Doncaster Response Team Inspector's pride for the job as he speaks out on 'demanding' role

"I couldn’t be prouder of my team and the colleagues I work with, as I see on a daily basis just how hard they work", the 36-year-old says. "As well as trying to improve the service we deliver to victims, one of the most rewarding aspects of my role is being able to support hard working people and help them develop and that is what I pride myself in doing.

"Despite having a demanding role within the police, I always look to invest time to develop my staff and my teams by upskilling them and coaching them in line with their aspirations, whether that be towards a specialised department or promotion.

"I have been lucky enough to be supported throughout my career, so I am happy to be able to give something back and share my experience and knowledge. It makes me proud to watch them develop and it's rewarding to know I've played a part in helping them in their policing careers."

Inspector Milnes was 18 when he made his first foray into the world of policing as a special constable. He worked for neighbouring West Yorkshire Police before making the move south of the border seven years later.

He has worked for South Yorkshire Police for the past 12 years in a number of roles and has been a Response Team Inspector in Doncaster since May 2022.

It’s a multi-faceted role that requires experience, level-headedness and an ability to work under pressure - sometimes when lives are at risk.

"I manage a lot of risk on a daily basis," Inspector Milnes says. "In my role I manage the district active queue which is the list of outstanding incidents that are called in by members of the public.

"I ensure that the risk around each incident is managed. I try my best to coordinate appropriate responses that safeguard victims and apprehend offenders, and also manage ongoing risks associated with missing people to prevent them from coming to any harm and to locate them safely and promptly.

"Out of normal office hours, when there are no other Inspectors or Command Team members on duty, as the Duty Inspector I am the most senior officer and I take an active role in overseeing the whole district of Doncaster by making sure all departments have the right support in place to do their jobs effectively.

"This can range from supporting them with additional resources to affect their roles, authorising specific police actions that need an Inspector authority, or simply looking after their welfare.

"It's fair to say I have to manage lots of moving parts in my role as Inspector and I have to have multiple heads on at any one time to ensure everyone is looked after and able to perform their roles to the best of their ability."

Although he has now worked his way up the ranks, Inspector Milnes can still remember his probationary period and knows what it is like to be new to the force, which has given him a keen interest in developing the skillsets of his student officers, which now make up a large percentage of his team.

He knows that they need time and guidance to progress in their policing careers and he gives every officer he encounters the same piece of advice: "Go out there, try your hardest and do the best you can, and you will feel satisfied at the end of the day knowing you have done that.

"Take pride in the work you do because you are making a massive difference to people's lives who need us and not everyone can do what you do!"

He adds: "That is all I ask for and I know that I leave work feeling satisfied that my team have done everything they can to assist members of the public and help those that need it the most".

Due to the nature of policing and the shift work that takes place, Inspector Milnes admits that sometimes you see colleagues more than your own family.

Because of this, he sees his team as a family and is proud to see them achieve their goals and ambitions and work tirelessly every day to do their best. However, he is also conscious of the criticism and abuse that they often receive from the public.

"We won't always get it right, we understand that - but we are always learning and we are only human," Inspector Milnes says. "We take all feedback on board to help us move forward and our goal remains the same - to prevent crime and improve the quality of people's lives.

"But please consider, if an officer receives just one piece of criticism, that can often outweigh the 10 positive comments we get about the jobs we do.

"Those negative comments really can impact an officer's mental health. We are humans - not robots - and although you do develop a thick skin that shouldn't make us targets for abuse."

"I know my officers face traumatic and harrowing situations, yet they all bounce back into work the next day raring to go because they have come into policing to do their job and to do the right thing, which in itself is commendable and doesn't warrant abuse."

"They have become so resilient and sacrifice so much by putting themselves at risk of harm to keep members of the public safe."

Inspector Milnes says the comments of support, however, do not go unnoticed and he admits it's those kinds of messages that boost morale and spur his officers on to do the jobs they ultimately love.

"We really do recognise those messages of support and we know that there are lots of people out there backing and supporting us in what we do. So thank you and please keep letting us know that we are doing our best, because that is ultimately what we want to do."