Behind The Nomination: Emily Welch
Emily still remembers her first day clearly, 28 November 2004.
Not because it was the start of her policing career, but because it was her mum’s birthday.
Back then, policing wasn’t a lifelong dream. In fact, Emily describes her younger self as “a bit of a rebel”. She was working in an office, looking for something different, unsure where life was heading until she started watching TV programme “The Bill. After becoming hooked, she applied to the police almost on instinct. And it stuck.
More than 21 years on, Emily is still here, not because of the uniform or the title, but because of the people.
At the heart of Emily’s work is care. Care for those who feel vulnerable, overlooked or unsafe. Care that shows up in the way she listens, the time she gives, and the way she thinks beyond the immediate problem to the person behind it.
That care doesn’t switch off when she leaves work.
“Because I have ADHD and autism, I thrive on doing lots of things at once and I know I can take on far too much, I’m very guilty of that. Therefore, I have lots of side projects, which I run alongside my main role to ensure that I am carrying on with that, helping the vulnerable.”
Inspired by her niece’s experiences travelling home alone late at night, Emily began asking a simple but powerful question: Where can people go when nowhere feels safe?
“She lives in Chepstow and she used to come over partying in central Bristol and get the train home on a Sunday morning. She would come out of a club at around about 2 or 3am and then go and sit in the bus station waiting for public transport to start up. It occurred to me then that we needed some sort of safe space where people can wait for that time, when they’ve no other option. Just some sort of haven, so to speak, where they’re safe”
That question led to the Bristol Safe Space Initiative, a project creating a safe space for people who are lost, waiting, or vulnerable in the early hours of the morning. What started as concern for her niece became pilots, partnerships and now a permanent space set to become a reality in September.
Emily also gives her time to supporting colleagues who have experienced domestic abuse. Drawing on her own lived experience, she helps create a community where people can speak openly, sometimes for the first time, and realise they’re not alone. It’s work that can be emotionally challenging, but Emily believes deeply in its value.
“I was brought up to help others,” she says. “If you take yourself out of your own worries and support someone else, it helps you too.”
Despite everything she pours into others, recognition doesn’t come easily. Emily speaks openly about imposter syndrome and never feeling “good enough”. So being nominated for an Outstanding Policing Award in the Caring category came as a complete surprise.
“Humbling,” is how she describes it.
“The nomination itself is the prize.”
When asked what she’d say to someone thinking about a career in policing, Emily doesn’t hesitate.
“Follow your dreams,” she says. “Policing is so diverse. There are so many opportunities and different paths you can take. If it’s not for you, that’s okay, you can always leave. But I haven’t regretted it.”
More than 21 years on, she’s still proud of the choice she made.
“Yes, there have been difficult times. But I still love my job. I still want to be here. And I’m still very proud to call myself a police officer.”
Away from work, Emily protects her own wellbeing fiercely, leaving work at the door, escaping into fantasy books, sewing, fresh air and worlds far removed from real life. It’s her reminder that caring for others starts with caring for yourself.
Emily’s story is a reminder that policing isn’t just about what you do, it’s about who you are when people need you most.
And that’s what makes this nomination so deserved.