'Exceptional' Leeds officer whose dad and daughter also served West Yorkshire Police wins Lifetime Achievement award

Detective Sergeant Andy Greatorex received a standing ovation at the Leeds District Awards Evening last Thursday after scooping the Lifetime Achievement Award at the end of the night.

He was honoured for his “exceptional work investigating and bringing significant violent offenders to justice” during his time at West Yorkshire Police; which started in 1995 when he joined as a uniformed officer.

DS Greatorex was then following in the footsteps of his father John and the family tradition has now been passed on to his daughter, who has joined the force in an investigative role.

She was one of four people who nominated DS Greatorex for the award, writing: “I am so proud of him and now I have followed in his footsteps and understand the sacrifices he made throughout my childhood so he could provide justice to those that needed it.

“I constantly hear from EVERY team how amazing and supportive he is and that makes me feel so proud that I can say that I am his daughter.”

Speaking to the YEP following the ceremony, DS Greatorex said that he was “very humbled” to receive the award and hear the comments from his daughter and other colleagues.

Having grown up in the Wakefield district where his father was a Detective Sergeant, DS Greatorex initially worked as an engineer before turning to policing in 1995 during a recruitment drive.

He said that, much like how his daughter described him, his dad was a “career detective” and that his “firm but fair” ways had rubbed off him in his approach to policing.

After 12 years as a police constable, during which he was commended for tackling samurai sword-wielding thugs and risking his life to save a family in a house fire, he was promoted to Detective Constable in Leeds where he would go on to lead a team in tackling serious and organised crime across the city.

Ahead of delivering DS Geatorex with his award, Leeds District Commander, Chief Superintendent Steve Dodds said: “He is the embodiment of what the community yearns for in an experienced detective who has never lost the relentless drive, determination, and passion to solve the most serious and complex crimes.

“He daily manages exceptionally critical workloads whilst acknowledging his responsibility as a leader to mentor the next generation of detectives.”

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On what has kept him so focused and driven after all these years, he said it was his “old school” desire to provide the best service for the community.

He couldn’t have kept so motivated without the “proper team” ethic of the force, though, saying: “When I got up there (for the award) I thought ‘this is not just for me’ and that’s what’s the humbling part of it”, he said. “It’s the whole package really and the support I’ve had from my colleagues.

“I’ll be sad when I eventually leave the force. I’ve enjoyed the vast majority of my service and I’ve worked with some fantastic people along the way that has made my job as an investigating sergeant easy.”

DC Greatorex said that the job had definitely had its low points though, and that dealing with challenging cases involving death and grief had especially taken its toll.

He said: “I think that is the thing as I walk away that will leave me a little scarred. As much as you enjoy something, you always take some of it away as well and I think it will take some time to unwind from that.”

DS Greatorex said that he felt positive about the amount of emotional support that was now available in the force for the likes of his daughter, as opposed to when he and his father’s days, saying: “Back then it was ‘this is what the job is now get on with it’ whereas now it leans more towards welfare and looking after people. And that is certainly for the better.”

On what the future holds for policing, he said that he felt there was more workload and pressure nowadays, saying: “I think that’s down to mobile phones in a way as people are now able to ring stuff in as they’re happening.

“I remember as a patrol officer on nights we’d be able to proactively patrol and do things whereas now it’s very much 24/7 of answering immediate calls. So there’s no doubt for me that it’s a lot busier and more demanding now than it ever has been.

“It’s always been a very demanding job. But to offset that, it’s very rewarding as well.”