In 2018, I set out to gain a degree with the Open University, at the ripe old age of fifty-six.
Having left school at sixteen years of age, to enter the world of work, I did not give myself the chance to study and pass ‘A’ levels and then go on to university. To be perfectly honest, at sixteen or even eighteen I didn’t know how my life would pan out or more importantly, what I actually wanted to do as a job. At school, when I was fourteen, we were visited by careers workers who tried to guide us into the future world of work, but at that age all I wanted to do was play sport. In the meantime, at sixteen, most of the ‘clearing’ banks such as Lloyds, National Westminster, Midland and Barclays, were openly seeking sixteen year old school leavers to enter the fascinating and exciting world of banking (sarcasm alert).
In 1978, as a shiny new sixteen year old, I walked through the imposing wooden doors of Lloyds Bank Broad Street (in St. Helier, Jersey) and started a career in banking. At sixteen the bank were hardly going to make me manager but instead I embarked on a steep learning curve where every male under-manager was always referred to as ‘Sir’ and those lucky women who crashed the glass ceiling and made it to a managerial position were referred to as Miss or Mrs (surname). I was primarily working in the general office dealing with manual filing (oh deep joy) of vouchers, debit and credit slips and returned cheques. When one became more competent and confident, and could be trusted not to swear at a customer, we were actually allowed to interact with the living by way of the Enquiry Desk where we dealt with the good, the bad and the downright ugly face of human customer interaction. Even though an eventual move to Uncharged Securities (stocks and shares) department at Broad Street allowed for a more varied workload, banking wasn’t really for me, and, after an ill-fated transfer to a smaller branch in St. Helier, where I was requested under a false pretence, I looked towards the police force as a career that matched my energy, enthusiasm and the need to get out of an office environment (a separate entry will cover my shortened police career, due to an incurable, but not fatal condition, but one that put pay to my policing ambitions). How has this got anything to do with a DEGREE ?
WELL, during my approximately eleven years as a States of Jersey Police officer, I arrested many people, wrote reports on their activities, prepared files for Court, prepared case files, if that case was referred to the Royal Court (UK equivalent is Crown Court) and literally moved from one arrest and case to the next one. A criminal’s antecedents, ie. their background, their home life, their parental influence or lack thereof, their hard luck stories, their bluster, their bravado, them being unable to lay straight in bed due to their criminal crookedness, wasn’t really a concern of mine. After all, that was what we had a Probation Service for. All I was interested in was, “Is their enough reasonable suspicion that someone has committed, is committing or is about to commit an offence for which they can be arrested.” If the answer was yes, they were arrested, processed and my reports went up the chain to the duty Sergeant, sometimes the Inspector and on to the Centenier for charging. If the miscreant pled not guilty there was the ‘deep joy’ of a trial and requirement to attend Court to give evidence. If one was required to attend for a sentencing, after background reports had been completed by a Probation Officer, we may then get a chance to hear the story of their background and mitigation as to why they committed the offence in the first place.
In 2018, a good twenty-five years after medical retirement from the police force (oops sorry, I believe they call it a SERVICE now) I decided that I would seek to find out the reasons why people commit crime, to better understand criminology and the psychology behind offending, to attempt to complete my learning curve of crime, criminal, offence, arrest, punishment, incarceration, rehabilitation (or not, for some who continue to offend).
I enquired with the local authorities about partial funding should an old person (ME) wish to undertake a degree. I was pleasantly surprised that even mature students are able to obtain financial assistance if one wishes to continue with their learning journey. My late mother Freda always impressed upon me that one should not only try to keep one’s body fit, but also, and more importantly, one’s MIND. I had always been sporty and played league football and hockey up to and including my sixtieth birthday and tried to remain physically fit, despite a condition that affected my joints and eyes. I am still an accomplished international grade Aikido instructor with over forty-five years of training under my belt, thirty-eight years as an instructor who has run courses and taught students in many countries. Our government will cover eighty percent of a university student’s fees if they earn under £50,000 per annum and wish to distance study through seats of learning such as THE OPEN UNIVERSITY (OU), a 50 year+ well established educational facility.
In October 2018 I commenced my study, at the OU, of a six module, six year Bachelor of Arts Honour’s degree in Criminology and Psychology. After four years I had completed both levels 1 and 2 of the degree before having to take a year away, after major surgery in October 2022. I restarted in October 2023, with my Level 3 in Psychology, followed by my last, and level three Criminology module in October 2024, completing my degree in May 2025. The degree was one of the most intense, rewarding, educational, stressful and euphoric things that I have ever embarked on and completed and I am extremely proud of myself to have made it to the end, and with a successful result; a 2:1 BA (Hons) Crim Psych (Open) at the age of sixty-three.
I hope to publish a few more of my essays (I have uploaded a couple previously) over the coming months and, although I had to partially shelve my blog while studying, probably disappointing (or not) my two readers, I hope to concentrate of continuing to write on a number of subjects.
Urban Warrior Princess 