The police staff who are also a vicar and a pole dancer: He worked in counter-terror. She's a personnel officer in Norfolk. But both are among 23,000 officers with second jobs



By Martin Beckford and Andy Young



Police are facing new curbs on taking second jobs after a Mail on Sunday investigation found that more than 23,000 officers and staff are moonlighting in their spare time.



The figure has soared by almost 20 per cent in a single year – meaning more than one in ten officers in England and Wales now supplement their income with extra work. It raises serious questions about whether officers’ outside interests conflict with their police duties – and has prompted a near tripling of the number of investigations into potential breaches of the rules.



Work carried out by off-duty officers and staff ranges from a counter-terrorism specialist working as a vicar to a personnel assistant teaching pole-dancing. There are also four pallbearers, an undertaker, an assistant coroner, a ski instructor, an ice-cream salesman and a medium.



A shocking one in 10 police officers are combining their work with a second job, a Mail on Sunday investigation revealed

Dozens more officers cash in on their skills, offering training in self-defence or firing Taser guns. The disclosures come as the police, who are clashing with politicians over cuts, endure intense scrutiny over the Andrew Mitchell ‘Plebgate’ affair.

Last night, politicians from all parties called for a clampdown, and Labour’s Keith Vaz announced that the Commons Home Affairs Committee, which he chairs, will investigate.



Labour MP Keith Vaz promised the Home Affairs Select Committee, which he chairs, would investigate police moonlighting

He said: ‘I am very surprised by the large number of police with second jobs. It would be quite wrong if chief constables are turning a blind eye to this. Second jobs should not create a conflict of interest or result in police neglecting their duties in protecting the public and catching criminals.’

Fellow committee member, Tory Mark Reckless, said: ‘I am worried that police shifts are being driven by the convenience of officers to hold down other jobs rather than by the needs of the public.’



The issue of second jobs could also be included in moves against police corruption to be announced soon by Home Secretary Theresa May.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘It is the responsibility of chief constables to ensure that any secondary jobs held by officers do not harm the public’s perception of the police or result in any conflict of interest.



‘The Home Secretary will put new proposals ensuring the highest standards of integrity in the police to Parliament in the New Year.’



A Home Office source added: ‘We have always suspected chief constables understate the true scale of second jobs. Clearly, police have to work a shift system but their pay and conditions are excellent. They earn enough to focus on their police duties without being distracted by second jobs.’



Astonishingly, some forces could even be contributing to police officers’ second salaries – for example by commissioning self-defence training from an off-duty officer. A total of 23 of the country’s 44 forces did not cross-check their supplier lists to see if they were paying companies run by their own officers.



A study of figures provided by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary says that in May 2012, the most up-to-date data available, at least 23,043 police personnel had second jobs out of a workforce of 201,575. That’s more than 19 per cent up on the 19,329 who had second jobs in March 2011.



Meanwhile investigations into second jobs have soared. In the nine months to May, 154 probes were carried out – more than 17 a month – whereas in the entire previous year there were just 82, or fewer than seven a month.



Sign of the times? The Police Federation said that in an ideal world, officers wouldn't be driven to find second jobs

The most recent investigations led to 65 warnings and ten officers leaving their forces, either by resigning, retiring or being sacked. In 35 cases, the officers were cleared while the rest are still ongoing.

Steve Williams, the acting chairman of employees’ body the Police Federation, said: ‘I’m afraid it’s a sign of the times – police officers have got to make ends meet. In an ideal world they wouldn’t have to take a second job because it’s hard enough being a police officer. It’s a sad indictment that police officers have to look elsewhere for work.’



Police officers and civilian staff in England and Wales can run companies or hold down second jobs in their spare time but they must be cleared by their bosses first. Unless there is a direct clash – such as running a pub, private security work or being a magistrate – permission will almost always be granted.

Despite the demands of fighting crime, officers’ shift patterns often allow them to take on extra work. Until recently, those on the frontline would regularly work four days or nights on then have four days off.



