Police detective on his frustration with salaries and the burglars he'll never forget catching

If you've ever spent your morning commute daydreaming about starting afresh with your career, this feature is for you. Each Monday, we speak to someone from a different profession to discover what it's really like.

Today we speak to Detective Constable Jordan Small from the major incident team in the serious crime division at Greater Manchester Police...

The typical salary range for my role as a constable is... currently £32,254 rising to £52,014 at pay point 7. Regarding fairness, I would welcome more role-specific pay, as some specialist roles, such as detectives, carry considerably more stress and investigative skill than others.

Something 99% of people don't know about detectives is... that it's a lateral move. We are no more senior than our uniformed colleagues and are paid the same, commensurate with length of service.

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The perks of the job include... Paying into the sports and social - I get a free meal once a month. There are also corporate memberships available at gyms and other facilities.

The pension I am enrolled in is... the Police Pension 2015 Scheme. My contribution is 12.88% of pensionable pay while my employer contributes 35.3%.

The best thing about the job is... I go to work and get paid to work on puzzles. Some parts of the puzzle are more interesting than others, but they all contribute to the big picture. My favourite part of the job is probably suspect interviews. I love the challenge of seeking information from people, especially if they don't know they are giving it to you.

The hardest thing about my job is... family dynamics. If you are a focused and committed detective, it can be easy to be consumed by your work. At work, detectives must be victim-centred, suspect-focused, and evidence-led, but balance needs to happen at home. Leave the job at work. Ultimately, we all joined to help people and make a difference, but that positive impact needs to start at home.

A day I'll never forget for good reasons on the job is... the conviction of two callous burglars who targeted the elderly in rural communities. One victim was an elderly person who had lost their partner of over 60 years, a couple of months before the incident. They had left the house for the first time since then, which is when the burglars struck. Most of the items stolen were of no significant financial value, but the sentimental value was priceless. That particular victim was so strong and brave, insisting on addressing the burglars at the sentencing in court. That moment was probably the proudest moment for me, giving that person the opportunity to give such a powerful address to the offenders and tell them the impact of their actions.

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A day I'll never forget for bad reasons... is when a few years ago a response policing colleague was struck by a car while conducting a vehicle stop. The location was very rural, and it was close to midnight. I heard the red call (officer in need of immediate assistance) by his crewmate. I was due to finish my shift within the hour. I stopped what I was doing, and despite being a detective, I headed straight out to assist, as I was aware resources were not as concentrated in that area, and his team would likely be operating under an extreme cognitive load. I assisted however I could and escorted the ambulance carrying my colleague to a trauma centre, having to stop on the way while they induced a coma. I remained at the hospital with him and comforted his family who attended. I was relieved at 07:00, driving back to work to finish up my work from the previous evening, which could not wait. When I left the hospital, it was unclear if his injuries were survivable. I am extremely happy to add that despite the significant injuries and an induced coma, my colleague has returned to work and works as a valuable member of an investigation team.

The strangest thing that's happened during work is... assisting in a post-mortem during the part where they remove the brain. I won't go into the graphic detail, but let's just say that it was very surreal and gave me a whole new respect for those working in pathology.

My controversial opinion on anything relating to my work is... in court, we often cannot bring up previous offences, but where someone has been convicted previously for a murder bearing striking similarities to the case on trial, I believe the jury should have the full facts available.

If I could introduce one new rule for police, it would be... role-specific reviews with more power to the organisation to redistribute those who are not performing to the same standard as their colleagues. My current team is brilliant, but I have worked with people over the years who bring the morale of overstretched teams down, as the team had to pick up their work as well as their own.

People often forget that we are duty-bound to investigate evidence pointing away from a suspect... All of this takes time. Detectives and police in general take flak at times when people are found not guilty but we have a unique criminal justice system where the police actually sit as an impartial party to the investigation. Of course, detectives gather evidence, interview suspects and build case files, but it is for the CPS to decide whether or not to charge.

A mistake could mean missing a vital clue and therefore never even getting to court... Most people think of police investigations like jigsaws, with evidential pieces to fit the overarching picture. In truth, it is more like a jigsaw where some pieces are like snakes and ladders. If you miss a clue, you don't find the ladder to the next piece.

The one thing I have learnt about people during my career is... everyone has a secret; nobody is how they appear on the surface.

If I could go back in time, I would tell my 16-year-old self... to look after your mental health. We are here for one time, not a long time. Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing, as every decision, every success, and every failure has led me to where I am today.

(c) Sky News 2026: Police detective on his frustration with salaries and the burglars he'll never forget catching