Ride-Along (November 2026)
“I know they’re criminals, but they’re OUR criminals”.
This wasn’t what I was expecting to hear from Sgt. Cat Hardwick of West Yorkshire’s Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), but by the end of the day I spent with PCs Dave Picketing and Maj Ches from her team, it made sense to me. It was only the second time I had been out with a NPT, and the first with West Yorkshire (which seems a little remiss as I lived in Yorkshire for nearly 20 years).
The day I had with the team was, by all accounts, fairly typical for a Monday: a Domestic Violence Protection Order compliance check (failed, as anticipated, so the individual was arrested and sent to the Magistrates’ Court); a burglar arrested after being spotted selling what he’d stolen that morning; locating and taking a vulnerable MisPer to hospital; then a few hours spent patrolling a known drugs-dealing hotspot.
These hotspots move around an area: once an area gets too ‘hot’, the dealers move on to another area, but the highly visible patrols not only provide an opportunity to detain perpetrators, but also an important disruption and breathing space for the local community.
I have previously commented on the ability of the Officers I have accompanied to identify anomalous behaviour and body language; this was once again very clear to me. What I thought was a fairly innocuous car piqued Dave and Maj’s interest. Following a few enquiries into the car, they attempted to stop it, and had their instincts confirmed when the driver mounted the kerb to evade the stop and sped away. We were in a large van in a tight residential area, so we could not turn around in time to regain sight of the car, but the Traffic Team were able to pick them up after using a stinger as they left the area on the motorway. As a ‘bonus’ from that afternoon’s activity, I have also learned more about the use of Vaseline than most would feel they need to know!
While the day might have been fairly normal to them, the importance of being a part of the community they serve ran through this close team like a stick of rock. The community recognised it, too: adults in the street greeted them, children waved (or flagged them down to joke about imagined crimes, which Dave and Maj gamely went along with) … even the frequent flyer who had just been released from the custody suite went off, throwing a cheery “See you soon, mate” over his shoulder. The wry smile on the custody sergeant’s face suggested she thought that she would see him soon, too.
Sgt. Hardwick was justly proud of the work the NPT had undertaken in the last year/ eighteen months to significantly reduce the incidences of crime associated with a local supported living unit – Marsh Way House. The team has reduced the number of call outs to the house for things such as serious assaults, drug overdoses and disorder from about 35 a month to around 1 a week, and for less serious/ lower risk incidences.
What Sgt. Hardwick should also be proud of, but was too modest to mention, is the National Parliamentary Award the team received earlier this year in recognition of the work they have undertaken to reduce anti-social behaviour in Wakefield. They were recognised as the best UK problem-solving team for ASB.
I always learn a lot from my ride-alongs, but one reflection often overshadows the rest. From my day with Wakefield Central East NPT, it is this: if the future of neighbourhood policing continues to look like this, I know I will continue to feel protected.