3 days ago
Thames Valley father and daughter policing duo have 'special bond'
"Fathers and daughters have special bonds, and there's special bonds across policing as well."Parents often dream of their children following them into the family trade, but for Jim Weems that dream became a reality when his daughter Victoria joined the pair both work for Thames Valley Police, with Jim first joining the force in Cowley, Oxford, in 1993 and Victoria starting her career in Reading 25 years told the BBC she had "always knew I wanted to be a police officer", with Jim adding he was "very proud" when she joined the force in 2018.
Jim said growing up he had an "inherent dislike of people that abuse, intimidate or exploit other people", and realised "policing is the only career which allows you to do something about that".During his three-decade-long career, Jim climbed the ranks and eventually oversaw the force's management of royal events - including the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in said he has "had a very full career" and "loved every minute of it".
During her childhood, 29-year-old Victoria said she had "only ever known him [Jim] as a police officer", adding: "For me it was completely normal, it didn't feel unusual in anyway."Speaking about her youth, she said: "There was maybe a bit of strictness in the household with a police officer as a father.""I just recall really vividly one time as a child I took one of those [disposable] plastic pens from Argos and when dad found out he marched me back and made me return it - there was a strong sense of doing the right thing."She said she had "always been incredibly interested crime and why people do things", adding: "I just knew that at some point I wanted to become a police officer."
In 2018 Victoria followed her dad into the force, leaving Jim feeling a "massive sense of pride".He said there was "a sense of inevitability" about the career choice as "growing up I always knew Victoria would do something that helps people".Since then, Jim said he and Victoria had developed a "special bond on loads of levels"."There's a massive family bond anyway, but we're also part of the policing family," Jim, who is now a museum curator for the force, said."Policing will not be for everyone, its long shifts, it's missing birthdays, Christmases, working weekends and nights, but if you do have that drive and that feeling of wanting to help people then it's a brilliant career," Victoria added.
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