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Essex IPA -
Annual support to German Student
Police Officers
from Brandenburg 2016.
It has become a tradition now for Essex
Police to host two student police officers
from Brandenburg Germany (the area that
surrounds Berlin) as part of their graduation
studies - and 2016 was no different.
This year saw the arrival of student officers
Carolin Grützan and Sami El-Sabkhaw for two
weeks in June at Colchester with the kind
permission of the Essex Chief Constable
Stephen Kavanagh. Both the officers stayed at
established accommodation managed by police
staff for this event. Both Carolin and Sami had
previously visited the UK for short durations but
in the usual ‘expected standard’ enjoyed English
language skills of ‘pro’s…
The first days saw them attached to uniform
neighbourhood policing teams in Colchester
where they were involved in executing warrants
and scene preservation duties plus rescuing
some ducklings. Then an attachment to Crime
Scene Investigation at Chelmsford where their
language skills were used in consoling burglary
victims.
The next couple of days saw them attached to
a local ‘task force’ deployed to counter drug
dealing. This saw them deployed in plain-clothes
again involved with executing search warrants
and the arrest of drug dealers. This was of
particular interest to these officers who do not
have an opportunity to police in this manner in
Brandenburg with their length of service.
Then there was a visit to Air Support which
saw the pair of them take to the air twice in
helicopter deployments. Neither had flown in
a helicopter before and a similar opportunity
would not exist in Germany as specialist officers
only are allowed such flights.
The weekend break saw Carolin and Sami
conducting a fast ‘tourist visit’ to London
enjoying as many sights as they could in the time
allowed.
In their final week they again spent time with
the drugs team and experienced multi-agency
meetings regarding management of persistent
and dangerous offenders.
UK Motorcycle
Section SIG
by
Dougie Wright
,
The good old boys from the UK Motorcycle Section
SIG, Dougie Wright and Iain Buchanan, drove across
Scotland to Kinross in Tayside to meet a group of 15
German IPA members who were visiting Scotland.
Only 13 were fit to travel after a strenuous day the
previous day. So it was off northwards to Braemar. If the
weather wasn’t warm at least the welcome was.
After a traditional tea ceremony at Braemar it was
back to Kinross via Dunkeld, and despite the atrocious
“Scottish summer” weather, (read monsoon) a good
time was had by all. What a wonderful group. It’s true
what they say…
In the IPA there are no strangers,
only friends you haven’t met yet.
Peelers
Charles Abbott of Thames Valley section is the
photographer for Chiltern Open Air Museum.
In July they held a Victorian re-enactment, with
“Peelers” in full dress.
IPA News
23
POLICE WORLD
Vol 61 No. 4, 2016