A night out with the boys in blue
Flashing...Scene of the accident in welland Park Road
TEARING through country roads with blue lights flashing gets the pulse racing and I barely have time to reflect on the scene that awaits.
When we get to where we’re going there are two police cars and an ambulance already in the road and a car is flipped over onto its roof. I fear the worst.
This is not fiction, or a tale from the ‘big smoke’, this is a night out with Harborough and Lutterworth Police.
At the Mail, we meet the police every Monday to find out what has been happening in the district but spending a night with the boys in blue turns out to be a different experience entirely.
No question goes unanswered and I am even allowed to tweet about the night to the Mail’s followers as events unfold (see panel opposite).
As well as joining officers for a – to use the lingo – ‘test purchasing operation’, we explore anti-social behaviour in Kibworth and Fleckney and discover what happens on a typical night out.
The police often get a hard time from the public but my experience of the force as we go around with them on Thursday, December 22, is entirely positive.
On one occasion a man gets shirty with an officer but the constable does not rise to the bait and deals with the situation in a way which is calm and professional yet sympathetic.
While driving away from Kibworth through the country roads, the police illustrate how they spot things the average person would miss.
I fail to see a sports car which has pulled over by the road near Kibworth but Sgt Mark Williams clocks a couple inside it and, although I worry it is a drink-driver, by using his head and years of experience, he stops short of pulling them over and deduces they are simply ‘enjoying each other’s company’.
Although in the past much has been said about a tendency towards anti-social behaviour in Kibworth and Fleckney, a trip to these villages reveals nothing but people celebrating the festive season.
There are no youths dressed in hoodies or bad behaviour at the skatepark. The experience shows, to me at least, that although there are a small proportion of troublemakers, most people are considerate members of the community and it is often a stereotype which leads to prejudice and discrimination against young teenagers.
With the test purchasing operation [in which someone under the age of 18 is sent into a licensed premises to see if they will be served alcohol or not] in full swing, the night is a busy one and after four premises fail the test, allowing a young girl to buy booze, we go for a debrief back to Lutterworth which the officers say is the oldest operating station in the country.
There are no doughnuts but plenty of sweets and an array of seized booze on the table from the operation which, sadly, must go untouched as it is evidence. The talk turns to work and I get a sense that the officers here in Harborough and Lutterworth really enjoy what they do and are committed to making a difference.
They put in a lot of hours but do not always claim overtime that is owed to them, they tell me, as they consider certain duties to be ‘just part of the job’.
Tweeting about their work is now a given and even as I send updates about the night, what we are doing and where we are going, the PC stationed in Lutterworth station updates his followers too.
After dealing with a drink-driver at the scene of the crash in Welland Park Road, Sgt Williams drops me home and I feel lucky to be getting out of the front of the car, just in case the neighbours are looking.
DRINK-driving is something taken seriously by police in every district and Harborough and Lutterworth police are no exception.
Before Christmas, an annual campaign was launched to crackdown on the main causes of crashes which include drink-driving, speeding and using a mobile phone while at the wheel.
When we get a radio call to say there had been an accident in Welland Park Road, Harborough, my suspicions are a drink-driver and although I feel annoyed someone is doing so and in even more so that it has taken place in a residential area I put these feelings aside as I worry someone has been hurt.
The scene of the accident is a mess. The car is on its roof and nearby bollards are reduced to debris as other cars drive past.
Thankfully, when we arrive there is already an ambulance and two other police cars on the scene. I can hear the driver in the back of the ambulance, a young man, who sounds jolly considering the state of the car.
Although the car is probably a write-off, the driver is fine.
He has suffered a cut finger and all things considered he has got off rather lightly.
Again I am struck by how much we do not see that a police officer does. Once the man is taken away to undergo a breath test having ‘blown positive’ at the scene I join Sgt Mark Williams as he looks at what may have happened here.
We are joined for a while by some concerned residents who have their own assumptions about what happened and even ask whether I was in the car.
Walking up the road to take in the scene as a whole, there is glass and metal all over the place and tyre marks start from far back.
I assume he has simply lost control but by looking at the road signs and skid marks, Sgt Williams notices the driver would have had priority at the junction.
The accident has been costly, for the police, the ambulance service and the driver. It is the cost of someone making a decision to drive when under the influence but from what I can see it could have been a lot worse.
TO DENY the fact that most people have had a drink before the age of 18 would be foolish but this police operation was more about making sure young people cannot buy before they are of legal age.
I was lucky enough to join Harborough and Lutterworth police on a test purchasing operation which basically means getting a young person to try to buy booze from a licensed premises.
The operation took place in Lutterworth and Broughton Astley and out of 13 retailers, four failed. One of these was a major supermarket, the other three were independent businesses.
In the first instance, whoever has made the illegal sale is given advice about how to avoid doing so in the future and a fine is also issued.
Should a premises fail a test purchasing operation three times, their licence is reviewed and conditions can be placed on it. In extreme cases it can be revoked.
What is interesting about watching the police is not only the way they deal with each individual case but also the different reactions of those who failed the checks.
In one case, the person who authorised the sale admitted he had never done a check before.
Another shop admitted the reason they do not always check is because they worry about upsetting or embarrassing people.
Generally, even though people were upset at having failed, they responded well to the warning, listening to the advice given by police and a representative from Harborough Council.
Although we had the backing of two officers it was never necessary to call for back up.
There was one occasion, however, when the owners of one shop that failed reacted in an aggressive manner with behaviour that at times made me feel uncomfortable.
Rather than looking at their own procedures and why it was that they had served alcohol to a girl who was below the legal age they instead blamed the operation.
One man argued it was wrong for the police to be carrying out the sting and questioned how old the girl really was while his colleague was annoyed at my notetaking.
The police and the council rep took it in their stride and politely yet firmly explained the purpose of such operations.
What must be remembered is that although nearly a third of all places checked failed there were two thirds that passed without any issues.
Although the figure may seem high, in many of the cases it seemed to be more down to lack of training, a language barrier or someone having had a ‘rough day at work’.
Selling alcohol to a minor is an offence which can lead to a fine but it is one that is understandable and the police do not treat the offenders like criminals.
They offer advice but and enforce the message that checks must be done or else young people will catch on that a premises is a soft touch to get alcohol from.
The fact a leading supermarket and high-end off-licence failed shows that it is not just corner shops and pubs that fail checks.
Although the operation requires the participation of four officers, a paid teenager and a council rep, when considering the problems underage drinking can cause the cost of the sting seems worth it.
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Monday 21 May 2012
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