A day on response: PC Lawrie's commitment to keeping Sheffield safe

From attending the scene of a road traffic collision to locating a high-risk missing person and safeguarding a victim of domestic abuse - it's all in a day's work for Sheffield response officer PC Alex Lawrie.

It's a cliché in response policing, but no two days in the job really are ever the same.

However, what is the same and never falters is our response officers' commitment, drive and dedication to protect the people of South Yorkshire and keep us all safe from harm.

As part of Response Policing Week, we joined PC Lawrie on a typical day shift on response in Sheffield. His team, which is based at Snig Hill Police Station, covers a huge area from south of the city centre to the northern fringes of Stocksbridge.

Watch the video as we join PC Lawrie on his shift on our social media pages.

They are there to respond to whatever incident or emergency comes their way and as PC Lawrie explains, they are there to make a difference and keep people safe:

"We always hope that people never have to come across us as victims of crime but if they do, it's important we make the right first impression every time.

"We don't often get thank you messages for what we do but when do we get them, it means a lot. I recently received a thank you message from a victim and that meant a lot as I knew I'd helped them and made their life better.

"Those are the moments you realise that in this job you do make a difference, and that is incredibly rewarding."

PC Lawrie had always wanted to be a police officer from a young age and relishes the opportunity to help people across South Yorkshire.

However, he admits that response officers would not be able to do what they do without the support of their colleagues, with teamwork and camaraderie an essential focus of response policing.

"Every day is different in this job and there's a lot of work we do that the public don't see.

"We deal with a wide variety of different incidents on a daily and weekly basis and every job has its own challenges and sometimes trauma attached to it.

"That's why teamwork is really important - we all support each other as colleagues and I know that we all have each other's backs.

"We wouldn't be able to deal with half of what we do without the support of our teammates and it's great to know that help is always available if you need it."

Are you interested in a career in response policing? Find out more about the opportunities available to you by visiting the dedicated careers section of our website.

You can also look to join us through our Police Constable Entry Programme.