Top cop role’s been my dream job, says chief
Commander is standing down after 30 years on force
18.08.2017 Renfrewshire’s top cop has hung up his hat after three decades on the force.
Divisional Commander, Jim Downie, finished the final shift in his “dream job” in Paisley, insisting the town has never been a safer place to live.
The former Johnstone High School pupil, who took up the post almost three years ago, revealed he has relished the challenge of policing the communities he grew up in.
And now, after 30 years as a cop, the 53-year-old dad-of-two is bracing himself for a future out of the uniform.
He told the Paisley Daily Express: “I can honestly say I’ve loved every minute of this job.
“I’m a local lad, born and bred in Renfrewshire and, without wanting to sound clichéd, this has been a dream job for me.
“It was a very difficult decision to walk away after my 30 years’ service but, in the end, I thought the time was right.
“My two daughters think I’m going to need counselling to come to terms with not being in the police though.”
After leaving school in Johnstone at just 15, Jim trained to be a welder at Doosan Babcock in Renfrew where he spent eight years on the tools.
At 23, he applied to join Strathclyde Police and was thrown in at the deep end as a fresh-faced constable in a rough Pollok patch.
He quickly cut his teeth on the beat before making the jump to Detective Constable and tackling a serious crime network which blighted the south Glasgow community in the 1990s.
Stints in Glasgow’s East End and Ayrshire followed before he was recruited to Govan’s serious crime squad which dealt with major investigations across the West of Scotland.
During his time there, Jim handled case loads of murder, rape, and big- money drugs investigations, which often led him back to Paisley.
But it wasn’t until he’d gained further experience as a Detective Chief Inspector on the newlycreated Major Investigations Team in Glasgow and as a Detective Superintendent in Aberdeen that he made his way ‘home’ to Renfrewshire’s K Division.
Jim added: “I came back to Paisley as a Detective Superintendent and was in the post for a couple of years before interviewing for Chief Superintendent and being given the job in January 2015.
“It was really a proud moment in my life, from leaving school in Johnstone at 15, to making it to that role. It really meant a lot for me, especially in K Division.
“I have had the pleasure of working with a fantastic team and have also enjoyed a great relationship with out partners at Renfrewshire Council.
“One change I believe has made a huge impact is returning to basic community policing with more police on the beat and familiar faces for people to talk to and have confidence in.
“As a result, I believe that the streets of Renfrewshire are safer today than when I started as a police officer 30 years ago and since I took over the Chief Superintendent almost three years ago.
“And I take a lot of pride from that.”