Former detective who led successful community projects in Aylesbury dies aged 77

On Monday (19 September) a funeral will be held to remember Pete Drake who worked for Thames Valley Police for 28 years.

After retiring from investigating major crimes in the Aylesbury area, he shifted to ensuring the town centre was safer.

He was a key co-ordinator in the ‘Shopwatch’ project which involved Aylesbury District Council.

Officially called, Aylesbury Retail Against Crime, by working with local businesses and organisations, Pete helped develop a system to reduce crime around town.

Pete and other project leaders started gathering photos of offenders who had caused trouble in shops.

By compiling these images of aggressors and shoplifters, businesses were able to create banned lists and identify the people instigating social unrest.

Between his near 30 years in the police force, and community work after that, Pete spent almost half a century trying to make Aylesbury a safer place.

Since his passing on 23 August his wife Val has received over 150 messages of tribute filling over 10 pages from Thames Valley Police.

One constant theme in these notes is how influential and compassionate he was as a detective.

He set up an Aylesbury Support Unit encouraging members of the force to share information and teach others.

Beyond his work as a mentor, he was an extremely highly rated detective, only losing one case in court.

Even after his retirement at the age of 55, senior police officers would still rope him in and pick his brain on challenging cases.

During the late years of his life when he was battling dementia, he remained a considerate man.

His wife remembers him fetching her a blanket when she was exhausted after a sleepless night, even at a time when his memory was betraying him.

Val said: “He always used to half joke that he lived his life for Queen and country.

"But I think that was real for him, he served in the navy before he joined the police, and he really did live his life serving his country.

"I never considered changing the date of his funeral, as I think it is fitting that it’s on the same day as the Queen.”

There was also a creative side to Pete, Val says he showed family friend, television icon David Jason, “the ropes” of policing when he was looking for a new project after Only Fools and Horses.

It is said that Jack Frost, the long-running character played by the beloved television actor, was in part inspired by a former Sergeant Pete worked with.

Current, British Transport Police officer, Clint Woolcock, who worked with Pete on the ‘Shopwatch’ project, said: “As a person, you could turn to Pete with your problems.

"He helped me out personally when I was having personal issues. He was always there, always at the end of the phone.

"He was such a caring person, whether there were any issues big or small, he would solve them.”

Pete is survived by his wife and their four children.