Forces are now moving to different patterns, but police are still meant to be given their rosters more than a month in advance, allowing them to schedule their second jobs. An updated register published by Scotland Yard this month shows its officers have declared 3,445 business interests, up from 3,041 two years ago. Jobs include 314 drivers, 60 entertainers (including magicians), six flower arrangers, a toastmaster and a vicar.



Dozens of police in rural areas are farmers and fishermen – and one constable in Staffordshire finds time to do ‘casual work in Australia’. A business interest declared in Thames Valley relates to the sex shop chain Ann Summers.



Some officers have previously been jailed for devoting more time to their second jobs than their main ones. In 2010, Mohammed Sadiq Patel received a nine-month sentence for misconduct in public office, having worked as a marriage registrar when he was meant to be on duty as a beat manager in Bolton.

A Mail on Sunday probe has revealed that more than 20,000 police officers and staff are moonlighting in their time outside the force - a mong the more extraordinary cases are a counter-terrorism specialist working as a vicar, and a personnel assistant teaching pole-dancing.

How I switched shifts to take church services: Counter-terror expert tells of his second job as a Church of England vicar

Rev Nick Williams from Darenth, Kent, trained as a Church of England priest while working as a counter-terror expert at Scotland Yard



The Rev Nick Williams is the only person known to have worked as a police officer and Church of England priest at the same time.



He managed to fit in his theological training when he was based at Scotland Yard. At one stage he was working in counter-terrorism during the day, then holding church services at evenings and weekends.



Sometimes his fellow sergeants would swap his late shifts for their early ones so that he could get away in time for a church service. ‘They made it easier for me than if I had been on a frontline team,’ he said.



After 30 years in the force he retired as a sergeant this year and is now a salaried parish priest in rural Kent. He also draws a Metropolitan Police pension.



He admits he would have struggled to juggle his demanding roles without the help of the force, and believes it would be more difficult for anyone to follow in his footsteps as the demands on police increase.



Mr Williams, 50, said: ‘I think now it might not have been possible to juggle the balls quite as well. My colleagues and the police service itself were supportive.’



He was not a regular churchgoer when he joined the Met in 1982, but ‘came to faith’ ten years ago after hearing a preacher near his home in Bexleyheath, South-East London.



He was a constable in the busy West End Central station and the force allowed him to devote increasing amounts of time to his religion.



He became a reader at his local church then trained part-time at evening classes and residential weekends, using up his holiday allowance and also receiving nine days’ study leave while his wife looked after their two children.



By the time he was ordained as a Church of England curate in 2009, he had moved to a desk job in the Met’s counter-terrorism unit, having previously worked in the diversity directorate with gypsies and travellers.



Had he still been a beat officer, it ‘would have been difficult’ to do both jobs because of the demands of his study and his shift patterns.



In September 2011 he accepted a post at St Margaret of Antioch church in Darenth, Kent, which was at first unpaid.



After finishing for the day in the office, he would spend evenings on church duties and devote Saturdays to weddings before conducting up to three services every Sunday. He occasionally took leave from the Met to conduct funerals.



‘It didn’t really affect my work for the police service at all,’ he said.



Mr Williams says his workload is now greater. ‘My average day as a priest is about 12 hours. It’s very fulfilling but it’s very demanding.’



As long as it wasn't a lap-dancing club they were happy: Meet the police staffer who's just as home teaching pole dancing



A civilian police employee teaches pole-dancing in her spare time.



Nicola Brooks spends her days in the human resources department of Norfolk Constabulary’s headquarters in Wymondham.



But in the evenings and weekends she runs pole-dancing fitness classes at a community centre and a university.



Qualified instructor: Police worker Nicola Brooks teaches pole dancing in the evenings and at weekends

The 37-year-old asked her bosses two years ago if she could combine the two unlikely occupations and they agreed to it. They questioned Mrs Brooks, who is married to a sergeant in the force, to see if she had links to the sex industry but were happy that she did not.



A source said: ‘When she put her business interest forward to the police, she did get grilled. They wanted to know if she was profiting from lap-dancing clubs etc. She said she was a qualified fitness instructor and it was just a fitness thing.’



