The Enforcement Team covers a wide remit of areas, which includes environmental crime, such as accumulations of refuse or untidy land, fly tipping and waste carriers, licensing enforcement including presenting cases at the Licensing Committee and Court, anti-social behaviour complaints, abandoned vehicles and unauthorised encampments.
Each day is different. We always have to look at what work we have on and prioritise accordingly.
My first day working as an Enforcement Officer for ESBC was a pleasant surprise because everyone was welcoming and not at all standoffish.
My new colleagues were very helpful and eager to help me settle in.
Even the language barrier didn’t prove to be too much of an issue, as I have a slight Black Country accent!
Working for ESBC is nonstop full on.
In the Enforcement Team we are always busy and are confronted with any number of different issues on a daily basis which makes the job both interesting and challenging.
The role of the Enforcement Officer involves managing your own caseload and is a mixture of being office based and getting out 'in the field'. This does mean in all weathers!
We get the opportunity to work from home, if for example, we need to write Committee Reports, and we have a flexible working arrangement providing that our office is covered until 5pm.
We do work on initiatives that can involve late night and weekend working.
The training opportunities are really good, and as an employer, ESBC supports staff through any relevant internal and external training.
On a personal level I really like solving problems. My current role gives me ample opportunity to do this although there are times when some issues cannot be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.
One of the most necessary skills needed to be an Enforcement Officer is the ability to listen closely, followed by the ability to communicate effectively. #
It’s also important to be non-judgemental and treat everyone with respect. This may be difficult especially if the person who you are dealing with is emotionally invested and may be angry or frustrated with the situation they find themselves in.
I also believe that the ability to manage people’s expectations is vitally important, as allowing customers to have unrealistic expectations can often lead to situations deteriorating to the degree where resolution is no longer an option.
The ability to be precise and accurate is also of paramount importance, especially when gathering evidence and record keeping.
Having a sense of humour helps as well.
There is no such thing as a typical day really.
Having said that, we receive complaints and enquiries from members of the public, partner agencies and colleagues every day. However these requests are very rarely straight forward and need to be addressed on an individual basis.
We work mainly reactively, dealing with issues as they arise.
However there are times when we are able to undertake pro-active initiatives that specifically target service requirements.
The most satisfying part of my role within the Enforcement Team would have to be the satisfaction I get from solving problems or helping to improve an unsatisfactory situation.
Unfortunately every job has it frustrations but I think it is more important to concentrate on resolving the issues causing the frustrations, rather than moaning about them.