Jan Szymczuk was born in the North East and is an ardent Newcastle United Fan. His parents were born in Poland and his father fought against the Nazis as a paratrooper.
He joined the Metropolitan Police in March 1979. He was posted to Marylebone and whilst on foot patrol a robbery had been committed on a Saudi Arabian Bank. Whilst talking to the witnesses Jan decided that he would draw the suspect . His work was so good he was encouraged to apply for SO11 where he became the Force artists. He was selected to attend a course at the World Famous Quantico FBI academy.
Jan would be tasked with meeting witnesses to gain the best possible likeness of the suspect. He would work on many high-profile investigations including Murders Rapes and terrorist incidents. When Jan retired he was “The Senior Police Artist”
Throughout his career he was known as Boris and this included a day when he gave evidence at number 1 court at The Old Bailey.
There have been occasions where Jan has been tasked to draw pictures under unusual circumstances including drawing a picture from the original Ripper statements and a picture Bigfoot.
Jan has appeared on a BBC Art competition and was interviewed by Punch when they discovered his drawings.
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