KIM MCGUINNESS: Shining a light on the stars behind the scenes of policing

I once struck up a conversation with a stranger in the supermarket who told me that she worked for Northumbria Police, “I’m just staff” she said, “I’m not an officer”.
PCSOs are among a number of behind the scenes staff making an impact on Northumbria Police's crimefighting.PCSOs are among a number of behind the scenes staff making an impact on Northumbria Police's crimefighting.
PCSOs are among a number of behind the scenes staff making an impact on Northumbria Police's crimefighting.

These words bothered me and have stuck with me. Why did she feel the need to ‘play down’ her role? So I’ve decided to to use my column this month to ‘play up’ the role of our police staff, and with the current crisis that’s going on, I can't think of a better time to be doing so.

One of the good things that has come out of recent times has been the renewed sense of appreciation for those around us, especially in what are considered key, vital roles. We clap for the life savers and sing the praises of those whose jobs take them running straight into the danger. And rightly so.

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But I want to shine a little light on those behind the scenes and specifically behind the Northumbria Police badge. Our custody staff managing the health and risk of those detained are playing a crucial role at this time, as are our PCSOs who continue to be the eyes and ears of the police on our streets. And there are plenty of other roles that might not be considered ‘frontline’ but without them there would be no thin blue line at all.

There are the staff in our control rooms who take the calls in people’s times of fear, panic and desperation. In fact some of our online call handlers have had to leave the noise of Millbank Station behind and set up office in their kitchen or spare room, where they are now busy responding to online reports and web chats. There are cleaning teams working flat out feeling the pressure to clean and ensure the unwelcome germs are kept at bay. There's our IT department accommodating new needs and technologies to allow as many of our staff as possible to work safely at home. The media advisors who keep the likes of the Sunderland Echo updated and ensure important messages reach the public. The list could go on but put simply, it takes more than officers to make a police family. In fact, a third of our force is civilian staff and without them our officers quite simply couldn’t do the jobs they do. Each and every one of them, far too many roles to name, play a part in a machine working very hard to keep us all safe.

So, uniform or not, these staff are ‘just’ as important and I want them to know that and I know the people of Sunderland will want to join me in thanking them too.