'I missed my badge': Veteran Suffolk officer returns to beat after retirement
After meeting two Prime Ministers and serving on the frontline of Suffolk's Covid response, most would be content with retirement. However, the call to serve his community proved too strong for Sergeant Stephen Lee to resist.
The big picture: After retiring in October 2023 at age 55, Lee decided to continue serving as a Special Constable, bringing two decades of frontline experience, specialist training and major incident management to the voluntary role.
Standout moments:
- Served as a Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) officer during Covid-19, handling community deaths during the first lockdown as part of the multi-agency response car team.
- Met then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street in recognition of his pandemic service.
- Deployed to the 2011 London riots as a Police Support Unit (PSU) officer.
- Subsequently met then-Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
What he's doing now: Lee works Friday or Saturday late shifts around his new role as a Learning and Development (L&D) trainer. He maintains full access to police systems for investigations and has kept all his driving qualifications.
"I have also been able to do day shifts on foot in the town of Felixstowe speaking to the public and shopkeepers, which has been great as I have not been able to do that part of community policing for a long time," Lee said.
"I still have the opportunity to lock up the baddies whilst supporting our communities and colleagues but with a lot less pressure and stress of 24/7 shifts," he added.
The bottom line: Lee's return to the beat proves that while the uniform might change, the commitment to community service can remain just as strong.
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