No, not as dramatic as it seems. Last week, someone bashed into my (perfectly) parked car in Otley, leaving me with a scuffed bumper, a mangled wheel and flat tyre. There was a note on my windscreen with the registration number of the other car and the time. No phone number, so I imagine it was left by a passer-by.

I didn’t have my mobile on me  and I can’t change the wheel myself. – I’ve tried before. I have a Ford KA and, delightful though it is, the one design horror is that the spare wheel is bolted to the underside of the car - hard to access.

I rang the AA from a cafe. No luck – the AA charge a £102 callout fee if  another vehicle had been involved. News to me.

I lef t a note for a Traffic Warden and walked to a garage. They were (how do I say this?) reluctant to come and look at it for me/change the wheel – I offered cash.

Still no sign of a Traffic Warden, so I walked to the Police Station.

And they were so helpful. A PC came back with me and changed the wheel so that I could drive it away.   

And I wondered whether this kind of thing is part of their formal target structure. It seems to me that it is a core value and one that is taken for granted. I expect to be able to get help from a friendly policeman if I need it. That’s why it’s so shocking to see clips of policemen clubbing citizens.

I feel like a one-woman police marketing board when I say let’s remember that when we (rightly) condemn inappropriate police actions, we’re starting  from an expectation of trust and helpfulness.

Does anyone know if acts of kindness are included in formal police targets?

Filed under: Uncategorized by Melanie