ARTICLE
Q&A with
Police Constable Beth Stewart I
n this feature, we delve into the experiences of a police officer who embarked on the path of obtaining a law degree before donning the uniform. From the lecture halls where legal theories are dissected to the streets where those theories transform into tangible justice, Beth Stewart shares insights into the intricacies of blending the worlds of law and law enforcement. Q.1 Beth, what inspired you to pursue a law degree before joining the police force? I’ve been interested in pursuing a career in law since I was around twelve years old, when I first watched Legally Blonde (really not the best reason to go to university I know). Since watching it, I decided I wanted to be a barrister for the Crown Prosecution Service. Criminal law has always been the area I wanted to go into most, and it has been the one thing which has always interested me and it was always nice to know that in some way, you’ve made a difference to someone’s life who was affected by a crime, no matter how small it may seem. When I went to college, I chose three A-Levels to study: law, psychology and English literature and language. Whilst I tried my hardest in all of the lessons, law was really the only subject I was interested in right from the start, and would happily do as much work as I needed to with it, both inside and outside of college. I have always been extremely interested in learning about all different areas of law, but criminal law was the one thing that always fascinated me (and at times because of the seriousness of some crimes, horrified me). This was the same at university, except we went into lockdown during the second year and so did not get any practice in terms of going into courtrooms to conduct moot’s or other mock competitions, and I realised I did not have the confidence to say I wanted to go into a courtroom each day as a career, because I did not believe this is something I would be good at. From speaking to one of my lecturers in my final year, I realised that barristers often have no contact with victims, right up until the day of the case. I work well under pressure, and I did not think for a minute I would struggle to be able to put things together when having to go into a courtroom, but I did not like the fact that the role entailed something which is not very personal and is not based on building relationships of trust with clients. I decided when a position became available in the control room within the police that I would do this as a part time job whilst finishing my degree. The more I worked in the control room, the more I began to realise I loved the nature of the job, and I loved the fact it was extremely victim focused. I began to realise more and more that I wanted to do the job I had been doing in the control room as a career, but out on response, where I can help support individuals from the start of the investigation, right to the end. I think I was about two months into my time in the control room by the time I realised 14 | CENTRAL LONDON LAWYER
I could see myself being happy within the force. I finally bit the bullet in October 2022 and applied to be a Constable, which I then started in August 2023. Q2. What are you most looking forward to in your new role? I am looking forward to a wide array of different challenges and jobs each day. Before I joined the police as a Constable, I worked in the Control Room as a communications operator - this entailed responding to enquiries the public had, answering 999 calls and 101 calls, as well as deploying officers to jobs and running checks to ensure both officer and public safety. From working in the control room, I already knew that no two days are the same in policing, and this is the most exciting and rewarding part. You know that when you come into work, as I have said previously, that you are going to help people when they need it the most, as well as gathering enough evidence to take dangerous people off the streets and reduce criminality. I am looking forward to being able to manage and make my own workload. It is not simply a case of responding to incidents which are called in, but also helping to build public trust and good relationships with people in the area you cover. You can speak to members of the public for a variety of different things - to help with further enquiries, to help establish facts of a case, to speak with victims and to gather and develop intelligence. There are so many different routes you can choose to take in your career within the police, and you will be supported to move and train in new roles when you wish to do so. I love the fact that there are so many different paths my career can go down, and I’m probably not even aware of what half of those options are yet. Q3. In what ways did your legal training prepare you (or not) for the challenges of police work? I do not think anything will really prepare you for the challenges of police work. I have been very lucky in the fact that I had some knowledge of what the police deal with due to my time in the control room, and it has helped with my knowledge surrounding intelligence, how to deal with certain jobs, the right questions to ask to establish facts of an alleged offence, and also how to empathise with people who need our help the most. I do think my law degree has helped me in terms of studying certain modules, such as criminal law, public law, and the law of evidence. These modules helped me to realise the role of the police within society, different offences which can be committed against the person and against property and also what evidence is required to enable a criminal prosecution to be supported successfully, to ensure justice. They have helped me in terms of the academic side of policing throughout my training, and to know I have some level of a good understanding of them operationally too. However, you must remember that in some
