'You are not seen as a male or female, you are a cop' says Grantham officer

In our third ‘Inspirational Women’ feature we focus on the life of Kirsty Szeluk and her role as a police officer.

Kirsty Szeluk, 32, who serves in the Grantham area, is a response officer for Lincolnshire Police, making her the first contact for people when incidents occur.

Her career in policing first began in 2012 when she joined Nottinghamshire Police as a police community support officer (PSCO).

“I just wanted to do something where I was helping people, so I knew the emergency services was the way to go but I wasn’t sure what one”, said Kirsty.

“I did a volunteering role with the police and really enjoyed it so I applied.

“I’ve got no one in my family in the police. I’m the first one.”

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Kirsty worked as a PCSO for 11 years until she joined Lincolnshire Police in 2021 as a response officer.

Policing as an industry has always been perceived as being mainly men in the profession.

An equality assessment for the Neyroud review – into police leadership and training – carried out in 2011, stated that the police was dominated by an “overwhelming white male culture” and the industry was a “job for the boys”.

A report by the Ministry of Justice concerning women and the criminal justice system in 2011 revealed 27 per cent of women were employed by the police service.

When Kirsty joined as a PSCO, she said it was “more men on my team rather than women”.

However, she said she was “not treated any differently”.

She added: “I’ve been on teams where I’ve been the only female but it doesn’t feel like that.

“It sounds cliche but it’s like you’re working with your brothers and sisters.

“You never feel out of place.

“You’re not treated any differently because you are female. You are just treated as the police.

“You are not seen as a male or female, you are a cop.”

Since these figures were released in 2011, there has been a drive to increase the recruitment of women into police forces.

In 2022, the government revealed women made up 34.9 per cent of the overall workforce, equating to 50,364 women in 43 police forces across the country.

Kirsty added: “You treat each other with respect.

“The job is hard enough as it is, we don’t want to make it harder for each other.

“In the police force we should represent society.

“We should have people from all different walks of life. In society I imagine it is 50/50 so we should represent that.”

Kirsty talked about the issue of violence against women and girls, strongly highlighted in the media, and the need to have more female police officers to “properly be able to support those victims”, said Kirsty.

From a woman who is at the forefront of crime as a police officer to any woman thinking of becoming one, Kirsty said: “Just do it.”

She added: “Especially now, we are seeing far more females in supervisor roles.

“So in terms of getting females to those chief constable roles and higher up the chain, I would say that the more female officers we have, the better.

“You are supported the whole way through and you are not seen any differently.

“It’s a great career and it’s difficult as it is.

“We all have each others’ back, no matter who you are, and we have a good laugh.

“You do come across some horrific incidents but you’ve always got your team around you.

“I wouldn’t do anything different in my job.

“Sometimes I come home really stressed or thinking about work and taking it home with me, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”