Here’s a little story of how Police custody can be turned into a positive experience.

5am Friday, a homeless young man is arrested & brought to me. His detention is authorised & officers have done a good job arresting him.

But, this is about more than crime.

Cont...

This man is polite, respectful. Hungry. In need of a shower and medical care.

But also kindness.

He has psoriasis. It’s sore, dirty and infected, all over his body. It’s made worse by the cold, his clothes and may be infected.

So what did we do?

We arranged medical care for him, we gave him food, hot chocolate, blankets, clean clothes and made arrangements for him to get a shower with appropriate shower gels so as not to inflame his skin.

We were humane & we all treat each other with respect.

I could have binned him off to a cell, and he could have thrown abuse at me because of his arrest.

But because we talked, we were honest & fair with each other, we were able to help each other.

He made me understand what Policing is about, and I hope I made a difference to him.

We need more conversations like this & we must remember that just because someone is arrested / homeless / in need they are not dehumanised.

Be kind.

It makes a difference.

That’s it.

@Shelter @soldieronorg @BarristerSecret @policecommander @PFEW_Chair @PFEW_HQ @K_QureshiMPS @projectICVA @policeconduct @ian_c_elliott