‘It really meant a lot to me’: Fed member reflects on Investigator of the Year win

14 October 2025

Award-winning Federation member Ben Kings has underlined the importance of ‘staying true to yourself’ to get success and reward from the demands of detective life.

DC Ben was recently named Investigator of the Year at the annual West Mercia Police’s Quality Policing Awards, gaining recognition for his efforts over the previous 12 months in the Force’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The award citation described him as ‘a shining example of a detective’ and ‘truly inspiring’ in his handling of complex cases, as well as having ‘compassion, courage and a passion for bringing offenders to justice’.

Originally joining the Force in 2007 as a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO), Ben became a constable six years later and then first joined the CID as an offender manager in 2018.

 

DC Ben Kings

 

Looking back on his win, he said: “It was a complete honour to receive the award and all of the praise and kind attention that went with it. It really meant a lot to me, especially after almost two decades working in policing and a fair amount of that now as a detective.

“I was a bit surprised, too – to hear my name attached to something like ‘Investigator of the Year’, it took me back.

“I think that’s because it is such a challenging job, and there is so much incredible work happening every day, you never really imagine you’ll do enough to be recognised like this – not that it’s reason we do what we do, but it is definitely a nice feeling and I am very grateful.”

Currently holding a role in reactive CID, Ben’s input will typically be seen across crime such as murder and attempted murder, robbery, fraud, and violence including grievous bodily harm and rape and serious sexual offences.

Explosives

Earlier in January, he managed to secure convictions against a man for ownership of military-grade live firearms, ammunition and explosives.

The man was initially stopped at Birmingham Airport with two knives on his person, and following a joint investigation with the Ministry of Defence and the tracking of overseas intelligence, the rest of his extensive arsenal was seized at a home search.

In recent times, Ben has also played a key part in the exposure of modern-day slavery at a traveller site in Hartlebury – involving the exploitation of at least one Eastern European migrant who was then moved to permanent safety – and had a hand in uncovering international-scale fraud around the brokering of extremely valuable artwork.

The latter case has seen a piece of art worth approximately £250,000 brought back to its rightful owner, with more work gradually being recovered.

“It’s been a busy time for me, to say the least,” the 39-year-old continued.

“As always, I think it’s been about remaining focused on the job at hand and keeping victims at the forefront of your mind when investigating – of course, you need to have that impartiality, but you need to have compassion, too.”

CID

Beyond his specific body of work over the last year, Ben shared his thoughts on the general qualities which make an effective police officer in the CID.

“I’d say you need to be honest, approachable and realistic, all the time. I always stay true to who I am, whether I’m interacting with victims, suspects or colleagues.

“Something that really helps me is the support I’m given by my family. I’ve been doing this [detective work] for a fairly long time now, and I wouldn’t have been able to without them.

“Their support and backing has never wavered – in the hard times, as well as the successes,” he added.

Ben, who is set to step up as an acting detective sergeant in April, rounded off by looking ahead to the future.

“For me, another important aspect is always searching for the next challenge.

“The sergeant exam was daunting, and I’m glad it’s out of the way, to be honest. Now, I am really excited to develop myself further in this area of policing I love.

“Ultimately though, I think whatever department you’re in or rank you’re at, the biggest thing is to work hard and have integrity as an officer by believing in yourself and your vision for doing things right.”

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