Retired firefighter becomes a Mansfield police officer

A former firefighter is back in the blue light services after becoming a police officer in Mansfield.
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Lee Shaw, who retired from the fire service as a watch manager last year after 30 years’ service, said he had decided to join the ranks at Nottinghamshire Police as he wanted to continue helping people in their communities and responding to emergencies.

And on April 22, he was among 19 new recruits who passed out as police constables in a special ceremony at the force’s Arnold headquarters, having completed a 20-week training programme.

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The 50-year-old will be based at Mansfield Police Station, where his son Charlie has worked as a police officer for the past five years.

Retired firefighter Lee Shaw has joined Notts Police as a police officerRetired firefighter Lee Shaw has joined Notts Police as a police officer
Retired firefighter Lee Shaw has joined Notts Police as a police officer

Lee said he was happy to be following in his son’s footsteps – although the opportunity to work alongside him was not the reason he decided to don the police uniform.

Lee said: “The reason I joined the fire service and the reason I joined the police is exactly the same – I want to help people and make our communities safer.

“When people are having difficult times and facing emergencies I want to go and help them. That is the same whether I’m a police officer or a fire officer.”

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Lee joined Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service in 1991 as a firefighter before going on to be promoted to crew manager and then watch manager.

Lee Shaw (middle front) was a watch manager at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue ServiceLee Shaw (middle front) was a watch manager at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service
Lee Shaw (middle front) was a watch manager at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service

He said: “Over the years, I dealt with many difficult incidents and been to some challenging and tragic scenes, whether that be house fires, traffic collisions or water rescues.

“I have worked in collaboration with the police and ambulance service and have some understanding of what to expect when I’m called out to an emergency as a police officer.

“I enjoyed working for the fire service but had to retire having done my 30 years and it was a question of what shall I do next, as I’m too young to retire properly.

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“I thought policing is a similar role with transferrable skills, so why not give it a go?”

Much of the training has taken place at Nottinghamshire Police’s headquarters in Arnold, which is now shared with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service following the recent opening of a new state-of-the-art building.

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Joining Lee in the classroom was fellow new recruit Laura Marriott, who after 15 years working for Nottinghamshire Police as a staff member has now switched to life on the beat as a neighbourhood cop in Sutton.

The 40-year-old mum-of-two said: “For the first 14 years, I was responsible for processing out of court disposals. It was mostly dealing with first time offenders for things such as shop thefts, minor assaults and lower value criminal damage investigations. These are things that could be dealt with out of court with things like community resolution and cautions.

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“Being around police officers all my career inspired me to become one myself. My children are older now and the time felt right to take the opportunity now that my children don’t need me so much.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know my neighbourhood and seeing what the problems are and seeing how I can help.

“I’m not scared to get stuck into things."