For our civilian readers who might not know, a Special Constable is a volunteer police officer who dedicates their own time, for free, to help try and keep the public safe.
Special Constables are a vital part of the police family.
They provide an invaluable resource to senior officers in the fight against crime.
Special Constables have the same powers, the same uniform and the same kit as regular police officers, but they give their time for free.
So it is no surprise that, when a special constable based with the British Transport Police (Greater Manchester) was scorned by a member of the public for daring to buy a sandwich whilst on shift, that the BTP tweeted a message to the unknown person who decided that police officers should not be allowed to eat during their shift.
A tweet shared by @BTPGtrMcr said:
“We would like to apologise to the member of the public who was offended by our @BTPSpecials officer getting a sandwich earlier this evening when he should have been out on patrol.
“Having worked his day job then worked a late shift for free, he became a bit peckish”.
Editors Comment
The vast majority of decent-minded members of the public really do not care if they see a member of the emergency services buying some food during their shift.
In fact, we often hear from members of the emergency services who have been touched by the kindness of someone who has actually paid for their food, without being asked to do so.
More often than not, these kind hearted individuals will pay for, as an example, a police officers food without even telling them.
When the officer gets to the till, then they are told that the food has already been paid for.
I had the same happen to me one – when a kind member of the public paid for some chips that I had ordered.
Unfortunately, however, there still seems to be a gaggle of individuals out there who, for some common-sense-defying reason, think that emergency services personnel should not be buying their food whilst on duty.
It wasn’t too long ago that we reported on a story where officers, having just purchased some food, prevented
I am sure that most members of the public would prefer to see a police officer out-and-about instead of them being confined to their station whilst doing something that is essential for the survival of the body: EATING!
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