You know how sometimes you just see a story and it makes you smile? This is one of those stories….or, at least, it made our team all smile!
Greater Manchester Police tweeted in the early hours of this morning about how one of their hard working officers had returned to their marked police vehicle only to find a note and some sweets had been left on their car.
Many of you would have no-doubt read about the similar notes which have been left on emergency ambulances up-and-down the country recently, but it is not often that we hear about such notes being left on police cars.
And we are yet to hear about any ‘notes’ being left on fire engines, but, to be fair, fire engines do not tend to be left unattended when their crews are dealing with calls which is probably why.
The tweet shared on the @GMPpolice twitter account said:
“One of our officers came back to their police car yesterday in Bredbury to find a lovely note and a packet of sweets on the windscreen.
“Starlyn, aged 2, we thank you for your sweet treat”.
The note that was left said:
“thank you for your all of your hard work and for keeping us safe!
“love from Starlyn – age 2
“enjoy this little treat”.
With the note was a packet of Milkybar buttons – enough to keep most officers going during what could be an intensive shift.
Whilst its clear that this gesture was initiated by Starlyns parents (although, from reading some of the tweets left on GMP’s post, some people clearly have not grasped this obvious fact), it still not only shows what loving and caring parents Starlyn has, but also that the impression made upon young Starlyn’s mind in relation to the police will be a good one.
All-too-often, parents tells their kids that if they are naughty then the ‘police will come and get them’ which is not really the impression you want to be putting in your children’s minds when it comes to the police.
Children, of all ages, should feel as though they CAN approach the police for obvious reasons – and gestures such as this one only go towards helping that impression to be built into the minds of future generations.
If you child is in trouble and you are not around, or if they get lost, then, as parents, we have a duty to let them know that they CAN and SHOULD approach a police officer.
During my 8 years serving in the Metropolitan Police on a 999 response team, I do not ever recall being approached by a child who maybe just wanted a chat.
So not only do we salute young Starlyn, but we salute her parents too!
In a world where there is so much trouble, so much violence and so many egos, then small but powerful gestures such as this one really do stand out.
I know that if I was still serving on the thin blue line, then finding kind notes such as this one would offset the impact of having to deal with ‘individuals’ who are, shall we say, less appreciative of the vital work which the police (and other sections of the emergency services do).
Written by one of the many admins of Emergency Services Humour who is also a regular blogger in our fortnightly eMagazine ’S__ts & Giggles’ which you can sign up to by visiting our Facebook page and clicking on the ‘sign up’.
If you have a blog that you would like us to share with our readers and followers, then please feel free to contact our team of former emergency services personnel by using any of the details below.
If you have an emergency services related story, video (that you have filmed) or opinion (whether its light-hearted or serious) that you want us to share with our readers, then you can reach our team using any of the details below.
We treat all correspondence with anonymity!
Email: emergency_services_humour@outlook.com | Follow & find us on Twitter @ES_Humour | Follow & find us on Facebook @EmergencyServicesHumour
Don’t forget to ‘like’ & ‘follow’ our Emergency Services New page to be kept up-to-date with the latest emergency services related news stories