Lee Catling

I Joined Thames Valley Police (TVP) in September 1980, aged 16, as a Police Cadet. It was a boyhood aspiration of mine to be a police officer and when I saw the glossy brochure advertising the role with a picture of a very smart police officer, a bar and a rugby team I was sold! As a Police Cadet I was elected to the Joint Branch Board of the Police Federation to represent the views of my colleagues. There is probably no better example of my early interest in supporting fellow workers and ensuring that their views are heard when new initiatives or proposals are being discussed or consulted upon and the importance of ensuring everyone’s voice is heard.

I was a member of the TVP Support Group, having qualified as an authorised firearms officer in June 1987, and gained experience in tactical firearms deployments and at large scale public order events such as Reading Rock Festival, Royal Ascot and Henley Royal Regatta, not forgetting the policing of Oxford United & Reading FC respectively. My first ‘live’ tactical firearms deployment was on 19 August 1987 at Hungerford in what was to become the infamous ‘Hungerford Massacre’.

I transferred to Kent Police in November 1993, having been on secondment from TVP to Ashford District Training Centre (DTC), as a Sergeant Law Trainer between 1991 – 1993. I served at Sittingbourne as a Custody Sergeant and was also the Swale District Public Order Instructor. I became a Staff Officer to the ACC and DCC in 1995 and in March 1996 was promoted to Inspector, PSD.

I attended Cambridge University in 1997, as a member if the Wolfson Course & Programme, supported by Kent Police. I subsequently became a Detective Inspector at Medway before being appointed the DI on the Serious Crime Unit (SCU) in the year 2000. I was the SIO for the Kent part of the Millennium Dome Robbery, which had its beginnings during a robbery at Aylesford in July 2000. I was subsequently promoted to DCI in February 2002.

I returned to Swale as the DCI and Deputy Area Commander and in August 2002 transferred to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) as an SIO on the ‘murder squad’ at Shooters Hill. I investigated over twenty murders, including a ‘Category A’ murder, Operation Uxbridge.

I returned to Kent in 2004 as Head of Crime Training at KPC and in 2006 was promoted to Detective Superintendent. I subsequently became Head of Public Protection, Head of Major, Serious and Organised Crime and Head of CID. I was promoted to Detective Chief Superintendent in 2012. I retired as a warranted officer in December 2012.

I returned to Kent Police as a police staff employee in January 2013 as Operations Manager at KPC and in 2015 became the first police staff Head of PSD, as position I held until December 2018. I had a short period as Firearms Licensing Manager before taking up my current post as Head of Crime Policy and Investigative Standards.

I have recently become a Unison Steward. I have worked closely with our Branch Secretary lately and having discussed the role with him I feel I have something to offer in supporting and representing colleagues, whether that be in relation to the Code of Ethics and the Standards of Professional Behaviour or more generic matters of employment law, employee rights and the early resolution of grievances. I look forward to helping where I can.