‘Policing helped me find my purpose in life’

3 March 2023

Dan and his daughter.

A Hertfordshire Police Federation member whose exciting career has seen him seize £7 million worth of ecstasy pills from the boot of a car, discover £180,000 stuffed inside a vacuum cleaner and is now responsible for preparing the county in case of a terrorist attack, has received his long-service award.

Having joined the Force back in 2002 - admittedly, simply to make his mates a bit of extra cash - Dan Stoddart, now 51-years-old and a Detective Sergeant, says he ‘never looked back’, as he credits the police for helping him to find his purpose in life.

Just over 21 years in, Dan recently received his long-service award, which gave the Federation the perfect opportunity to catch up with the father, husband and still job-happy copper, as he reflects on the past two decades.

“I’d left the army and had drifted into a few rather unsatisfactory jobs - I didn’t really have a clue what I wanted to do. At the time, the police were offering a recruitment initiative, which meant for every successful referral, a serving officer would receive £500 for a candidate who completed training. I had a few pals in the rugby club who were cops and who were keen to get me to sign up for the bounty,” explains Dan, as he takes us back to the start of his career as a cop, adding: “And I’ve never looked back.

“Policing helped me find my purpose in life. I had finally found my calling in life and discovered something I was finally quite good at.

“And more than that, I found two best friends – we have all been each other’s best men since. I also met an excellent (and rather lovely) detective – who later became my wife with whom I went on to have a daughter and we even own a failed police dog. I have a lot to thank the Force for.

“How many people say they would run to work in the morning because they loved their job so much? That was me. And it was easy to see why - I was working with my best mates, out every day helping people, locking up the bad guys, what more do you want from a job?” 

Hertfordshire Police Federation chair Luke Mitchell has thanked Dan for his service.

“I myself have had the pleasure to work alongside Dan for a number of years and was lucky enough to be supervised by him prior to taking a promotion. He has a wealth of experience, is hard working and always puts others before himself,” said Luke.

“Hundreds - literally - of officers have started their career under Dan and have been supported out of their probation and into other roles. A huge well done and massive thank you for your service Dan, we’re incredibly lucky to have you in Hertfordshire Constabulary.” 

Two years into training and the student officer Dan had already made his mark in the Force, managing to clinch the prestigious Jane’s National Police Probationer of the Year Award in 2003, with the award presented to him by the then Home Secretary, David Blunkett.

Echoing Luke’s comments, Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Matt Nicholls said: “I've known Dan since he was a probationer on my team back in Watford 20 years ago. I saw the potential in him and mentored him for a while and I was really pleased when he was awarded ‘Probationer of the Year’ back in 2003.

“We have kept in touch through our differing career paths providing help and support to each other on our respective journeys. He is passionate about policing and a dedicated public servant and has excelled in every role he has taken on within the Constabulary. 

“I am proud of all his achievements and the officer he is today and we should rightly celebrate officers like Dan to counter the negative narrative the police are currently receiving in the media.”

Shortly after, Dan became a tutor constable and a Police Support Unit Officer, before being headhunted by the Western Area Tactical Team in 2004.

It was here that Dan found himself involved in a number of high-profile investigations, including the discovery of one million ecstasy pills, the largest seizure within the UK to date.

“My favourite job though was finding £180,000 cash, hidden inside a vacuum cleaner,” Dan recalls, “And then when I looked under the sink, I found what I thought was a very, very big dishwasher tablet, only to realise it was actually three kilogrammes of homemade cocaine, with the street value of £250,000.

“It’s jobs like that, that you live for. When you’ve been after someone for weeks or months and you’ve been building a case around them, to finally send that person to prison, and destroy their entire organised crime group. You have to be patient and you have to time it right, but when you do finally get the person you’re after, it’s worth it.”

Despite passing the board for the Covert Unit, Dan was persuaded to return to his old team, as sergeant - a post he initially thought would be temporary but found himself still in, more than five years later.

“I had to wait six months for a slot to open in the Covert Unit, so I agreed to stand in as sergeant while I waited - unbeknown to me, I’d found my new dream job, managing a team of officers,” added Dan, who, as well as meeting his now-wife during this period, implemented the Watford Night-Time Economy Partnership working group, helping to drive down alcohol-related violent crime. 

“One thing I’ve always felt is that frontline policing is very much under-appreciated and overlooked. I always have been, and will continue to be the champion for those who protect us, day in, day out.”

In 2010, Dan passed the national board for the High Potential Scheme, which saw him embark on five years of learning cutting edge management and leadership theory to bring back to the workplace.

However, he realised that his first love remained operational policing and so, decided to become a detective, a job he enjoyed until 2016.

“In 2016, the UK and Europe had seen a surge in terrorist attacks. This prompted Hertfordshire to establish a team who would work to prepare the county in the unfortunate case of a terrorist attack, and, having worked in the military and studied for a degree in Strategic Studies, it seemed like I was the obvious choice for the job,” explained Dan, who recently completed his master’s degree in forensic ballistics.

“That, again, was only meant to be a six-month stint, but here I am, nearly seven years later.”

Now a qualified Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Tactical Commander and Counter Terrorism (CT) Security Coordinator, Dan spends his working days reviewing vulnerabilities for major events and VIP visits.

Alongside this, he delivers training and testing for everyone, of all ranks, preparing them in the case of a terrorist attack. 

“I know I say this about every new job I get, but this really is the best job I’ve ever had,” Dan said, “I would be lucky to have this role for the rest of my service.

 “All the skills I have learnt over the years - from those in the military, those working in the neighbourhood team and those as a detective, I can use every single one of them now. It’s almost as if, it was meant to be. 

“I know I’ve been very lucky along the way, and had some incredible people around me, who have pushed me, challenged me, mentored me and supported me through my journey to get me to where I am today. I will never forget that.

“Of course, I have some awful days, but I have some really fantastic days too. I have, and hopefully will continue to have, a very blessed career. I’ve met some superb people and I’ve seen things that 99.9 per cent of the population never see. I’ve had to make some extremely hard choices at 3am in the morning but have reaped the rewards when one bad person is locked up because of the hard work of dozens. I am just one member of that team.

“Looking back, I genuinely feel like I won the lottery, the day I became part of the police force.”