Jo Black

Employer: Metropolitan Police
Area of work: Police service
Qualifications: BA English literature, Queen Mary, University of London

5.40 am

My shift starts at 6.00 am but I usually arrive about 20 minutes early to get changed and check my e-mail. The shift starts with parade for about ten minutes – this is when the sergeants go through the daily briefing, which includes pictures of prominent criminals in the area, notes on things to look out for and an update on officer safety issues.

6.30 am

I work in the response team and by 6.30 am everyone has to be in the cars. We work in pairs – spending nine hours in a car with someone really gives you a chance to bond! It’s usually quiet in the mornings, so we patrol the area using the intelligence delivered at the morning briefing as a basis. We watch out for people who look suspicious or cars that are driving erratically, but just driving around in a police car deters crime.

9.00 am

I return to the station canteen for breakfast. I catch up on a little paperwork and then go back on patrol. The control room sends us details of any outstanding non-emergency 999 calls for low-level crime.

12.00 pm

If there’s an emergency call, all the response teams go straight there. Emergency response really keeps you on your toes as you never know what will happen. It tends to be busier in the afternoons and evenings, when we’re often called out to a domestic or to control disorderly behaviour from people leaving bars and clubs. A critical incident means that everyone’s rushed off their feet.

2.30 pm

We return to the station to hand over the cars to the afternoon shift and then spend half an hour completing paperwork. We rotate shifts every five weeks and I sometimes work evenings and weekends, so I have to make an effort to keep in touch with non-work friends, but I’ve made lots of friends at work and it’s great to know they will back me up.