New MSC officer gets arrest on first patrol

A CROYDON MSC officer made her first arrest on her first ever patrol when she went out with a group of Specials on Friday 4 June 2010 as part of Operation Safe for All in Croydon Town Centre.

The officers carried out a proactive stop on a vehicle due to suspicious behavior by the driver. As a result of the stop, Special Constable Rob Cope, who was performing only his eleventh patrol as a Special arrested a man on suspicion of possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

A section 18 search was subsequently carried out by the Specials and this resulted in Special Constable Katherine Allen making her first arrest on her first tour of duty, by arresting a woman on suspicion of cultivating cannabis.

Both the man and the woman arrested were bailed until August.

Special Constable Katherine Allen said: "One moment I was in the police station having my induction as a new Special. Later that evening I was making my first arrest! It was brilliant putting all my training into use on the first day. I learned so much. It was an amazing duty".

Special Constable Rob Cope added: "This was my second arrest. It was great the way we all worked together as a team, carrying out the section 18 search and getting the reports done. It was brilliant and just makes me want to patrol more."

Special Sergeant Gary Shepherd said: "It was great to see my team of officers getting so enthused and carrying out a proactive job that would have impacted on the effectiveness of the responses teams, had they had to deal with the incident.

"This type of patrol is a great balance between helping the Borough with its core policing of Croydon's night-time economy and giving a variety of challenging situations for eager volunteer police officers to get involved with."