Doncaster Chief Inspector bids farewell to SYP and hails extraordinary colleagues

David Struggles, Chief Inspector for Response Policing in Doncaster, joined SYP as a Sheffield PC in 2005 from the Army. He has looked back on a varied career before stepping down later this month.

Chf Insp Struggles said: “The thing about the police is things which can have a real impact on individuals, that they’ll never forget, most police officers see every day.

“That’s what makes the job extraordinary and the people that do it are equally extraordinary.”

Chf Insp Struggles has taken part in high-profile public order exercises over the years.

That included when officers from across the country were dispatched to help after the London riots of 2011 and during the G8 Summit in Belfast.

But the 54-year-old also had many memorable moments from serving across South Yorkshire.

They included response work, breaking down barriers in communities and working as a tactical firearms commander.

Of response work, he said: “You deal with everything from mental health crises, bodies, pub fights, road traffic collisions, cats stuck up a tree, all sorts.

“From one second to the next the radio could spark to life and you’ll be sent to something that’s high risk, critical and sometimes bizarre.

“To do that takes some courage. That’s the bit I enjoyed most, the variety and unpredictability. You never know what’s coming next.”

Chf Insp Struggles has worked in and been promoted across several busy teams in Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster.

He helped to recruit and train some 1,400 new officers to the force, leading a police apprenticeship degree scheme with Sheffield Hallam University.

His community roles tackled challenges such as anti-social behaviour in Sheffield and the response to critical incidents in Doncaster.

Another focused on rebuilding community trust in central Rotherham following the Jay report on child sexual exploitation in 2014.

Chf Insp Struggles was given the Rotherham Community Police Officer of the Year award in recognition of that work.

He said: “I feel proud to say we played a key role, our team, in re-engaging the police with the Rotherham community which had had a very tough time. There was lots of mistrust and insecurity.

“We also felt a significant impact, on the community and police, through repeated protests during that period.

“Coming out of that, I did feel that we’d done a lot to build bridges.”

While in the Army, Chf Insp Struggles served internationally with a number of different army units, armoured regiments and as a paratrooper with the airborne forces, ending his military service as a Warrant Officer.

He will volunteer as a mentor to help ex-soldiers into employment after retiring from SYP.

He said: “I will definitely miss the people and being part of something which is so special.”