police world Edition 3 2013

Article

Faroese First for Police Scotland Lothian and Borders branch hosted a group of 41 IPA members from the Faroe Islands for a long weekend visit to Edinburgh.

A s the Faroese are an island race, our branch wondered if members from the Faroe Islands would sail to Edinburgh. We then learned that not only were they flying in, but that they had chartered their own aircraft and sold off the extra seats to tourists. Very clever - we decided they deserve to be honorary Scots! As about 40% of their police were in Edinburgh that night, we joked that it would have been a good time for a Faroese person to commence a life of crime. I, as branch Chair, welcomed the guests with a short speech - which included three sentences in Danish. In the words of the late Eric Morecome – they were all the right words – but not necessarily said in the right order. At that point each person was given their own ‘See You Jimmy’ hat, as an ice breaker. I was delighted our Regional Chair, Andy Wright and his wife Shirley attended along with fifteen of our own branch members to greet the guests. Our branch Vice Chair, Tom McInally, had prepared a mounted and signed copy of his winning photograph of the Forth Rail Bridge that appears in the IPA calendar (see page 26) and that was presented to our visitors. Other gifts included an IPA pennant, a water carafe and two engraved whisky glasses from the branch. A Scottish themed meal had been arranged at the Mercat Bar, Edinburgh, owned by the son of a long standing IPA member, Stuart Blaikie. The meeting, greeting and eating of the haggis was a first for most of our visitors. Our branch piper, John MacKintosh, attended in full regalia and played our visitors into the premises. He later dramatically addressed the haggis, then plunged his dirk through it and it was then served

to those awaiting eagerly. The next day, a group of eight interested Faroese visitors were taken on a tour of St Leonards Police Station, Edinburgh. Thanks must go to Chief Superintendant Mark Williams, who authorised this visit on pretty short notice, and to Neil Wilson, who showed us round. This was the first visit of any foreign police to the newly formed Police Scotland. The visitors were impressed with the volume of custodies dealt with and the duty of care extended to prisoners. If they could, they would have taken home the Edinburgh Live Scan system, which identifies a person instantly after digitally reading their fingerprints. They were also interested in the electronic personal digital assistants (PDA’s) carried by our officers, which have replaced paper notebooks - something the Faroese still use. Their tour ended with their trying out the personal safety equipment Scottish police are issued with and carry in their vehicles. The rest of their visit was taken up with sightseeing in Edinburgh, which included a walk to the top of Arthur’s Seat - an extinct volcano in the centre of the city with breathtaking views. Without doubt, Arthur Troop’s original intention, to extend the bonds of friendship amongst police officers throughout the world had been met by this visit. None of this would have been possible without the hard work of our Secretary, John Quinn, who works away tirelessly in the background, so thank you to him. If any branch anywhere, wants to visit Edinburgh, a

Faroese Facts ◙ Police in the Faroe Islands are part of the Danish Police and constitute an independent police district headed by a Chief Superintendent. ◙ The police district there has approximately 170 employees, of which 110 are Police officers. ◙ They have a population of 47,000 of which about half live in the capital of Torshavn. ◙ You must be at least 21 years of age to join the police there and complete 37 years service before becoming eligible for pension. ◙ The Police are all armed and any citizen over 18 years can purchase a shotgun, which they do, and there is never any gun crime.

warm welcome awaits - just get in touch. Rod McNeill , Lothian and Borders branch.

Any branch interested in visiting Edinburgh should contact: lothian- and-borders@ipa-uk.org

Left to right: Rod McNeill, Kristian Dahl, Karl Leonsson, Jan Poulsen, Bjarni Nattestad, Runi Vesturklett, Ian Wilson and Herbert í Lon

Police World Vol 58 No.3 2013

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