It’s not just all about crime
As many of you will know, much of the work carried out by local officers to ‘keep people safe’ is not crime related.
Very often we and our partners get called upon to protect the more vulnerable members of our community in a variety of situations.
There was a good example of this last weekend when an elderly gentleman with some health issues went missing in the Erskine area.
Local officers, with assistance from national Police Scotland resources and the Coastguard helicopter, swung into action but it is fair to say that with night falling and no indication of where the missing person might be, concern was growing.
Because of the urgency of the situation our officers deployed to carry out a ‘line-search’ in wooded areas in the Erskine area.
Given the fading light and sometimes difficult underfoot conditions this was not the easiest, nor indeed the safest, task.
However, their perseverance paid off and the man was located just before midnight.
Thankfully, despite suffering from hypothermia and a bump on the head, he made a full recovery following hospital treatment.
Clearly though, a few more hours in the dark and cold woods could have led to a far less happy ending.
Great work by all involved and our sincere thanks go to our Coastguard partners for their assistance.
If any member of the public is unable to locate a friend or relative who they feel might be in some danger, my advice would be to contact us as soon as practicable.
In recent weeks we have received numerous calls about persons, both adults and children, using off-road motorcycles in local parks and on footpaths and cycles tracks in the Paisley area.
This is of course selfish in the extreme but also illegal and poses a very serious safety risk both to the riders themselves, who rarely have the correct safety gear, and other members of the public trying to enjoy these amenities.
I would ask that if your child or teenager has or has access to such a motorcycle or quad bike, you ensure that it is being used legally, safely and at times and places that will not cause annoyance to local residents.
We will be carrying out patrols of the areas likely to be affected and anyone found breaking the law will be charged and their vehicle will be seized.
And be warned – you might not get it back.
If you come across this type of behaviour please let us know immediately.
Finally, congratulations to St Mirren FC on a great win in their first home league fixture of the season.
Just as importantly from my perspective, the officers policing the fixture noted that although the match was very competitive both sets of fans were in good spirits.
As I mentioned in a previous column, we are keen to work with the club and supporters to provide a safe environment at the Simple Digital Arena and we would be pleased to receive any feedback on the policing arrangements so far this season.