Sarah is a detective constable with the PECT and is able to work remotely from her home in a Cornish seaside town.
Driven by a desire to specialise
“I moved to Cornwall as an experienced DC used to dealing with high-level cross-border crime”, Sarah said.
With a desire to specialise, Sarah kept her eye on vacancies available within the SWROCU and was intrigued when she spotted an advert calling for officers to join the PECT.
“The job came up in the summer of last year. The location on the job advert said ‘negotiable’ so I sent an email to the hiring manager and asked if we could have a chat about the role. We spoke for quite some time and I thought it sounded really interesting – and it wasn’t seen as a barrier that I was all the way down in south Cornwall.”
Sarah perceived the SWROCU to be something to strive for; somewhere you would specialise and need a specific skillset to be able to join.
“I always thought the ROCU vacancies seemed really exciting and going there felt like a massive leap.”
When I joined, the PECT was fairly new, and the other members of the team joined around the same time so we were finding our feet together. We all brought something different to the table in terms of background and skillset and I’ve learnt other skills since being in post.
“I’ve completed a Money Laundering course and am now doing a Financial Intelligence Officers’ course. I’ll look to do a Financial Investigator course next year.”
Working with others to disrupt crime
“We get information from Financial Investigation Units or Economic Crime Units within force about suspicious activity on accounts, often from people with a link to serious crime. The force will look for us to develop that intelligence and it may turn into a money laundering investigation or we could look to disrupt any criminal activity.
We might work with partner agencies, such as HMRC and investigate any benefits they are claiming, or check on their citizenship. Quite often we will take a multi-agency approach to the jobs we do.”
Unlike the Regional Economic Crime Unit (RECU) jobs, which can often take a long time to reach a conclusion or conviction, the PECT deal with shorter investigations.
Flexible working provides work-life balance
“I love the freedom my role gives me. I’m currently working on a job in Leicester which started as a job down in Devon and Cornwall. I love the fact that I can get in a car and go to Leicester and knock on a door and see first-hand what’s happening and progress a case proactively.
“I also love the fact that we’re dealing with career criminals; people who are making it their life’s work to trick people out of money or to create misery. It’s a good feeling to be able to disrupt or put a stop to their activities.”
The PECT has offered Sarah everything she wanted since moving from the Midlands.
“I love my role here within the PECT and I haven’t looked back. I’ve always had an interest in financial crime and I’ve always enjoyed the proactive side of work – making decisions on the move.
“If you have a ‘can do’ attitude, a capacity to think on your feet, and confidence in your own abilities, then this area of work could be for you.”
A move to a new part of the country and working remotely has been a positive change for Sarah.
“There is a requirement to travel on occasion and, living all the way down here, I have to accept that I am going to travel more, but that doesn’t bother me.
“I also thought working from home might be a bit isolating, but it isn’t. I catch up with my colleagues on Teams regularly and it doesn’t feel much different to being in the office. And it’s a great job in terms of flexibility of hours and for me, being able to finish work and go down to the beach and have a swim in the sea has made my work-life balance so much better.
“If you are somebody that enjoys an outside lifestyle and wants to progress in your career, then definitely consider the ROCU. I’ve settled into my life here and would never go back.”
*Name has been changed