Detective Constable Jenny Hargreaves

Jenny applied to become an officer at 21 after working for short spell in a solicitors’, but in truth her connection with policing had begun much earlier.

As a girl she would be taken into work by her mother, a detective in the Met, and remembers making teas and coffees in times of need, such as the 2011 riots, for the team at Tottenham Police Station.

With a dad who was also in CID, it was probably inevitable Jenny would follow in their footsteps and now she works in the serious crime team in Peterborough.

“Serious crime always piqued my interest”, said Jenny. “It was something for me to dig my teeth into and to figure out who’d done what, when and the big question as to why?

“That was what appealed to me. Plus, it was further experience for me to learn and broaden my knowledge. I’d say the two most rewarding parts of investigations are:

1) supporting and safeguarding victims. Being given the opportunity to help them regain a sense of safety and hope in their life.

2) putting all the hard work and time into the cases that go to court and obtaining the sentence/conviction of suspects. Both are very rewarding and fulfilling.

“Each department experiences different challenges. In CID I would say that you can sometimes do a lot of hours. There has been a handful of jobs where I have done 20-hour shifts and done short turnaround times.

“But in the end, you don’t mind it as you get passionate about the job. It is a difficult and stressful job at times, but you have colleagues and DSs and DIs to support you. You’re not in it alone. You do tend to work as a team on jobs and there is a big sense of teamwork in the department.

“I’m quite open minded about where I go in future. I must say I do tend to enjoy serious drugs and violence cases. Therefore, I have debated serious and organised crime or the Major Crime Unit.

“However, I’m in no rush to move departments yet and if an opportunity arises in any department, I will always want to broaden my experience and knowledge.”