Listen Live

Thanks officer; have a wooden apple

Police gifts decidedly odd

They're not bribes, they're gifts. The unusual presents that bobbies have been given in thanks for their service. And they're not always the kind of thing every police officer has always wanted.

A wooden bowl, complete with wooden apples. A trip to Luton to see cars being manufactured. The Chief of Long Island, USA's police hat among them.

"Get a beer" says one happy customer, attaching a fiver to a Christmas card. Chocolates, biscuits, flowers, booze. Arguably more attractive, but still needing to be declared.

Here's the 25 most unusual gifts offered to the police

  1. A discount voucher for 50 per cent off retail catalogue price totalling a maximum team spend of £300. The voucher was refused as it was not acceptable under the terms of the force policy
  2. A Bulgarian Brioche bread cake from a relative of a victim of crime – gift was shared by Family Liaison officers
  3. A trip for two police staff to go to Luton to see Vauxhall’s new production facility
  4. Taking part in a golf day at the Bristol golf club by a Solicitor who occasionally works at the Custody Centre where an officer is based
  5. A box of Cadbury Milk Tray given to a sergeant after he attended a log in relation to a civil argument. To save embarrassment the officer finally accepted the chocolates.
  6. A plastic drinking beaker value approx. 99p, a quality biro value, a foam toy car and a USB stick (but the USB stick had to be declined)
  7. Two baby sleepsuits from a member of the public who is part of a family a PCSO has worked closely with
  8. An invitation to an Exeter Chiefs Rugby match
  9. A 695g tub of Cadbury’s Heroes chocolates as a thank you for assistance in getting a female home when her taxi failed to turn up. The gift was accepted but disposed of on Health and Safety Grounds as tamper proof seal had already been broken
  10. A Christmas themed chocolate lollipop was given to a Detective Constable by school reception staff when they were undertaking a Child Protection Enquiry at a primary school
  11. A Christmas Card containing a £5 note telling a PCSO to ‘get a beer’. Force police meant that they could not accept the money and instead it was donated to a charity In Paignton
  12. A pair of light brown bear gloves to keep a constable’s hands warm while carrying out speed checks.
  13. A day pass for entrance to Dartmoor Zoo
  14. Two A5 notebooks which are faux leather bound.
  15. Three red poppies labelled Swarovski crystal.
  16. The MP for Torbay Kevin Foster visited Torquay Police Station on Christmas Day to visit the Response section working a late shift and presented a small box of handmade mint creams made by the House of Commons.
  17. A homemade chilli meal was given to a Sergeant to share with his shift from two members of the public he had been assisting.
  18. A Police Hat was given to a Sergeant by the Chief of Police of Long Beach USA as a personal gift during a planned policing visit.
  19. Eight small pin badges for the “BULLSHIRE” product range was given to officers on a night shift in Torquay to boost morale on a cold and wet evening by the Owner/Creator of the Social Media output “BULLSHIRE POLICE
  20. The Chief Inspector was given a wooden bowl with some wooden apples in it by a member of the public who was aware of the officer’s interest in woodwork.
  21. The Chief Constable received a Hong Kong Police Plaque as an organisational gift from a group of Police Officers from Hong Kong on a visit to the Force
  22. The Chief Constable received a book entitled “Invicta: a Biography of R.C.M. Jenkins (Ex Chief Constable of Penzance circa 1937) by Mark Rothwell
  23. A box of Lindt chocolates as a gesture of thanks was given to two constables after they came across a large pig which had escaped from its field. They spent an hour containing the pig, alerting the owners and assisting them in getting the pig back into the field.
  24. A small box of Celebration chocolates and a dog chew given to a constable after giving a dog talk to a community group in Teignmouth.
  25. A national Supermarket chain donated to Bodmin Police Station a large fake Christmas Cracker that contains items of Christmas food including 2 boxes of mince pies, 2 small panettones, and a box of small snack bites and some stollen bites as part of their Christmas in the Community imitative.

The register also shows that flowers, chocolates and biscuits were given to the police as a thank you following the terrorist attack in London in March 2017 and that there is a spike in the number of gifts offered to the police around Christmas.

Devon and Cornwall Police’s Register of Gifts & Hospitality sets out strict rules to ensure gifts are declared by staff.

 

More from Local News