Armed Forces Day: Lincolnshire Police remembers service personnel and reaffirms commitment to Covenant

As we join thousands of others across the UK to mark Armed Forces Day – paying tribute to service families, veterans, cadets and the fallen – Lincolnshire Police is proud to remember those who have served, and reaffirm the organisation’s support for the Armed Forces Covenant.

Many veterans make up the force and are a valuable asset to Lincolnshire Police.

Detective Inspector Nicky Duke, who spent eight years in the Navy before entering policing, said:
“My time in the Royal Navy taught me the importance of teamwork but also gave me the confidence to operate independently. I have seen parts of the world some people may never get to experience (some good and some bad) and this has helped shape my resilience and demeanour when engaging with people from any walk of life.
“I would definitely say the military provides a solid platform for anyone thinking of joining the Police force. I found the transition to the police relatively easy, having already been in a uniformed service and there are a lot of similarities in both force’s values.”

Detective Inspector Alison Bowley-Webb and her wife Detective Chief Inspector Kerry Webb both joined Lincolnshire Police after having previous served in the RAF. 

Ali said:
“I left the Royal Air Force in 2005 after nearly 10 years’ service to set up my own business as a personal trainer. I was always torn between a career in the Military and Police, so it felt the natural thing to apply to Lincolnshire Police as this is where I had chosen to settle after leaving the military.  Realising I had some transferable skills I felt things just ‘fitted’ and loved that I was part of a team again. 

“I have now completed nearly 16 years in Lincolnshire Police and worked in some amazing roles:  Response Officer, Firearms, Serious Collision Investigation and I am proud to have been promoted to Detective Inspector on the Response Investigation Unit.”

Kerry said:
“I joined Lincolnshire Police 18 years ago and I haven’t looked back. I have worked with some inspirational people and have been part of some amazing teams throughout my career including Uniform roles, detective work in CID, proactive teams and specialist operational work.  I am now a DCI at East Midlands Special Operations Unit, working on Serious and Organised Criminality.”

PC Lee Giles joined Lincolnshire Police six years ago. He has served with the Royal Marines for five years before starting on local response policing in Sleaford. From there, he moved into armed response.

Lee said:
“I joined the Police at the time of the Manchester bombing and this cemented my motivation for joining, wanting to do my part in protecting my community from those wanting to cause harm to innocent people.

“Policing offers a number of challenges and experiences and I feel that lessons and skills learnt in the military have proved invaluable, particularly around dealing with high stress, kinetic situations. I would recommend Policing to anyone coming from a military background. The team ethos and personal bearing I developed in the Marines have been greatly transferable skills into my current role and if you have a genuine dislike towards criminality and the effects it has on victims, coupled with a strong sense of duty then Policing is the job for you. Like the military, there is such a wide range of jobs within the Police there is always scope to move into a new role.”

In 2020 Lincolnshire Police signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant.

The agreement sets out an assurance that ex-service personnel and members of the military should be treated with fairness and respect.

A large proportion of the population in Lincolnshire is made up of veterans, at the time of signing the covenant a reported eight percent of the country's ex-service personnel were living in the county, this has since risen to over 10 percent.

As part of the Armed Forces Covenant there is a focus on helping members of the Armed Forces community have the same access to government and commercial services and products as any other citizen.

The force also works with Project Nova delivered in partnership between The Forces Employment Charity and Walking With The Wounded, Project Nova is there to offer support to veterans who have been arrested and enter police custody, or are at risk of being arrested through any vulnerability, caused by homelessness, and associated issues.

Veterans who can self-refer or be referred by specialist police teams and other statutory organisations, because they are vulnerable or at risk.

Lincolnshire Police is also Silver Award holder for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme and employs a vast number of service veterans and families within Lincolnshire Police.

Chief Constable Chris Haward said: 
“Today, as people pause to remember and reflect on the service our military have given to this country, it is also a fitting moment to put a spotlight on our commitment through this covenant to ensure that our veterans are treated with fairness and respect. It’s the least we can do and I’m proud to put my name to this and continue to support as Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police.”

PCC Marc Jones said: 
“Veterans and their families are a hugely important part of our Lincolnshire community, and I am delighted by the pledge made to support them.

“The covenant rightly demonstrates, not just our profound gratitude to those who have served in the forces to protect us all, but also to demonstrate how important they are to our communities.

“It is right and proper there is a written commitment to veterans that they will be treated with the same fairness and integrity as all other members of the public and I am honoured to be able to put my name to the document.”

You can view the covenant here.

 

Detective Inspector Nicky Duke

 

DI Alison Bowley-Webb 

Detective Chief Inspector Kerry Webb

Detective Inspector Alison Bowley-Webb and Detective Chief Inspector Kerry Webb