Sandwell police officer changes collar number to honour father's legacy

Pc Tracey Dudley surprised dad Chris Randell on Christmas morning with the heartfelt present 10 years after she joined the force.

She wanted to pay tribute to the retired officer's three decades with West Midlands Police after following in his footsteps.

Pc Dudley, of Sandwell’s Partnership police team, said: “Christmas is always a special time of year for my family and my dad instilled a lot of Christmas traditions into us.

“Every year my dad gets the standard presents off us, but this year I wanted to present him with something really meaningful."

Mr Randell retired from the force in 2006 after serving as a neighbourhood and response officer, as well as a detective.

The former officer was also based at Sandwell for part of his career and policed the miners’ strikes in the 1980s.

His daughter joined the force two years later in 2008 after swapping her secretarial role for policing the streets of Sandwell.

She now works to combat anti-social behaviour and has helped tackle some of the most prolific offenders in the area.

Pc Dudley added: “I wanted to have the same collar number as my dad when I first started, but before I knew it, the years rolled by.

“This year though it seemed fitting on my 10 year anniversary, to mark both my dad’s service and my own.

“I enquired to see if it was possible to change my collar number and I was stunned to find out it actually was. I have been so excited to show my dad for months."

She presented a picture to her dad on Christmas morning, showing her wearing his old collar number 2461 and posing with a police car just like he had done.

Pc Dudley has been responsible for banning orders and recently was nominated for a Local Government Award with Sandwell Council for her work on eradicating unauthorised encampments in the area.

It was her family’s history of working for the police force which encouraged her to join.