Intelligence Policing by Detective Sergeant Paul Jones

Hello again, Detective Sergeant Paul Jones here.

In my role as the Sergeant of the intelligence unit, one of my many hats involves coordinating the Drugs Expert Witnesses in the division.

The job of a Drugs Expert Witness is to review evidence from an impartial perspective, looking at all the evidence in a case, along with the suspects accounts and defences.

This role is for more experienced officers who can put themselves in the shoes of the person under investigation and to look at all the facts in the case to evaluate whether they are a supplier, or a user of controlled drugs.

It is a job that several officers in the force conduct, but while doing the role, you are acting as a servant of the court, and not the Police or the CPS.

This week, I have been organising a development day for the experts to keep their knowledge and learning up to date.

It is an interesting job as unfortunately, most crime has links in some way to drug use whether that is to feed their habit, or they are selling drugs for recreational use.

If you have information about people in your community causing harm, please call it in on 101 or via the website.

You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously online, or by calling 0800 555 111.

Also, this week I have been asked to put together a presentation on behalf of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Intelligence Unit.

I will be delivering it to probationer officers in the near future during their initial training, something I am looking forward to.

The presentation will be in relation to many aspects of policing, including procedures when attending a burglary, sexual offences, and criminal damage, along with information on disclosure within files.

One of the main things I miss about front line duties is watching new recruits grow and flourish into competent and confident officers, and in turn, move on into different roles.

Now the weather is getting slightly warmer, I would also like to remind residents not to leave doors and windows open. Please lock them before you go out or go to bed.

Fortunately, the statistics on being the victim of a burglary in North Wales are low, but I urge you to be vigilant in the coming weeks.

Remember when going out – SHUT IT / LOCK IT / CHECK IT.

Stay safe and until next week, thanks for reading.

Paul.