Sir Robert Peel famously said, “the police are the public and the public are the police.” Much to that sentiment, we recognise the key roles that our staff and students undertake in making our programmes successful.
This week’s UWE Bristol Policing blog focuses on a key member of our teaching staff, Sean Paley. Sean kindly shares his vast background in operational policing, his transition into academia and how he uses such knowledge to help develop the next generation of officers on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship. He may even share a funny story, recipe or recommendation too…
Who are you and what is your role at UWE?
I am Sean Paley, currently a lecturer on the PCDA programme teaching across a range of policing powers and subjects. I have 5 years’ experience teaching on the PCDA programmes, joining UWE in November 2024.
Can you tell us a bit about the experience you bring to your role?
In addition to teaching on the PCDA programme, I have been supervising students in year 3 projects, which I enjoy very much. I have one publication which is related to policing in the 21st century and is aimed at the PCDA student audience. I have 32 years’ experience in Policing, mainly in CID across a range of areas, and in addition undertaking SIO duties for 22 of those years as the on-call SIO to serious and major crime.
What do you enjoy most about working on the policing programmes?
The best thing about working in this role is giving police officers the opportunity to enjoy and achieve great things, and to see them arrive fresh and ready to learn and see them at the end of the study when they have grown and developed enormously. I get a sense of achievement knowing I have added some contribution to this and their journey ahead.
What do you consider to be your areas of specialism and research interests?
I am interested in Police Powers, The Police and Criminal Evidence Act and covert methods of Policing, including Covert Human Intelligence Sources, or informant management as it’s known. I accepted an invite to write a chapter on Crime in the 21st Century, this looks at the emergence of digital advances, computer crime, cyber crime and the threat from county lines and the challenges of the current working environment, including terrorism.
Do you have a funny or favourite ‘on the job’ experience?
Seeing a Police officer dressed as Father Christmas plunging through a front window of a house using subterfuge on a drugs warrant!
What is one book or film which profoundly changed your perspective on policing and related issues?
I would recommend Roger Graef’s ‘Talking Blues: Police in Their Own Words’, which is a hard hitting but accurate collection of interviews detailing the Police culture in the 1980’s and is useful to juxtapose with the current era to assess ‘progress’ in the obvious topics affecting policing and legitimacy.
“A collection of interviews with over 500 police officers of every rank from all over Britain and Northern Ireland. The 1980s have changed policing, often out of recognition, and “Talking Blues” records these changes as they are perceived by the police (Graef, 1989).”
Finally, if you had to eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be?
Beef Stroganoff, I must admit I do not cook this, it is something I would choose if on a menu. If I do cook, it is a curry, usually using a Patak’s paste! Menu on the jar.
Additional resources
Graef, R. (1989) Talking Blues: Police in Their Own Words. London: Collins Harvill.
Paley, S. (2022) Crime in the Twenty-First Century. In: Blockley, T., Sheldon, B. and Williams, P., ed. (2022) Understanding Policing and Professional Practice. St Albans: Critical Publishing, pp. 163 – 178.
Editorial Team
Paul Williamson (Editor-in-Chief); Claudia McCready (Lecturer); Claire Bowers (Senior Lecturer); Eve Smietanko (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer); Ian Lowe (Senior Lecturer) & Micah Hassell (Senior Lecturer).
