Kentish Express Ashford & District
‘Whisky and chocs are to say thanks for arresting me’
Unusual gifts offered to police are revealed
A man arrested for common assault by Kent Police gave staff a box of chocolates, a card and a bottle of whisky as a thank you for the way he was treated in custody.
The donations, worth £34, were among dozens of presents donated by members of the public between January and August last year, and revealed in a public register.
All gifts and gratuities offered to staff must be declared, with the force publishing the full list of presents accepted and declined online.
The list reveals a number of bizarre stories, including a French traveller whose coach party accidentally left him behind at a garage near the Channel Tunnel.
When officers reunited the man with his colleagues, the group insisted on giving them a bottle of champagne to say thanks.
On another occasion, officers helped clear the entrance to a company which needed access to its yard for eight lorries to supply water bottles for the London Marathon.
As a thank you, the owner insisted they take five finisher t-shirts that were surplus to requirements. The officers donated them to charity.
Elsewhere, a victim of crime who was made a cup of tea at Herne Bay Police Station returned the following day with a packet of biscuits as there were none available at the time.
Assistant chief constable Steve Corbishley, meanwhile, received a card and two DVDs - ‘Unveiling of Sir George Somers Statue’ and ‘400th Anniversary of the Shipwreck of Sir George Somers’ - to congratulate him on a new role.
Other gifts offered included tickets to a test cricket match between Essex and India, a personalised mug and gin glass, sample foods from Nando’s, a teddy bear, a £40 scented candle and a book titled ‘The Numb and Me and Green Trainers’.
Toilet rolls, packets of dried Indian snacks and boxes of model cars were accepted in previous years.
Head of Professional Standards at Kent Police, Detective Chief Superintendent Rachel Curtis said: “It is only right these offers are recorded, regardless of whether they were accepted or declined.
“The register ensures an accurate picture of gifts and hospitality offered across the county is available at all times to provide a full audit trail for openness and transparency.
“Guidelines are published to officers regarding what they are and are not expected to declare, but staff are expected to use their discretion as to whether they should record small or inexpensive gifts. For the sake of transparency some officers may choose to declare an offer they are not strictly required to but it is better too much is declared than too little.”