A matter for the police

I’ve had two brushes with the police recently, both (I’m relieved to say) with favourable outcomes. The first involved a series of raids on Blue Jay Way, my guerrilla garden here in Exeter, in which plants were whisked away by mobility scooter (I jest not). Thanks to CCTV the suspect was identified and politely visited by our neighbourhood policing team, and three plants were returned, with an apology.

While all this was happening, I took the opportunity to upgrade our home security systems. If you haven’t heard of SmartWater, check it out – it’s an ingenious way to mark valuable items with what you might describe as DNA paint, which you register officially with the police. And a friend told me how he’d followed the iPad he left on an airplane all the way across the Atlantic thanks to a tracker device, so I’ve invested in a couple of those, too.

I’m working at the moment on a new story involving a police officer based in the Devon countryside. For Knife Skills For Beginners I lured a police officer from the Met out of retirement to give me advice – the wonderful Ian Pike - but country policing is a different matter altogether. My crime writer friend Tina Orr Munro, herself an ex-SOCO officer, suggested I should ask for a ‘ride along’ with a local cop, so I reported for duty at Cullompton Police Station and spent an unforgettable morning with PC Adrian Legg.

Although so much has changed about policing in recent years, I was comforted to discover the extent to which Adrian and his colleagues are meshed in with the local community, and exercise their ‘professional curiosity’ over the huge area of mid-Devon they cover. During our short sortie in a police car (complete with flashing blue lights), I noticed everyone knew Adrian and gave him a friendly wave. Another surprise was the sheer weight of clobber an officer has to lug around – up to 12kg.

Not every police force offers ride-alongs, but if you like the idea, take a look online. For Devon and Cornwall Police, the link is here.