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Life After the Job: Mark Warwick

Published: Thursday 21 August 2014

When teenager Mark Warwick joined the Met he could never have imagined that his career would take him through the spectrum of policing – and culminate in him overseeing one of the most intense investigations ever focused on the British military.

But more than three decades after he first put himself forward for selection by the service he has the crucial responsibility of examining allegations made against those who served in Iraq during the eight-year Operation Telic campaign.

Heading up the Iraq Historical Allegations Team (IHAT), he is responsible for leading a 147-strong workforce that includes civilian investigators as well as military personnel – and holds a civil service grade and command powers equivalent to an Army brigadier.

Keen probationer

It is a far cry from the youngster who turned up to begin his training in 1981 in east London before embarking “on the usual period of probation” of bread-and-butter policing in the capital.

In a period of economic decline and social unrest, however, Mark found his early years in law enforcement a particularly busy time – seeing deployments under mutual aid arrangements during the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike and racking up experience in public order.

“As I approached five years of service I took my sergeants exams and passed them. I went on to be based in Vine Street and later served with the Tactical Support Group – finishing up as a sergeant in charge of the armed terrorism response vehicles (the forerunner to the current ARV structure) within central London.

“During my time as a sergeant I was also involved in policing many of the Poll Tax disturbances across London and the Home Counties– and was subsequently promoted to inspector in 1991.”

Wider opportunities

Mark’s career continued to develop as his potential and talent was recognised and he rose through the ranks. As an inspector he was initially posted to Brixton and later became responsible for training future generations of senior officers in public order doctrine and tactics as well as serving in the Special Branch Personal Protection Squad.

The role saw him travel overseas to regions including the Middle East with colleagues, and he safeguarded senior politicians.

The latter stages of his life in the Job were dominated by investigations within the Met and the National Crime Squad. He later transferred to Thames Valley Police where he served as a senior investigating officer dealing with homicide and serious organised crime investigations both regionally and nationally.

His final operational role was as a temporary detective chief superintendent as Head of the South East Counter Terrorism Unit. He also assisted a project with ACPO Terrorism and Allied Matters, as the country prepared for the 2012 London Olympics, to consider the future of the counter terrorism network before retiring the following year.

“All in all the years in the Job were great – when I joined all I wanted to be was a police officer. I know some people join with the very clear expectation of progression and promotion to all kinds of things and I can say that I never had any of that.

“I tended to move around every three years, and each time I met very different challenges – for me it was all about taking on a role and work until you mastered it.

“To be honest I actually feel very lucky that I had access to some brilliant opportunities – I always tried to get outside my comfort zone and in doing so I met great people.”

Retirement challenge

Mark also treated his retirement as a further opportunity – having already established a limited company, he was assisting officers in the USA with improving their homicide detection rates and continued the work as his left the Police Service.

“I was lucky that I already had an interest outside of the police but I started thinking very seriously about what I wanted to do and looking through various online magazines,” he added. “In late 2012 somebody told me about the job at IHAT and it immediately appealed.

“My role focuses on investigation and has an international element – it really interested me at that point in time and that remains the case now. We have a significant number of allegations of homicide, ill-treatment and torture we are investigating.

“By its nature the investigation is highly complex – for me it extremely important that the job is carried out thoroughly and the right outcome is reached.”

Advice to colleagues

As for colleagues contemplating their departure from the Police Service, Mark believes that they need to think about their plan of action carefully – and decide whether they need to up-skill for a new challenge or enter an area in which they were proven.

He also suggested that they should be ready to experience a culture shock on leaving.

“You need to examine the options and work out what you want to do,” Mark added. “Some immediate questions are whether you want to work for yourself of somebody else – or if you have a hobby, whether that could potentially be turned into your job.

“But in a sense you have to wean yourself off the style of work you have been used to and accept that things are going to be different – and this can take a while. Other organisations have their own culture and ways of doing things that are different to policing.”

For Mark, the journey from policing to life after the Job has certainly been a fulfilling experience that shows no signs of letting up. Currently heading up an investigation of huge importance with a wealth of past experience on which to draw, his career is continuing apace – with some extremely strong future prospects.

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