Top of the cops
Officer at head of field in force’s probationer of the year contest
A Stirling police officer has been recognised as one of the top probationers in the country.
PC Martyn Paterson, community ward officer for Stirling West, finished runnerup in the Probationer of the Year category at the Scottish Policing Excellence Awards on Friday.
The 24-year-old, who joined the police force in October 2014, was last month praised by colleagues for his part in a series of drugs busts in the Stirling-area.
He and fellow constable Ross Munro saw their hard-work result in £62,000 in illegal substances and £22,000 in cash being taken off the streets in December – the largest sum seen in one year single month in years.
Those at Stirling police office say that Martyn has shown himself to be an “extremely keen, professional and effective police officer”.
Chief Inspector Lynn Ratcliff, Stirling Area Commander, said: “Martyn displays a maturity beyond his service bracket, and this is evident in his daily dealings with his peers, supervisors and members of the public.
“For this reason he was transferred to a post within community policing, a role often more suited to experienced officers, before the end of his probationary period.
“He has excelled in this role and in the last two months alone he and a colleague have been responsible for the recovery of almost £60,000 of controlled drugs as a result of tenacious and professional policing.”
Martyn last month spoke to the Observer about the important role the public play in helping keep communities safe and drugfree.
He said: “We’re pleased that we managed this level of disruption. Drugs destroy lives and ruin families so dealing with it is absolutely one of our priorities in the Stirling West area.
“We do rely on information from the public, though, so we would ask anyone who knows anything that can help us to get in touch.
“They can phone Stirling Police (101), email us or contact Crimestoppers (0800 555 111). All information, no matter how small, is valuable and will be followed up.”