PLAYTIME FOR PLOD
Well, their bosses DO say they want officers on the beat to be visible...
THEY were supposed to be helping stop the upward swing in gang violence. But it seems the crimebusting intentions of these two police officers quickly went on the slide.
A sunny day and the lure of a children’s playground proved just too tempting – and unfortunately their larking around was caught on camera.
A woman who lives near the park in Holloway, North London, filmed them as they played on the slide, swings and monkey bars. But the Metropolitan Police says the pair are unlikely to face disciplinary action – as the public ‘want officers to be visible’.
The officers were part of a uniformed team patrolling on Saturday, one of the hottest days of the year, on an estate blighted by knife crime. Extra police were on the streets amid fears the heat could fuel further violence. One officer used her mobile phone to video her colleague as he played on the slide.
The young mother who filmed the officers described how they took turns on the play equipment installed for children.
‘The police were in the park for ten to 15 minutes,’ she told Mail Online. ‘My daughter called me at first and said, “Mummy there’s police outside”. I noticed a police van and then noticed the police in the park, at first they seemed as if they were looking for something.
‘After a while I noticed them recording each other playing on the swings and on the slide. They even did the monkey bars. There were five or six police officers in the park. That was when I decided to record them as I could not
Whee! The officer completes his slide as his female colleague films him on her phone believe what was happening. These support for the officers in equal The Metropolitan Police said the are people that are supposed to be measure. Some questioned why pair were unlikely to face any further protecting our community. they were playing around on duty action. A spokesman said:
‘At first I found it funny but I in the capital – which has seen a ‘We know that Londoners want to soon came to learn there had been surge in violent crime, including see police officers patrolling their a stabbing nearby [a man was stabbings and shootings. neighbourhoods, and the Met is knifed to death two miles away].’ Others said it showed their committed to doing just that.
When the footage was posted human side and suggested it was ‘ Police officers need to be online it triggered criticism and good to see police on the beat. approachable and visible in all areas of London.’ The images are the latest to highlight the sometimes embarrassing antics of officers in and out of uniform.
Last month, Met officers posted a selfie at a murder scene in Stratford, East London.
Officers in Salisbury, Wiltshire, took a grinning selfie in front of an overturned car on a snowy motorway. And 18 Humberside Police officers posed for a group photo on a dodgems ride at a funfair.
Police and their civilian colleagues have also been lampooned for posing in high heels, nail varnish and animal masks to raise awareness of crimes such as domestic violence and slavery.