On joining the force he became a beat officer in Easton and, during this period, he developed his understanding of the criminal characters; their lawbreaking, motivation, cunningness, violence and total disregard for the decent human values of held by the majority of members of the public.
He thoroughly enjoyed his time on the street and the hands-on experience it presented him with and was very soon promoted to firearms officer for the force.
More latterly, Olly has led ‘anti-riot’ squads of police from all over the country to quell major disturbances in Bristol such as the ‘Burn the bill’ demonstrations when a police vehicle was set on fire and 47 people were arrested outside Bridewell police station.
He went on to describe how when controlling large crowds, in many cases, drones were being used at negligible cost compared with helicopters.
Finally, whilst heading the security detail for a recent summit meeting in SW England word got through that a sniper was concealed on the airport perimeter with the intention of shooting President Bryden. Air Force One landed and Olly gave the instruction that the president should stay aboard until the area was deemed to be safe. Olly met the president as he disembarked which has become one of the many memorable moments of his career
All-in-all this was a comprehensive view of police work today in Avon (Bristol) and Somerset from an officer at the heart of operations and a story which would surely be a fine recruiting tool for young people.