Essex
Experience
Student police officers from Brandenburg visited Colchester to
experience British policing with Essex police. Steve Hunt, 10
Region Secretary, reports on their experience.
F
ollowing contact from IPA colleagues at
Brandenburg Germany (the area that
surrounds Berlin) I made arrangements
for student police officers Johann Schmidt
and Nico Birnbaum to spend time with various
departments of Essex police whilst based
at Colchester police station. I also arranged
accommodation with Essex police employees.
A full itinerary for two weeks in June was kindly
devised by Inspector Jason Scrivener stationed
at Colchester police station. For the first two
days Johann and Nico were based with a local
Neighbourhood Policing Team. One of their first
tasks was to attend a Chief Constables ‘Road
Show’ with Essex Chief Constable Stephen
Kavanagh.
They then spent a day with the local Operation
Saturn Team which is a small group of local
officers formed to tackle local drug dealers
and suppliers - executing search warrants
and following intelligence received from many
sources. The Team was led by Detective
Sergeant Andy Stott who was so impressed by
the Brandenburg visitors’ enthusiasm for their
role that the he personally telephoned me and
requested their services again - should any of
their future deployment arrangements fall by the
wayside.
As it transpired two serious crimes were
committed in Colchester which changed their
itinerary a couple of times. On both these
occasions Johann and Nico were again welcomed
back by the Operation Saturn Team - who made
good use of them in raiding houses.
At one house, they both assisted in searching
and watching suspects. Johann discovered
around £5,000 worth of class A drugs
hidden in the loft insulation.
Other attachments to road
policing teams saw
them involved with
ANPR procedures (automatic
number plate recognition) and
another day with an ‘all partners
day’ involving customs etc. Many
foreign HGV’s were stopped and
the drivers were surprised to
see Brandenburg police officers
assisting with questioning, checking
documents and enforcing penalties .
In their limited free-time in Colchester they were
shown around Colchester’s newly refurbished
castle by an official guide - which they enjoyed
very much. The guide was a family friend of their
hosts. The tour was really impressive, so much
history within one place!
Their last day in Colchester saw their planned
visit to Essex Police Air Support cancelled
because of operational reasons. So, to a last duty
visit with the Operation Saturn Team assisting
with more arrests and drug seizures. Grateful
for their assistance, the Team took them out to
a local pub to celebrate and thank them for
their help.
The Brandenburg lads returned home the next
day - exhausted. They were both clutching official
letters of thanks from the Detective Inspector in
charge of Operation Saturn and the Road Policing
Officers involved with Operation
Mermaid addressed to their
commanding officers – to
formally show appreciation for their dedication
enthusiasm and hard work during their
secondment.
Truly a successful visit proving the worth of the
International Learning & Development Exchange
Programme (ILDEP). Impressed with the IPA’s
role and influence into their visit, both have
subsequently joined the IPA in Brandenburg
and are busy spreading the ethos of ‘Servo per
Amikeco’.
Steve Hunt
, 10 Region
Editor’s note: Owing to Johann’s current job role,
his true identity has not been revealed.
Article
POLICE WORLD
Vol 59 No. 4, 2014
Nico Birnbaum, Stephen Kavanagh
and Johann Schmidt
Nico Birnbaum, Steve Hunt
and Johann Schmidt
8
