Ellie Lyon: The career of a detective

Former pupil Ellie Lyon came to speak to the Lower 6 about her fascinating career as a detective within the Metropolitan Police Department. 

Ellie joined Queen Anne’s in 2010 as a boarder, and studied A Level Music, Music Technology and Classics whilst in the Sixth Form. She left in 2016 to study sound engineering at Birmingham City university but after 3 years of study she decided she wanted to embark on a more practical career and made the decision to join the police force and says she hasn’t looked back!  

After successfully completing her 2 year probation period, Ellie decided to join the TSG (Territorial Support Group) which is a Met Operations unit of London’s Metropolitan Police Service. Ellie is now a detective, working within the safeguarding unit, investigating domestic violence, child exploitation and abuse in the Camden borough.

Ellie says,

You have to be curious all the time and suspect everyone. Working in the police force definitely teaches you a different way of thinking and you see things you would never have noticed before.

High job satisfaction and knowing you are helping to keep a person(s) safe and protected is a great feeling and is one of the key motivating factors that drives Ellie’s passion for her work. However, 18 hour shifts, long nights, being assaulted on the job and feeling unsafe are amongst the less ‘glamourous’ aspects to the job which she says go hand in hand with working for the MET.

When asked about her role as a woman within the MET, Ellie says it has been challenging at times but her determination, confidence and can-do attitude have held her in good-stead throughout her training,

There is an assumption that female police officers aren’t as physically strong as their male counterparts so you do have a few barriers to negotiate as a woman. You just have to persevere and show others that you are more than able.

Ellie hopes her next career step within the MET will be to work more closely with policing child trafficking and child exploitation which she says are sadly ever increasingly prevalent in society.