Get to know your Fed reps: Carrie-Ann Lowe

22 February 2022

Roads policing officer Carrie-Ann Lowe is using her experience of “challenging obstacles” in her new role as a Police Federation workplace representative.

Carrie-Ann joined West Midlands Police in 2001 after a career in retail and her first posting was on response in Birmingham city centre, parading from Digbeth.

She had had a stint on the Sector Action Team which she enjoyed but always felt her heart was in response policing.

“I love working nights!” she said.

Carrie-Ann then joined F1 traffic in 2009 and is now part of the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG).

She said: “I worked in retail before becoming a police officer. I had various roles, some of which meant working closely with town centre police with retail crime etc.

“It was a rude awakening when I discovered it wasn’t all about shoplifters.”

Carrie-Ann is now part of the team that covers the whole of the Force area dealing with fatal 4, impact areas around Force, serious road traffic collisions, pursuits of vehicles failing to stop. 

She is also a stolen motor vehicle examiner, PG9 vehicle prohibition authorised and “anything involving rubber on the roads”.

Carrie-Ann became a workplace rep after the last Police Federation elections in September 2021 after putting herself forward because she felt her department was not being properly represented.

She explained: “We are a department where most of what we do is high-risk. Officers always act with the best intentions and sometimes it doesn’t go right for whatever reason. 

“It is almost always resolvable but we hadn’t had a rep on the department for a number of years and with me now having 20 years’ service, I felt I could offer a voice of reason and have the communication skills to speak with officers about their concerns and also to approach senior officers to find a fair resolution on both sides.”

Carrie-Ann said she was  looking forward to developing her skill set and getting into a better place to help and advise colleagues once Police Federation training resumed. She is currently specialising in diversity and inclusion.

The determination Carrie-Ann brings to the role was highlighted when she challenged a decision to stop her serving as frontline officer on medical grounds.

She explained: “I have experience of finding ways of challenging obstacles in order to continue being a frontline officer. 

“I was diagnosed with the BRCA cancer gene mutation in 2014 inherited from my late mother and underwent a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction in 2018. 

“Due to the unknown about the condition it was decided by the Force doctor that I would be permanently restricted from frontline duties but I challenged this and was then allowed to go back out fully operational in January 2021.”

Carrie-Ann warned the recruitment process for new officers was one of the key challenges faced by the police service.

She said: “I feel the current process with degree entrants does not reflect the communities we police. An overhaul of the recruitment process to attract a representation of the world we police needs to be done. 

“Policing is still about common sense and a good feel for right and wrong. The paperwork can be learnt through the correct training and being tutored by the correct people.”

And she was also quick to acknowledge the Police Federation also faced some tough challenges in the future.