Field Monitoring Officer Tariq Hussain

As a Field Monitoring Officer, I work in Electronic Monitoring - which monitors people on curfew in the community. These people are massively diverse, ranging in age from 10 to 80, and come from all ethnic backgrounds. Most curfews last from 7pm to 7am, so we mainly work during the evening.

At the beginning of an average shift, I have a short briefing from the Manager to make sure that I'm up to date with information and set up for the night ahead. I'm then given the task sheet for the evening. After spending a few minutes prioritising the tasks and deciding which routes to take, I'll make sure I've got all the information I need, and that it's all in good working order.

On an average shift, I'll complete a variety of tasks. This might involve installing or removing the tagging system, and checking up on subjects who've violated their curfew or tampered with their equipment. We also carry out routine checks with subjects to make sure everything's okay, and they're not experiencing any problems.

On some shifts, I travel over 200 miles during the night - which means driving in all weathers. Luckily, the sat nav equipment provided with the cars helps us get to each location quickly and easily.

We visit subjects in their own homes - which occasionally has an increased level of risk. When this happens, we arrange to do the job with another colleague in the area. We always maintain contact with the Manager and the office to update them on

any situations and to ensure our safety. If anything does happen while we're on a job, we write up the report that evening and may need to give evidence in court.

We constantly need to display sensitivity and common sense, taking a non-judgmental approach to the people we work with. Every shift's different here - I'm never bored, and constantly find new challenges to deal with.