DS Hayley Lambert and her team's fight against domestic abuse

As Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week reminds us of the urgent need to support survivors and prevent harm, few people understand the battle better than Detective Sergeant (DS) Hayley Lambert.

For over two decades, she has dedicated her career to protecting the vulnerable, holding offenders accountable, and leading a team committed to stopping domestic abuse before it becomes fatal.

Domestic abuse is defined as an incident or a pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour. This can present itself in many forms, including coercive control; psychological and emotional abuse; physical or sexual abuse; financial or economic abuse; harassment and stalking and online/ digital abuse. 

As this epidemic grows and adapts, so must the resilience and strength of DS Lambert's team - to tackle this crime head on.

Joining the force at aged 19, Hayley has spent 23 years in a profession where every day brings new challenges, high-stakes and moments of profound impact. Her experience and insights could easily be written down and packaged as the next binge-worthy ITV crime drama.

Before donning the police uniform, Hayley worked for Tendring Council Beach Patrol – a role she fondly remembers. “Walking, swimming, riding boats and jet skis all day was my idea of good fun” she recalls. That experience, interacting with the public in all sorts of situations, became the unexpected foundation for a career spent saving lives in a very different way.

Encouraged by a University career counsellor’s suggestion- “the ideal careers identified were Police Officer or Funeral Director! At the age of 18, you can understand why policing felt like the greater appeal.” - and motivated by a shared application experience with her then-boyfriend, Hayley embarked on a path that would define her life.

Now at the helm of the Chelmsford Domestic Abuse Problem Solving Team (DAPST), DS Lambert’s work is all about prevention. Her team identifies high-risk domestic abuse perpetrators – those most likely to escalate to homicide – and works to disrupt their offending. This means direct engagement, intelligence gathering, safeguarding victims and planning operations to intervene before tragedy strikes.

It’s pivotal and often stressful work “The wrong decision could be fatal for a vulnerable victim” she admits. But for Hayley, the reward is knowing that her work saves lives.

Some cases stay with you forever. For Hayley, one of those involved an 18-year-old autistic woman being physically and emotionally abused by her father. Isolated and terrified, she had no support network and was too afraid to engage with police – until Hayley stepped in. Months of careful trust-building led to the young woman escaping to safety with financial and emotional support put in place to help her rebuild her life.

“She wrote me a letter saying that I had saved her life and without me she believed her father would have killed her. She is now in a healthy relationship, travelling the world with her partner and living her best life and I couldn’t be prouder of her!”

Another moment came off duty, driving home one night when Hayley saw a woman about to jump from a bridge.

“I saw the woman on the wrong side of the railing, facing the road below. I called the incident in and stopped to talk to her until assistance arrived. She was very distressed, but I listened and kept her talking. Once support arrived, she turned to face me with her back to the road below and let go of the railing. I managed to grab hold of her to stop her falling and thankfully colleagues were seconds behind me and helped me get her to safety. I really believe that if I had chosen not to stop that night, she wouldn’t be here today.”

Outside of policing, Hayley is a creative force, passionate about interior design, music, and adventure—having even taken the plunge with a skydive. She’s also a devoted wife and mother, balancing the intensity of her work with the joy of family life.

To those considering a policing career, Hayley’s advice is clear: “Be prepared to learn. Bring confidence but leave your ego at the door. Do this job because you want to make a difference—not for money or authority.”

While she’s acted as a Detective Inspector, Hayley prefers staying hands-on with her team and the public. “For now, my team is achieving amazing things, and I want to keep driving that success.”

As we shine a light on the impact of sexual and domestic abuse, DS Hayley Lambert’s story is a testament to the difference one person can make. Whether pulling someone back from the edge—literally or figuratively—she embodies the unwavering commitment needed to turn awareness into action.

Synergy Essex offers independent and specialised services for individuals who have experienced rape or sexual abuse in Essex.

Synergy Essex is a partnership of three services; Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse (CARA), SERICC Rape and Sexual Abuse Specialist Service, and Southend-on-Sea Rape Crisis (SOS Rape Crisis).

The services provided by Synergy Essex are independent of the police. This ensures individuals can seek help whether they choose to report the incident or not. This could be in relation to something that happened recently or in the past.

Survivors and victims can access support by reaching out on their own or through a referral from someone they trust. This could be a family member, friend, or professional.

At Synergy Essex, people of all ages can benefit from specialised emotional support. This includes counselling and advocacy.

For those pursuing legal action, they offer the help of an Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA). The advisers can guide and support them through the criminal justice process.

To learn more about the services available, please visit the Synergy Essex website.