Inspector Jack Woodward
Hi I’m Jack Woodward, your new Community Inspector for Liverpool City Centre. I thought, as it’s Neighbourhood Policing Week (which is where you get to know your local police officers a bit better), that this would be a good chance for me to introduce myself to you!
I’m not someone who can say that they’ve always just known that they wanted to be a police officer. I’ve always known that I wanted to look after people in some way – that's what gets me out of bed in the morning – but if I’m honest, I wasn’t always a hundred percent convinced that policing was the right career for me to best do that. In fact, I trained and qualified as a primary school teacher.
While I was doing my teacher training though, I was also volunteering as a Special Constable (because just qualifying as a teacher isn’t already enough of a challenge?!). I loved it. I loved that every day challenged me in different ways,and found that in policing I really could help people in the way I’d always wanted to. In short, policing poached me from teaching. I was a fully-fledged police officer by 2013.
Local Policing is a really unique kind of policing. It’s all about really knowing, and being invested in, an area. You have to know the people, the problems, its strengths and its challenges. On top of that, my area is City Centre Liverpool – which is in itself different from any other area of Merseyside. It’s constantly busy and bustling. There’s retail, hospitality and night-time economy (clubs and pubs) sectors that work alongside the residents who actually live here. That’s a lot of very different needs and wants to balance.
So, what does that look like? Every week my officers police the city centre, identifying predatory behaviour, taking appropriate action against offenders and arrange for that those who may be in a vulnerable position to be taken home safely. I’m really proud that my team have led on implementing ‘Operation Empower’, an initiative aimed at reducing violence against women and girls and preventing sexual violence in the night time economy.
Recently there’s been a rise in thefts from people in the area, but we’ve successfully brought a number of the offenders to justice with appropriate bail conditions and Community Protection Notices, meaning that those identified are unable to reoffend by entering the city centre.
I’m proud of everything that we do to make that the city centre is a safe place to live and work, and it’s great to have been awarded Purple Flag status for a 12th successive year. The Purple Flag gets awarded because the city has been recognised for achieving excellence in providing a vibrant mix of entertainment, whilst promoting the safety and wellbeing of visitors and the people who live here. That’s only been achieved because you’re prepared to work with us, local businesses, charities and organisations. I know it’s cliché to say it, but working together is what makes City Centre Liverpool such an amazing place to be.
Speaking of amazing, the Eurovision Song Contest is fast approaching for us, and I’m excited by the challenge of policing an event of this scale with the eyes of the world focused on Liverpool. It’ll give us a chance to show how welcoming and inclusive our city is. I want everyone to feel like they can come to the PCSOs and officers on duty for help and advice. I want to show everyone what a great Local Policing team City Centre Liverpool has in place.
I’d really encourage you to report any public places in City Centre Liverpool where you’ve felt unsafe because of issues like street lighting, abandoned buildings or vandalism, or because of behaviours like being followed or verbally abused. You can report via the Merseyside Police website StreetSafe | Merseyside Police.
For me, I am continually grateful to the community for sharing information and their support. I recognise that they are our most important partner and through engaging and sharing information with us it really means that the standard of service we provide is enhanced, so thank you.
Thanks
Jack