Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2010/January 2011 | Page 50
interview
Island Life - December 2010
Photo: Norman Mellors winning the Lincolnshire road race championships in 1977
Hampshire.”
In 1982 he gained direct entry as a
constable, and decided to work as hard
one of the youngest serving officers in
while before moving to Portsmouth
Hampshire to be promoted to sergeant,
Central police station as an Inspector.
and was soon posted to Winchester.
“It was good to get back to
as he could and seek promotion when
“It was very different to Bitterne,”
operational policing and I really enjoyed
opportunities arose. He continued: “I
he smiled. “In my first week we had a
my time there. In a way it took me back
was sent to Ashford Police training
48-hour period when not a single crime
to my roots in Grimsby, with people
school in Kent for a residential course,
was reported. So there was a different
being very down to earth. If you treated
and my first posting as a probationary
skill to learn – how to be proactive
them fairly they were fair with you,” he
officer was Bitterne in Southampton.
rather than reactive. Poaching was an
said.
Bitterne was the busiest policing area
issue there, and you didn’t get much
in the county. On average we were
of that in Bitterne, so it was a different
particularly on Friday and Saturday
suffering 10 burglaries per day – a real
type of challenge.”
nights around the nightclubs at
hot spot! Compare that to the present
After two years at Winchester, he
“However, there were still challenges,
Southsea. When the clubs closed there
situation on the Island where we
applied for a training sergeant’s job,
were thousands of people milling
typically average five burglaries a week.
and went to the force training school
around, with no night buses and very
at Bishops Waltham and then to Netley.
few taxis. You had up to 25,000
force was providing support to
“I spent five years doing every course
people spilling out of the clubs looking
Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire during
as a police trainer. That was in 1990,
for transport, so that was quite a
the miners’ strike. We were really
and even then we were very serious
challenge being in charge as the
short-staffed and on one occasion there
about the professional development
duty inspector. It was also a fantastic
were just two of us looking after an
of officers, and it was the forerunner
learning experience.
area with a 100,000 population. Five
of all advanced training that we now
years at Bitterne were worth 10 to 15 in
encourage.”
“Around that time the Hampshire
a less busy environment.”
The next step up the ladder, just 10
“I was at Portsmouth the first time the
initial six CCTV cameras were switched
on, and we calculated that in the first
years into his police career, saw him
week they were operating there were
Mr. Mellors applied for promotion to
pass the Inspector’s promotion board.
48 extra arrests. There have been
sergeant and passed first time. He was
He stayed in the training school for a
significant advances since those days to
After those five years as a constable
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