Police officer taking community engagement to next level

11 March 2024

A West Mercia Police Federation member says his role working with local communities to tackle their issues and concerns has ‘reignited his passion’ for policing.

PC Paul Brittain is approaching five months as community support engagement officer covering the Safer Neighbourhood Teams south of the M54.

And he said he has had a ‘fantastic’ response from schools, businesses, local and parish councils, and the public.

Paul, who has been a police officer for 25 years, said: “It’s a great job. I love it. It’s reignited my passion for the job because people are genuinely pleased to see me.

“They want me to help and we’ve seen some good results.”

PC Paul Brittain is relishing his community engagement role. He is pictured with Morley, the Lawley village mole.

Paul’s role sees him ‘working closely with community partners, building trust and confidence in West Mercia Police through engagement and collaboration, understanding and addressing local concerns and issues affecting public safety’.

“My role is getting into the community and speaking to people in all positions, in all situations,” he said. “It’s trying to work out what’s going to become an issue and trying to get in there before it does become an issue.

“We try to get to forums, council and parish council meetings. We have talks at cubs, brownies, scouts, air cadets and schools. 

“We go to the AFC Telford Kick Project and see the kids there playing football.

“I try to encourage people not to be put off by the uniform and that they can talk to the police about things.

“It’s letting people know that I am approachable, they can come and talk to me, that I really want to help, that you can ask for advice and you can ask police to steer you in the right direction.

“My friend and colleague Rob Hughes covers north Telford and he’s equally committed. We bounce off each other for the good of everyone.”

Paul uses as many platforms as possible to communicate and engage with people.

They include the Telford and Wrekin Cops page on Facebook, which has 15,000 followers. Paul uses the page to post videos answering people’s questions, to provide advice, and also to highlight community events.

“We’ve got to use whatever platforms we’ve got available, whether it’s face to face, TV, radio, press, social media, to get our message out there,” he said.

“The police do lots of really good work but we don’t crow about it. We need to tell people about all the good work we’re doing.

“We also promote the stories that need promoting, such as local youth clubs, groups for people with difficulties, local events. We want to bring everybody along and be inclusive.”

Paul said one example of where communities have come together to make a difference was the period in October and November when schools break up for half-term and there’s Hallowe’en and bonfire night.

“Around that time we can get some antisocial behaviour from fireworks and stuff so in conjunction with the council, we had half-term activities going on for the kids such as BMX-ing, football, cricket,” he said.

“We went round with the councillors and made sure any fly-tipping was collected so it couldn’t be set fire to.

“We promoted proper bonfire and fireworks displays and tried to get to any antisocial behaviour with fireworks quickly to stop complaints and callouts to the fire service.

“We all got together, worked out what we were going to do and it worked magic.

“There was a lot of community spirit because people could see we were all chipping in. That, to me, was brilliant.

“It was a small win but it felt really good, and it’s encouraged people to say they’re going to sort other issues out.”

Paul added: “It’s that work we’re getting that’s giving me the most satisfaction, not just within the station but within the community.

“We’re discussing with clubs, schools, business, councils, care homes, all stakeholders, and we’re sitting down together as equals.

“We’re all working together to solve problems, all pitching in to get the little problems fixed.

“It’s infectious. People want to come and help. People want to come and do things. It’s brilliant.”