Second job: Nicola runs classes at a community centre, and at the University of East Anglia

According to her Facebook page, Mrs Brooks started teaching pole-dancing in Wymondham in 2008.

She runs three hour-long sessions at a martial arts club on Wednesday evenings, charging £35 for four weeks. For the past year she has also taught Zumba dance fitness on Thursday and Friday nights.



Mrs Brooks then gives three pole-dancing classes to students at the University of East Anglia in Norwich on Sundays. The UEA Pole Dancing Club website states: ‘During the class, our qualified instructor Nicola teaches holds and spins, before leading a cool down session to reduce soreness.’



The university club insists that pole-dancing is ‘a performing art that combines fitness, gymnastics and dance’ and should not have an ‘exotic dance stigma’.



Mrs Brooks declined to comment on her second job when approached by The Mail on Sunday.



Norfolk Police said: ‘Officers and staff are entitled to a life outside their role with the Constabulary and should be free to pursue their personal interests within the terms of our policy on the matter.



‘Regulations set out that officers and staff must give notification of intent before embarking on a business interest, and there is a system of monitoring in place to ensure the regulations are adhered to. All notifications are assessed on an individual basis and, in this case, the interest was registered for fitness purposes and did not conflict with the staff member’s role.’

PS: Heard the one about the copper-turned-comic?

Alfie Moore: The sergeant took a career break to pursue his sideline job as a comedian

A sergeant took a career break from the police after becoming successful in his sideline job as a stand-up comedian.



Alfie Moore, pictured, began telling jokes about life in the force as a ‘hobby’ five years ago, when he was working as a detective for Humberside Police in Scunthorpe.



But as he got more bookings for evening gigs, often involving long drives, he moved to a role in a neighbourhood team as it meant he would work a rota with fixed hours.



When Mr Moore declared his second job to Humberside Police, a superintendent sat in the audience to check his material was appropriate. In the summer of 2011, he took an unpaid sabbatical and performed at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.



Mr Moore, 49, says: ‘It’s not fair to have two full-time jobs as nobody is going to get the best of you.’



However, he does intend to return to policing. He has 18 years’ service and needs to put in another 12 to qualify for his full pension.



‘I’d need a very good reason not to go back,’ he admitted.

BRIAN PADDICK, former Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Met Police, says: We had no time for a second job back in my day

In the past, for a police officer to have a second job was a rarity, not just because of the strict limitations placed on other employment but also because there was no time.



As a constable in the late Seventies, two of my eight days off every four weeks were cancelled as we ‘worked rest days’ to make up for the shortage of recruits.



The early Nineties saw the beginning of a more liberal approach within the police.



The presumption against allowing second jobs, save in exceptional circumstances, such as in the run-up to retirement, gave way to giving permission unless there were good reasons not to.



It was all part of a culture-change process, which had its origins, and was most noticeable, in London.



Whether police officers are highly paid, as they risk their lives every day, is arguable. But changes to pay and pension mean many officers will earn less than they thought. Increasingly, many want to make up the difference with a second job, but there are dangers.



The Police Federation argue that forces should employ police officers rather than support staff because of the flexibility this gives for officers to work overtime for big events such as the Olympics. Yet the more officers have second jobs, the less available they are for overtime.



Police work can be both dangerous and demanding, whether it’s driving emergency vehicles at high speed or armed officers having to make ‘shoot-don’t shoot’ decisions. If officers are working on their days off, or even after a long day at work, their ability to do police work can be dangerously impaired.



Even in terms of civility, if you are exhausted, the potential to snap in the face of provocation, something police officers face almost daily, not just in Downing Street, is significantly increased.



From personal experience, less than one day a week off over a period of time can seriously compromise your performance.



Restrictions on what officers can do are many but exist for good reason. For example, there is clear potential for a conflict of interest if an officer is involved in anything that the police have a say over, such as working in a pub. And anything involving security has the potential to give officers an unfair advantage.

