In April’s Hassocks Life Deirdre Huston catches up with Graham Bartlett, and learns about his experience serving in Sussex Police, and his subsequent success as an author and police advisor to writers.

Back in 2004, Graham Bartlett and his family moved to Hassocks, and these days, they wouldn’t live anywhere else. They appreciate the proximity to London and Brighton, and the access to coast and countryside too. Graham says, “we’re very fortunate to have lots of open spaces here. We have an active ten-year-old terrier who keeps us exploring, on the downs, in the woods and across the fields.”

Although the last year has been difficult, Graham is grateful to live somewhere with plenty of space and local facilities. “People have been working their socks off in our local shops, in quite testing circumstances,’ he says, ‘and sometimes, we forget that.’

Graham’s first career was as a police officer. He joined the force as soon as he was old enough, at eighteen and a half, and four weeks. “I can’t remember wanting to do anything else,” he says, “and I was lucky because Sussex Police accepted me.” His career spanned over thirty years, and he gained a wide breadth of experience. “I saw some terrible tragedies and sad and brutal things,” he says, “but I also got to help many people and make Sussex a little safer for everyone.” Graham is proud of an initiative that was set up during his time as Head of Police in Brighton and Hove, and says: “We devised a new drug user strategy to put more drug users into treatment placements, then enforcement-wise we could focus on the dealers. My mantra was to see users in treatment and dealers in gaol.”

Russell Brand and Graham Bartlett

The media sometimes approached the police for information. Once, Russell Brand asked Graham to contribute to a documentary on drug users. Graham remembers: “it was the first sunny Saturday in 2012 and we were walking along a Brighton street. We were mobbed, but Russell was an absolute gentleman, agreeing to do lots of selfies but then politely telling fans we needed to get on and work. But when he heard about the triplets, he insisted Julie put them on a train, and they were excited to chat with him for a good hour.”

Best-selling crime author, Peter James, had a close relationship with Sussex Police, and used to come to Brighton to learn about police procedures. As part of his job, Graham had written some blogs on subjects like the right to peaceful protest, and the bravery of police officers who run into dangerous situations while off-duty. Peter read the blogs and complimented Graham on his writing style.

To find out what inspired Graham even more to start typing pick up a copy of April’s Hassocks Life and check out Graham’s website here.