Christmas Keyworkers: Meet Lee
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Not long to go now until the big day! Some of our brilliant colleagues in the Control Room will now be enjoying their rest days, ready to come to work over the Christmas period.
Today, we’d like to introduce you to Acting Inspector Lee Welsby, who will be overseeing the control room this Christmas.
“On Christmas Day and Boxing Day night I will be the Force Incident Manager. What that means is that I will be responsible for managing demand coming into the force, ensuring that officers are allocated to jobs, assessing the risk level of where they are being sent, as well as authorising the use of firearms when needed.
“I'm working Christmas Day from 7am-7pm, making sure Santa gets home after his busy night! I will then be back on a night shift on Boxing Day. I’ve worked for the force for 20 years, two of which have been in the control room, so I am used to it now, as are my children.
“It’s always difficult not being there on Christmas morning when you know your kids are opening their presents. But you work around it and for us, they’ve never known any different. They will open their presents in the morning and get a second stack later in the day. I’ll be here for 12 hours, and I’ll be able to nip out and phone family, see pictures and things, but it doesn’t replace being there.
“You do miss out on the special moments like that but when you sign up for the job, you know you’re going to have to do it over the years. This is the first time in several years I am off for New Year’s Eve, but I am working New Year’s Day 7am-7pm.
“That day tends to be very steady, it’s almost a bit of a lull after the night before. We spend the shift picking up the pieces and making sure everything has been done correctly and people that need contacting have been contacted. We are the ones that ensure nothing is missed in relation to any leftover risk and ongoing concerns.
“This year is a bit of an unknown, one we’ve not experienced before, with tiers, lockdown, and restrictions easing around Christmas. But no matter what, the atmosphere in the control room is always very jovial. You’re with people that are here to do a job but they’re all away from family, partners, children, so we all make the most of being here.
“One thing that I would really urge people to be aware of is that where they are driving the morning after they have been celebrating the night before, remember you will still be over the limit. If you’ve been with your Christmas bubble and enjoyed a few drinks at home, just be aware of it the following morning.
“Consider how much you’ve had to drink, even one drink can have an impact, so please just bear that in mind.
"It might be Christmas, it might be New Year but we will still be here, keeping Derbyshire safe.”
If you need us over Christmas and New Year, please contact us using one of the following methods:
- Facebook: Send a private message to facebook.com/derbyshireconstabulary
- Twitter: Send a direct message to the @DerPolContact account
- Website: Use our online forms or speak to us on live chat derbyshire.police.uk
- Call us: Call 101 for non-emergencies, or 999 in an emergency.