KARYN MCCLUSKEY

Police officers ignored by TV crime dramas are vital, writes Karyn Mccluskey

There are hidden parts of all services. These are the people who keep our organisations and services going, who do quiet, intricate and complex work that requires a huge range of skills. It’s not showy; TV producers won’t think it dynamic enough to put on TV, but it’s crucial and we should value it.

I was almost 23 years in policing. When Rob - ert Peel set out the principles of policing in 1829, he said it was the absence of crime and disorder that was the litmus test of great policing – not detection, although that’s important, but pre - vention of crime in the first place. It is, to this day, the most crucial of the Peelian principles.

I am passionate about community policing. That part of policing that doesn’t appear on Line of Duty or all the programmes about police dogs and horses (I know, they’re lovely). I mean the embedding of highly skilled and trained officers based in our communities, who are known to us and who know us – and who have the expertise to engage different parts of the community, use negotiation and influencing skills to create change, identify emerging prob - lems and apply advanced skills to help address the problem. They are our prevention experts.

So many demands have been placed on policing over the last decade across the UK: counterterrorism, serious and organised crime, cyber ... I could go on. You can see the attraction and sense in “forming a squad”; taking officers out of communities and putting them in a shiny office, dedicated to a particular topic – you’ll have seen it on the TV! It’s happened in many areas and yet I believe that high-level crime is still manifested in local communities and investment in community policing is crucial.

So it was with huge delight I went to Kirkintilloch recently to speak about community justice and prevention to around 20 community officers. They all had around 10 years’ service and were expected to stay there. This is a role that requires staying power, resilience and time to get to know your community. They dealt with huge complexity and talked about the challenges of preventing crime and diverting young people. They talked about the challenges of problem solving, when you need other partners to do something and the persistence needed to make that happen. We talked about how we manage and support those with addiction issues, those citizens who have complex needs – from mental health to housing and iso - lation – who get involved in the justice system, but whose solutions lie elsewhere. We had difficult conversations about why we need to keep young people out of the justice system yet balance the needs of communities who are tired of the challenges many bring. We still invest in community policing in Scotland and I think it’s one of the best roles in policing. I think a good community police officer is the best asset we have in policing the challenges we have now and in the future. I think the training they need has had to change, as we realise we need to invest in specific skills and support for them. Rightly so.

As I left, I said to the brilliant chief inspector and the inspector, who had about 23 years’ service: “If I was the boss I’d put my best police officers in community policing”. “We have,” he said. His community officers raised their eye - brows and looked proud. They might not make a programme about them but they are vital to driving crime down and preventing problems emerging. And we should tell them they matter more.

• Karyn Mccluskey is chief executive of Community Justice Scotland