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15.50 |
Arrive at the police station. Change into uniform,
collect my CS spray from the store and replace my personal
radio battery with a fresh one. Sign on in the duty
book, then head for the briefing room. |
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15.55 |
Go into the briefing which is just about to start. Here I join
about 20 other officers, mainly regulars although there are
some Specials too. The sergeant gives us the latest
information on our local criminals - we use this intelligence
to help us target these people and disrupt their activities. I make
notes in my pocket note book ("PNB")
as I listen. I'm asked to crew one of the patrol cars with a regular, Paul. |
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16.25 |
Briefing over, Paul and I head to the PC's office and quickly
check the computer system for emails and updates. The
radio is already squawking and it sounds like it could be a
busy day. |
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16.35 |
We're off on patrol in a marked car. My job is to work the
radio and read the map
as we head to jobs, giving Paul clear and timely directions!
I also write down details of incidents as they come out on the
radio
(the driver is too busy driving to keep accurate notes of
times, addresses, etc.) and keep a time log of what we
do and when. Finally as observer I have to look out of the
window - you never know what you could spot as you're driving
along! |
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16.55 |
We have stopped an old Ford Escort which was being driven
erratically in the town centre - we wondered if perhaps the
driver has been drinking. I get out to talk to the
driver while Paul stays in the car, ready to give chase in case
he makes off. It turns out the driver, an elderly
gentlemen, is lost and trying to find the motorway.
Directions are given and we resume patrol. |
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17:20 |
Our first
job! We are sent to an intruder alarm at an office
building on an industrial estate outside the town centre.
This job is graded immediate so it's blues and twos through
the traffic. On arrival the place seems deserted (it's a
Saturday). I check the rear of the premises while my
colleague checks the front door - much to his surprise it's
unlocked! We advise control, then go inside together and
start a systematic search of the offices. We are both
surprised by the cleaner! She apologises and says she
set the alarm off when she came in earlier. A quick ID
check is all in order so we hit the road again. |
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17:55 |
We are sent to an RTC (Road Traffic Collision) on one of the
roads near to the town centre. On arrival we find it's
not too serious, one car has gone into the back of the other
at traffic lights but they are blocking one lane. No-one
is injured (phew - means less paperwork for us!). We
breath test both drivers (both negative), take some basic
details and call a recovery vehicle for the most badly damaged
car. In the meantime we cone off the affected lane and
direct traffic where necessary. |
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18:45 |
We're off again, taking the chance while there's a moment's
calm to refuel the car. I pay (with the force petrol
card!) and update the vehicle log which shows who had the car
when - so you can always tell who forgot to refuel
last! |
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19.35 |
Attend another burglar alarm.
We do a check of the house, which is deserted and seems secure
- yet another false alarm (most of them are!) |
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19.45 |
We are sent to back up a single-crewed area car at a house in
the town centre. Control have received an abandoned 999
call from a woman screaming. It's all quiet on arrival,
no answer at the front door. We find the back door ajar
and go in - a lady meets us in the kitchen and tells us
everything is OK, they had an argument, that's all. I
speak with her husband while another officer talks to the
lady. A sad story of a blazing row over an unanswered
telephone emerges! No-one is hurt, so we give some
gentle advice and leave. This will need a detailed entry
in our PNBs and it will have to be written up by
the single-crewed regular for the domestic violence unit to be
made aware. She's thrilled. |
|
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20.15 |
An urgent shout to a man with a knife on one of the outlying
housing estates. We are the second unit to arrive, to
find that the two officers already at the scene have arrested
the man - he is taken straight off to the custody centre.
We stay at the scene taking details from the witnesses.
Another unit is coming to take a statement from a lady who
says she was threatened by the knifeman. The incident
has attracted quite a crowd of onlookers so we resume patrol
as soon as we can. |
|
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20.30 |
Time to do a bail check - when
offenders come before the court they are often released on
bail but given certain conditions. In this case, we are
calling at the home address of a persistent car burglar who
should have been home by 7pm. Guess what, he's not in.
We will need to write a statement later so that he can be
arrested and dealt with by the court (in theory!) for breaching his bail. |
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20.50 |
Back to the nick and time for a late dinner. Today
has been one of those days, when every time we started heading
back to the nick, another job came out! While eating our
sandwiches Paul and I write a quick statement each about the
absent bail check. |
|
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21.35 |
We now head out into Guildford town centre, this time on foot
patrol. The town attracts thousands of people on a
weekend evening. This Saturday night is no different and
the town is full of drinkers in the pubs, bars and clubs.
At busy times like this there is usually a CCTV operator
keeping an eye on things, we rely on them not only to let us
know if there's trouble brewing, but also to keep an eye on
us. |
|
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22:45 |
We attend a pub in the town where a punter is refusing
to leave. On arrival we are met by the licensee who
tells us the man is very drunk and has been abusive to bar
staff. We approach the man with the licensee who again
asks him to leave. The sight of two uniforms seems to
make him see sense and he staggers to the door, muttering
about how he's "not done anything". On the street we
advise him to go home and by radio ask the CCTV operator to
keep an eye on him as he does so. |
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23:35 |
We deal with two people for urinating in
the street - unusually one of them is a girl! After ID checks, both are
given verbal warnings and a written warning them about
their behaviour. They seem to take this pretty well and
head home quietly - in fact they got off lightly, these days we can issue on-the-spot fines for such behaviour. |
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00:40 |
The town has become surprisingly
quiet, with most of the punters already in the clubs. We
hear of an incident on the other side of the town via our
personal radios - a fight involving a group of lads. Even as
we start to make our way over there the officers who have
already arrived say it's fizzled out, and all becomes quiet
again. |
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01:15 |
Finally get back to the nick! Time to check my PNB is up
to date (not too bad) and complete some paperwork for the
earlier breath tests. The paperwork goes to the sergeant
for checking. |
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01:30 |
Return CS spray to the store, sign off in the duty book and book off on the radio. |
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01:35 |
Leave for home. |
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01:55 |
Arrive home and fall into bed! |
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