Retiring West Mercia Police Chief speaks out on turbulent times

There have been cutbacks, the alliance with Warwickshire Police and some of the most terrible crimes of the last decade.

But now, Chief Constable David Shaw says it is time for someone with fresh ideas to take the helm as it moves into a new era.

After announcing that he will retire this summer, Mr Shaw today spoke candidly to the Shropshire Star.

He said his main priority as he prepares to leave is to pay tribute to colleagues across the force who he says have done "above and beyond" in the call of duty.

The 56-year-old said: "There's probably a natural break point. In one sense we now have five-year contracts as chief constables as mine runs out at the end of July.

"There is a new police and crime commissioner coming in in May and I believe they should be able to work with one chief for the whole, or a big proportion, of their time in office so it feels quite right.

"On a personal level, I've been a police officer for 36 years, I never dreamt I would do the things that I've done. I've been incredibly lucky but I sort of feel it is time to move on, it just feels right.

"It is combination of things: timing, a new PCC. We also need new ideas, new creativity, new energy but I go having loved the job and still enjoying it."

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Mr Shaw took over as Chief Constable in 2011 and since that time has seen the first PCCs take office as well as huge changes to the organisation of the force in Shropshire because of government cutbacks.

He said weathering the storm in the wake of the financial crisis was one of the greatest challenges he faced in the role.

"These are fantastic jobs, you will never hear me complain; it is just not in my DNA," he explained.

"But it is true, it has been difficult, particularly when we first understood the scale of the challenge.

"It really was a 'Are we going to be able to survive?' 'Will the force be able to survive these cuts?'

"And we had to lose several hundred staff – some friends and colleagues who had worked here for many, many years and that is genuinely sad.

"But at the bottom of all these things is always a start, a middle and an end and that is always about public service and protecting the public.

"I am immensely proud of all the things we have achieved together. As with any high-profile public service we do some things well and some things wrong and when it does go wrong that hurts – and it should, it should absolutely go to your core if things go wrong.

"Overall, I believe the public is better looked after than it ever has been. This is still a fantastic place to live where we police, and five years ago I wasn't sure it would feel like this. Along with my colleagues, we were really worried but I think we have come through it pretty well."

Mr Shaw hailed the work of his colleagues who he said go the extra mile for the people they deal with.

He said: "One thing I'm still impressed with is, day-in and day-out, how far officers and staff go beyond what we expect them to because policing is an inherently human activity and you're dealing with vulnerable people, sometimes going through the worst time of their lives and it is up to us to recognise that and go the extra mile.

"Every day I hear about those things. Understandably, it doesn't make the news because you would expect us to be like that and it is not in itself newsworthy, but it is at the core and spirit of what policing is about.

"That is what has sustained me throughout my career: being able to see the very worst in human nature, what some criminals will do to human beings, but also the very best of what the public will do to help each other and what the police and staff will do to help the public."

Though no longer on the front line, Mr Shaw said that he still takes a keen interest in what West Mercia officers are doing.

"Every day we get told. I'm sure frontline staff would say as chief officer they don't see much of us, but it is difficult to get around the territory because it is so vast.

"Pretty well every day I hear something that makes me feel proud of the work we do.

"Last night we had a team who did a very good investigation into four burglaries. The officers got into pursuit with the person who had done it, captured the bloke and one officer got very badly beaten.

"That makes me proud because it is quite routine, quite a mundane incident – obviously it is not routine that officers get beaten – but I'm proud we went to protect the public, he put himself in harm's way and we could catch a pretty dangerous offender.

"Throughout my career I've had the pleasure of working with some absolutely brilliant officers.

"I often think I couldn't do that and I watch in awe of what some people have done.

"Recently, in this force, I have been proud of what we have done to tackle child exploitation. Operation Chalice was ground-breaking at the time and there are still people learning from it."

The Operation Chalice investigation in Telford saw 50 officers spend years investigating a sex ring in the borough, with seven men jailed for a total of almost 50 years for their crimes.

Mr Shaw's words also come as it was revealed that reports of child sexual assaults in West Mercia increased by almost 60 per cent last year A total of 1,179 crimes were reported to West Mercia Police in the year 2014 to 2015, up 57 per cent from 749 the previous year, according to figures obtained by the NSPCC.

Mr Shaw explained that crimes like these, horrific in nature, are helping police to get better at protecting vulnerable people

He said: "Things like Operation Chalice, and really horrible crimes like that we have to deal with, are tough but they are part of the job and the public expects you to do it and that's what we are paid to do.

"But you wouldn't be human if they didn't affect you.

"There is no doubt that there has been a Savile effect where people who have remained silent for many years come forward, or may have tried to tell their story but didn't get the support they needed.

"Each of these cases is a tragedy to that person but it is great that they can now come forward. Child exploitation and those sort of things have been going on for a long time. But part of the growth is because there is stuff now that literally wasn't possible before the internet, some really terrible online abuse."

Despite already making strides in this area, Mr Shaw said that in an ideal world, he would make sure officers have all the tools they need to give every crime the right amount of investigation.

He said: "I would like to make sure we're doing our best to ensure every victim and every case that with the same high level of professionalism and care and professional curiosity.

"It is a tough job being a police officer and we don't always have the knowledge, the information we need at the time nor the training or the equipment – sometimes we make mistakes but the golden nugget would be to be in a position where we can be certain we do our best on every job at every occasion.

"At a professional level, professional curiosity is absolutely key: officers need to not only deal very well with the job in front of them, but but also think about what else the scene is telling them."

He added that the force needs to get better at using technology in an ever-changing world.

And it is certainly a different world since he started as an officer in Kings Heath, Birmingham, at the age of 19.

Mr Shaw said: "I went in not sure that it was for me, really thinking it could be but not absolutely convinced. I remember thinking within two months that this is it."

He said that during his time in Birmingham he was able to see the effect that a strong leadership can have on officers, something which influenced his later career. He stayed with West Midlands Police, rising the ranks to Assistant Chief Constable before joining West Mercia Police in 2008 as Deputy Chief Constable – taking on his current role in 2011.

He says he plans to keep work in his next five months as business as usual, but will also be preparing for his successor.

Outside of work, Mr Shaw is married to nurse Juliet, who he has known since before he became an officer, and the couple have three children – Ben, 24, Sophie, 23 and Emma, 21. He said: "Come July, it will be a real mixture of feelings. I will be very emotional, as it has been a big part of my life. My wife said this the other day, I was a boy when I started and it has been a big part of both of our lives.

"It will feel strange, I will miss it but I know it is right time to go so it will be strangely liberating and exciting at the same time. If I had my time again I would join the force again."