The ‘reminiscence cop’ who by no means forgets a face: ‘Super recogniser’ PCSO eyes subsequent main milestone after breaking his personal file to catch 3,000 suspects
There’s little need for facial recognition cameras when Andy Pope is on shift – because the ‘super recogniser’ rarely forgets a face.
The Police Community Support Officer with the photographic memory spotted his 3,000th suspect earlier this year, and has now set his sights on breaking the 3,500 figure as we head into 2026.
Dubbed ‘memory man’ by his colleagues, the 47-year-old has built up an ability to remember faces from security film stills and police briefings and has even identified someone by the shape of their moustache.
He even managed to identify some wearing face masks during the Covid pandemic, and once recognised a suspect who had been wanted for two years over causing nuisance on train platforms.
The officer, from Redditch, Worcestershire, is what is known as a super recogniser – capable of memorising thousands of faces.
PCSO Pope is so perceptive he even picked out one robber by a mole on his face after seeing an image of him a year earlier.
Being a PCSO, the officer has no powers of arrest and must call in colleagues from the West Midlands force to make the arrest.
His job for the force’s Safer Travel Partnership entails travelling around the region on public transport, with his skills used to assist other departments.
PCSO Andy Pope says he will be ‘keeping a close eye out’ for more suspects as he closes in on his target of 3,500 ‘spots’ in 2026
PCSO Pope averages one recognition every other shift, but has recognised as many as 16 wanted people in a single day since starting his career in 2015.
He said: “I’ve been asked many times over the years how I remember so many faces, but even now I couldn’t give you the answer.
“It’s just something that happens, and I feel extremely fortunate I’m able to assist in keeping the streets of the West Midlands safe.
“It was a proud moment to reach the 3,000 milestone but, if anything, it has just made me even more determined to spot more. I will be keeping a close eye out in 2026.”
PCSO Pope is a founder of the Association of Super Recognisers – a global body set up to help establish super recognition as a forensic tool.
In 2018 he was given a Chief Constable’s Award after identifying his first 1,000 suspects.
PCSO Pope says he studies images of wanted suspects before each shift – and sometimes spots them months later
Over the past decade Andy has helped snare suspected murderers, rapists and robbers.
Explaining his process, he said: “I spend time before I start a shift looking at some of the latest wanted faces and they just seem to stick in my mind.”
‘If you look at a picture enough times, there is usually something that sticks in the mind as distinctive.
“Maybe I can’t pinpoint what that something is at the time, but when I see the person in the flesh, it triggers that recognition.”
He added: ‘I’m just glad I can assist in catching crime suspects and keeping communities safe across the West Midlands.’
But despite having a memory for faces, the officer says he is ‘useless’ at remembering dates. He previously told the Mail: ‘My wife has to deal with things like birthdays and anniversaries.’
Mr Pope added that he has no idea where his remarkable ability stems from as neither his father or mother displayed the same knack for remembering faces.
