[BizzieBee 100]

3 hours ago, StTerry said:

Yes, it's basically going to be a pair of officers who search for missing people, a bit like the detective series you mention. It doesn't have to be 100% realistic. They won't be in uniform and they will of course get the most 'exciting' cases! It's a bit like X-Files but with missing people instead of aliens!

I’m glad it won’t have to be 100% realistic. You’d be lucky enough to find one Detective investigating a misper, let alone two - being DS or A/DS. 

That’s slightly tongue-in-cheek and wouldn’t detract from a gritty drama type of television show, or a book. 

Agreed with @XA84 in the above post, with additional tools such as triangulation, cell masts and open-source. Depending on your setting of the drama, if in the current day setting, social media can be contacted for locations/logins and messages, etc. Typically this would be for ‘High Risk’, however, with appropriate authority. Also, if present day, use of thermal imaging and, of course, drones!
 

Mispers are graded according to risk or perceived risk. Most have been discussed already, but where there is a risk of CSE and the like the risk is increased. 
 

Don’t forget to make use of / suggesting the guys and girls of SAR (Search and Rescue) if appropriate. 
 

Best wishes  

 

Edited February 9, 2021 by BizzieBee

[StTerry * 2]

Thank you so much everyone for your really interesting expertise! It certainly won't be a 'realistic' drama - that's not what it's intended to be - but like I said, I don't want people spitting out their tea because it's pushing reality too far!

 

I think I'll stick with a DS and A/DS working together as it helps with the character dynamic and element of competition between them. I know this won't be representative of all forces, but the place where this is set is fictional and quite fanciful anyway.

 

Great ideas about SAR etc - thanks!

 

Would be interesting to know what actual police officers think of police/detective dramas in general. Is it usually a groan-fest or are there any that you are impressed with?

[Ironic + 46]

11 minutes ago, StTerry said:

Thank you so much everyone for your really interesting expertise! It certainly won't be a 'realistic' drama - that's not what it's intended to be - but like I said, I don't want people spitting out their tea because it's pushing reality too far!

 

I think I'll stick with a DS and A/DS working together as it helps with the character dynamic and element of competition between them. I know this won't be representative of all forces, but the place where this is set is fictional and quite fanciful anyway.

 

Great ideas about SAR etc - thanks!

 

Would be interesting to know what actual police officers think of police/detective dramas in general. Is it usually a groan-fest or are there any that you are impressed with?

As a serving officer I stopped watching most dramas a while ago. To put it as groan-inducing would be an understatement!

I do occasionally watch the odd episode of police interceptors or 24hrs in Police custody. I am bit on the fence with Police Code Zero, having heard the button press tone many times on the radio and having pressed it, the sound has a horrible habit of putting a chill down my spine, it's certainly not something I like to relive in my lounge...!

If Line of Duty was truly reflective, the force depicted would have been investigated, shutdown and reformed by many many years ago. It's certainly a thriller, but reflective of actual Policing? 🙄

[BizzieBee 100]

32 minutes ago, StTerry said:

Would be interesting to know what actual police officers think of police/detective dramas in general. Is it usually a groan-fest or are there any that you are impressed with?

No groans here. It’s just a drama. I’ve let to see one even close to realism. Obviously the “well that isn’t right” does come out a few times, but it is what it is. 
 

If they filmed something realistic in a shift, it would be incredibly boring. 
 

Helen Mirren in ‘Prime Suspect’ was a great show! 

[skydiver + 1,099]

8 minutes ago, Ironic said:

If Line of Duty was truly reflective, the force depicted would have been investigated, shutdown and reformed by many many years ago. It's certainly a thriller, but reflective of actual Policing? 🙄

It always really annoys me when Jed Mercurio  who writes it, states that it is realistic!  I've heard him say that in a couple of interviews over the years so he really does seem to believe it.