I have asked some colleagues and others to write a short piece on their view of "policing Plymouth". This first piece is from one of our best known Neighbourhood Beat Managers. PC Al Roberts polices Efford, these are his views:
LIFE AS AN NBM (Neighbour Beat Manager)
By PC Al Roberts.
I am PC Al Roberts, currently the Efford Neighbour Hood Beat Manger, known to many in the area as Al, or to those, not currently on my Christmas Card mailing list, I am simply called;
“Oh God, Not him Again”
I recently spent a shift out on patrol with the BCU Commander, Mr Jim Webster. He asked me how I felt about being an NBM in Plymouth and the simplest answer to that question is it’s very rewarding.
Why? I hear most people say, especially with my opening lines being somewhat negative. Well every single day out on patrol I meet dozens of individuals who seem to go out of their way to destroy my faith in humanity, but then, I meet one, who restores that faith and more.
Working on Neighbourhood, you can not help but feel a strong sense of responsibility for your area. I feel there is a need to take ownership and you are compelled to get involved in every aspect of community life. Many NBM’s who read this will smile and agree, even if they don’t want to openly admit it.
Being an Ex Marine, I do not take failure very well, but, I do follow the commando ethos, which is simply “Never Give In”. I recall an old Instructor, giving me some verbal corrective therapy, I think it may be called something else today but when I was 16 years old at the Commando Training Centre. He said;
“You cannot win a battle single handed son; you need your team mates. You start together, stay together and die together if need be”
He was in the process of kicking me up the backside at the time for lagging behind on a squad run, halcyon days. He opened my eyes to understanding we need support to succeed in life. That support normally starts at home with the help of those closest to us.
I am aware that not all young people out there have any form of support mechanism around them and we as a society should be doing something to put that right. You cannot expect good manners and etiquette when it has never been taught.
I am given the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life in my job and I am never sure what I am going to be asked next. Every single day throws up new challenges and when you see someone’s quality of life improve as a result of your work, it is immensely satisfying.
I am currently responsible for Efford, Lipson and Laira wards, a population of around eleven thousand, with four primary schools and one Community College within my boundaries of responsibility. There is about two thousand plus young people of school age in the area, yet I am only well acquainted with, on a professional note, less than forty and some of those youngsters come into the area from other parts of the city.
These are the group I target on a day to day basis, attempting to put right where their lack of “support mechanisms” have failed them. When offences are highlighted, I deal with it. When there is evidence to put them in front of the courts that is exactly where they are sent. I am not responsible for the sentencing of these individuals but like many other British tax payers, I do get a little frustrated at seeing how individuals are dealt with at court. However, the old Commando Ethos kicks in and I just start again.
The reward is looking at the problem and finding a solution. This can be, not via the courts but via other agencies, working alongside the police. When a potential problem is highlighted I like to think, if I do not have an answer, I know someone who does. I am a good old British Copper; I am not a social worker, housing officer, councillor or a trained youth worker, but I do know where to find one when I need their help.
The area’s I police are both challenging and immensely rewarding, in a short space of ten months in the role, I feel I have forged some excellent links with the community. We have regular football training sessions every Friday at Lipson Community College with PCSO Chris Kinski and the rest of the gang and I am about to start an evening training session, covering conflict resolution and mixed martial arts for the kids.
What! Training them to fight, I hear people shout. NO! teaching them to be resilient, confident and looking at physical fitness, interpersonal skills and etiquette.
Mr Webster has kindly ensured I get just short of seven hundred pounds to buy equipment to train the youth in Efford and anyone else who wants to join in and naturally, I felt duty bound to explain how I feel about the job. Hopefully, I will still have a job when he has read this.
I have attached a couple of cartoon drawings which were sent to me by a wonderful chap in Efford, another Ex Marine I might add, called Tom Hill. They made me laugh, so I thought I would share them with you and leave you with a thought for the day.
“If a child lives with criticism, it learns to condemn.”
“If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, it learns to find love in the world”
We need to work together as a community; to change the train of thought of those causing the problems, then hopefully, the cycle of hostility will not continue into the next generation.
