Meet Chief Inspector Rob Huddleston

“I love working for Essex Police…I wish I’d done it ten years earlier”

Detective Chief Inspector Rob Huddleston has been serving with Essex Police for 18 years and knows the inner workings of the force inside and out. He is currently posted in the North Local Policing Area and has been known by many other titles in his time. From working in both uniform and detective roles as well as being Public Order trained, Counter Terrorism Search trained and even spent time Driver training others.

He swapped his career in the Foreign Exchange and Futures Markets in London for a life of policing at the age of 34. He says: “It was a huge difference coming from the private sector where the focus was solely profit for the client and ourselves, to public service where we have the honour of supporting people in their moments of crisis.”

He continues: “I have been really fortunate in my career and have volunteered for every opportunity possible. I have spent time working in Intelligence across the force and really enjoyed the proactive development of Intelligence to catch criminals. I am a qualified Senior Investigating officer so get to direct some of the most serious offences to support victims, their families and bring offenders to justice."

The Chief Inspector has also garnered experience by working regionally, nationally and even internationally to support investigations into Modern Slavery Human Trafficking and Organised Immigration Crime – so his wealth of experience is invaluable to his colleagues and allows him to see policing from many different sides.

“My most recent post is District Commander responsible for the delivery of operational policing across Colchester. This has been so rewarding working closely with partners and our community. I feel privileged to hold the office of Constable and hold the responsibility for keeping so many people safe.”

Whilst talking to Chief Inspector Rob, you can tell he loves his job with every fibre of his being. So, it was understandably difficult for him to pinpoint just one moment he’s most proud of in his vast career, but he shares an incident that has stuck with him recently:

“I worked hard to bring to justice an offender who stabbed a boy out celebrating his birthday. It turned out to be a case of mistaken identity and whilst it was fortunately not a life-threatening injury, the repercussions for the victim were felt mentally and affected his wellbeing. He admitted to feeling unsafe going to college or leaving his house. I worked with the victim closely, even walking to college with them to show them they were safe, and thankfully we secured justice together.”

Finally, I asked him – 'why Essex Police?':

“I live in the county and I’m passionate about keeping our communities safe, not only because my family and friends live here, but because the sense of community I see across the county when out and about meeting people is fantastic.
“I am also passionate about developing our people, it is amazing when you get to see an officer develop and grow in confidence and then pass that insight onto others. This way we can ensure we pass down high standards of policing and focus on those who most need our help. I hope that as a senior leader with Essex Police I can be a role model to others and hopefully, by the end of my career I have left a legacy of service, duty, and commitment to our communities.

“I would recommend Essex Police to everyone; we are a force that is big enough that you can explore different career paths and build on your experience to become a more well-rounded officer but is small enough that you don’t feel lost in the crowd but instead feel supported and appreciated along the way. When we talk about a family force, we mean it.“

We value difference at Essex Police.

Like Chief Inspector Huddleston, some of our officers and staff have transferred from different forces, travel from different counties and come from varying backgrounds – but we’re all one big family with the same goal: to protect and serve the people of Essex.

Want to make a difference like our other transferees? Start your journey with Essex Police by applying today!