Sam Brett

Sam is married with two grown-up daughters. She is a supervisor in the force’s Demand Hub and works as a Special out of Thorpe Wood Police Station.  

I give up a lot of my free time to volunteer and work alongside regular officers but I still enjoying being a Special as much as I did when I first started in 2021.

When I left school, many years ago, I wanted to be an officer, but unfortunately at 5’2” I wasn’t tall enough and thought I would never be able to go down that route. Due to then having my daughters, I had to change my career path so I could be at home with them.  

Once they had grown up, I still felt I wanted to work for the police, so I applied for a call handler role in the Demand Hub in 2016. Working there and learning so much about policing gave me a real desire to become a police officer again, but I knew I was getting older, and I also really enjoyed my current role.

I then decided to apply as a Special, so that I could have the best of both worlds. I thought this would be my last chance, and if I wasn’t successful, it was not meant to be. Luckily, I was successful and was grateful for being given the chance. I fit my hours around my current role and family commitments. It allows me to give something back to the force and community and I can help victims and reduce crime.

I really enjoy working in traffic policing, trying to make Cambridgeshire roads safer.  I have a passion for reducing road-related offences, such as drink driving, using mobile phones and no insurance, and knowing at the end of a shift I have got that person off the roads to prevent an accident is a good feeling and keeps me motivated.

If anyone is considering becoming a Special, I would say “give it a go”.  It is enjoyable and you will make a positive impact on the community.