Chris Walsh: ‘proud’ retiring Fed member looks back on 30 years of service

7 October 2026

After 30 years with West Mercia Police, Chris Walsh is preparing to retire with a mixture of pride, emotion and excitement about what comes next.

Chris’s last working day was 30 August, just two weeks before his 55th birthday. It marks the end of a career that began in August 1996, when Chris was approaching 25 and, by his own admission, was “a little bit lost”.

“I thought the police seemed like a great career,” he recalled. “I like helping people. If you’re a people person, the police is brilliant.”

Three decades later, that desire to help others remains at the heart of his career.

Chris has spent his entire policing career with West Mercia, working across a remarkable variety of roles including response policing, proactive units, covert policing, intelligence, work with vulnerable adults and sex offenders, and an early attachment to CID.

Inspector

He retires as an impact sergeant, dealing with handovers, having also spent around five years working on and off as a temporary inspector.

“I’ve had the ability to do anything I want to do in policing,” he said. “It’s just been amazing.”

Looking back, it is the people he encountered and worked alongside that have made the biggest impression.

 

Chris Walsh (right) with Chief Constable Richard Cooper

 

“The people that surround you are everything.”

Chris says colleagues and supervisors invested time in him, encouraged him and helped him develop. He remembers an accident early in his career when he was off work and his sergeant contacted both Chris and his partner to check they were okay.

He has also witnessed significant changes in policing over the past 30 years. When he joined, officers spent much more time visibly out on patrol, completing paperwork at the roadside rather than being tied to computers and systems.

Paperwork

“When I started, you were visible,” he said. “You did your paperwork on the side of the road and people would ask why you are in the station.”

Technology has transformed policing, bringing clear benefits but also changing the way officers interact with the public.

“In some respects, it doesn’t feel quite as human. But technology has improved a lot, which is good.”

Chris has also seen the workforce become more diverse, with people joining from increasingly varied backgrounds and a significantly positive increase in the number of women entering policing.

“We’ve come a long way, which is a good thing,” said Chris, who believes that changing workforce is important because officers bring different experiences and perspectives to the job.

“Society is changing. Policing needs to change. The younger officers are our future.”

One of the most positive developments he has witnessed is the changing attitude towards mental health.

Mental health

Earlier in his carerr, after being involved in two car crashes in close succession, Chris experienced significant mental health challenges. He felt there was an expectation that seeking help should remain private.

He believes that stigma has reduced significantly: “There’s no shame now, no stigma. I feel like it’s talked about. It’s out there, no shame.”

He has also seen greater awareness of officer wellbeing and the support available to colleagues.

“We’ve lost colleagues along the way, which is very sad,” he said. “But hopefully it’s better. It’s great to see that there is support there and the job is constantly trying to change that.”

During his career, Chris has also gained a greater understanding of himself. Early on, he was nicknamed ‘Flash’ because he was always on the move. Years later, a counsellor told him he displayed a number of ADHD traits, helping him make sense of characteristics he had always recognised in himself.

He believes policing is becoming more accepting of neurodiversity, although there is still progress to be made.

Now, as retirement approaches, Chris admits leaving is an emotional prospect.

“The biggest thing for me was the loss of identity when I go,” he said.

Pride

“For 30 years, being a police officer has been more than a job. It has been part of who I am.

There is also a sense of relief, however, with Chris saying he expects retirement to be “an instant weight off my shoulders”.

“But my head is in a good place.”

And retirement certainly will not mean slowing down. The day after his official retirement, Chris started a new role as a full-time team leader at Marks and Spencer, allowing him to continue doing something he has always enjoyed: working with people.

Outside work, it is also a significant year for his family. Chris and his wife, Lexi, have been together for 12 years and married this year. He has a 25-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old stepdaughter, who is beginning to think about her own career as his policing career comes to an end.

After 30 years, Chris feels he has achieved what he set out to do. And he leaves West Mercia Police with enormous pride.

He ended: “I’m extremely proud to have been a police officer.”

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