I had an unusual experience this morning when I was doing the normal Saturday morning duties down at the stables. We were visited by a Police Community Support Officer providing advice and information about avoiding becoming a victim of equine crime. For those who don’t know there is a lot of money tied up in horses and the variety of equipment that they need. Every so often you hear about stables that have been targeted with thousands of pounds of equipment stolen.
The arrival of the PCSO was unusual but of course it wasn’t long before the connection with my own work was highlighted by friends. What followed was a discussion about the state of policing, what was happening, who was where, and the good and bad of the job. Working within the police has a unique quality, and that is how the service is like a family. A rather dysfunctional family at times, but family nonetheless.
It was an interesting conversation and while we do very different jobs in very different places there is always so much that is similar. That is why sharing information, experience, and knowledge is so important. I will be attending a communication conference next week and that will be a fantastic opportunity to take a look at the work we have been doing, look at what others are doing and hopefully come up with some new ideas.
No-one has a monopoly on good ideas. I hope that I have one or two good ideas at work, but it is vital that everyone gets the opportunity to bring forward their ideas, to share them and hopefully implement some of them. The key is also to create an environment that encourages creativity and innovation. Something I have written about quite a lot in recent years.
The conversation with the PCSO ended with one thing we both agreed on and that was how addictive work was. (I blogged about this a week ago and it is so true.) Policing is addictive and I think the reason it is links to the impact it has on everyone and when it works well it can improve people’s lives. I suppose that is why I have been involved for 16 years!
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