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An "unhappy reader" sent us these pictures fuming at the temerity of the police for turning up, en masse, on the Hoe's much-loved Coffee Shack for a brew and a bacon buttie.

Oh dear.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.

Well, we've been here before, or at least The Sun was here before in April 2017, and it really did not end well. For the reporter and photographer, I mean. The article lambasted eight Plymouth police officers for "relaxing in the sun", ordering hot drinks and "a few bacon sarnies from the cafe."

The Sun, that bastion of good behaviour, criticised the officers for spending "45 minutes while on shift" - at 7.45am - taking the break. And, going big on the nudge-nudge wink-wink front, The Sun highlighted how "the area has an average 45 reported crimes a day" and that "four occurred during Tuesday's get-together".

No doubt folks at the super soaraway Currant Bun expected Devon and Cornwall Police to hunker down, apologise profusely and reprimand the officers, but something else happened. Its readers actually turned on the newspaper, then senior officers turned on the newspaper, then other police forces - even in other countries - turned on the newspaper.

It was explained by senior officers to the Sun, as one would to a small child, that police officers were legitimately entitled to a statutory break, that those breaks were encouraged to take place in public so that if the officers were needed for an emergency they were available and that this particular meeting was arranged so the team could get together and discuss work-related issues.

It was also pointed out that having a go at police at a time when the Government was cutting policing budgets like never before, and that printing such an attack on regular on-the-frontline coppers just a few days after thousands of officers lined the streets of London for the funeral of PC Keith Palmer - killed in a terrorist attack at the Palace of Westminster - was a tad, well, tactless.

The criticism came from regular folks, it came from ex-cops, it came from other emergency services personnel and it created the #brewsforblues hashtag as police officers from around the world began to post pictures of themselves having a cuppa during their shift, sarcastically mocking themselves for daring to actually stop and drink a hot beverage when clearly they should be acting more like Robocop and doing ten-hour shifts without need for sustenance, breath or even a quick wee.

I must point out that journalists are now subject to the same scrutiny. One reporter has been lambasted by a reader for sleeping on a train on his way home from work, with photographic evidence which proved how he and his colleagues were "lazy cut and paste journalists ".

And so it brings us back full circle to our kind reader who, out of equal kindness, I won't name, except to call him Mr X. Look away now Mr X.

(Image: Mr X)

Mr X saw four police cars and a police van on Saturday morning January 12 "on the Hoe by the Coffee Shack" - yes, the same place the Sun photographer nabbed the last lot. Clearly, it's a popular place. There must be something in the coffee. Or maybe it's the view. Using a leap of mathematics of the like Stephen Hawking's cat would not attempt, Mr X surmises that "that would be 10 officers all taking a break".

He didn't actually check, as he was in the car at the time. In addition, Mr X assumes that every police vehicle was double-crewed. Which, after cuts resulting in 22,000 fewer police officers in England and Wales, is a somewhat naive bit of maths. Score 1:0 to Stephen Hawking's cat.

And here Mr X comes to the point in his missive to Plymouth Live. He notes how the "council tax payer" is being asked to "contribute another £24 per annum to achieve another 85 Bobbies on the Beat, across Devon and Cornwall."

For those of you unsure of what this about, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, Alison Hernandez, is currently asking residents in the force area to pay between £12 and £24 (for a Band D) more towards the police precept, which is attached to their council tax. Her claim is that if people are prepared to pay "around 40p a week" it could mean "85 more officers". The word "could" is worthy of note. That's "could", not "will". An important distinction, I would suggest.

(Image: Mr X)

This cuts no ice with Mr X as he told Plymouth Live, in what I imagine is the voice of a handlebar-moustached man thumping his fist on the bar counter with a couple of 'harrumphs' thrown in for good measure: "I put it to the police commissioner if the force can afford to take at least 1 hour break for 10 officers on a Saturday, during their shift I presume, turn that into salary/wages wasted, that could be saved and put back into the coffers this surely could go towards financing more Police Officers in our city." I expect Mr X then imagines hearing other handlebar-moustached men banging their fists on the bar counter shouting "hear, hear" in reply.

Not only that, he notes another quite appalling act by the officers (except it wasn't by officers, it was by council-employed parking enforcers, but you know, don't ruin a good rant with facts).

Mr X wrote: "Whilst I'm complaining about this you will notice that the, Vauxhall police car is not even in the parking bay, a fine example to everyone as my son found out in town for a similar offence it cost him £80. So my response to the Commissioners request is simply NO. Yours sincerely, Unhappy reader."

I asked a senior officer I've known for about a decade for his thoughts and he gave me an honest appraisal of the issue. It is both enlightening and quite worrying. Very worrying in fact and it goes to the core of what we expect - or believe we expect - of our police officers in this day and age.

(Image: @DC_ARVSgt)

Insp Kev Morley is a critical incident manager. In effect, the role of the CIM is to ensure any ongoing incident is dealt with in a way to ensure does not develop into something much worse.

He highlighted how many officers now work alone - single crewed - and do not get opportunity to engage with colleagues, let alone their entire 'section' of officers.

He said: "I've probably been to [Captain] Jaspers five times in three years where the entire section got together to talk.

"Getting together is a once in a blue moon thing."

He noted how police stations no longer had canteens which were historically the place where officers could talk in a judgement-free environment about their jobs and their day. Basically, it was somewhere to blow off steam, have a moan, laugh inappropriately at things and take stock. Losing them meant that these little chats, the shared words of advice, sympathy, learning, no longer took place in the closeted calm of a canteen. In fact, they rarely happen anywhere in the hectic environment of police stations, so the neighbourhood cafe is second best, but better than nothing.

Insp Morley explained how there was less opportunity for response inspectors like himself to help "diffuse" officers after traumatic incidents, and God knows, you can understand how some coppers would need a few moments to de-stress after some incidents in this city.

"Over Christmas," said Insp Morley, "one double-crewed unit attended seven attempted suicides and concerns for welfare jobs in just one shift.

"Officers are attending incidents where they find bodies hanging, people have cut their own throats, taken overdoses. Often the police officers are the first responders on the scene, dealing with people who have hurt themselves or others. Police are dealing with more of these kinds of distressing mental health incidents than ever before. And there's fewer of us now.

"They have little or no time to diffuse after seeing people self-harming, of dealing with traumatic incidents.

"We pass each other in the corridor and sometimes there's only time to ask 'are you okay?' before they're off to the next job. To check on the welfare of people you need to stop and talk, to really make sure they are well, if they're okay.

"There is going to be a crisis in police's mental health if we continue at this relentless rate. You have to consider the welfare of your staff, because officers can be affected by PTSD due to some of the jobs they're attending. They need time to stop and talk about jobs."

After making a Freedom of Information request in late 2017 Plymouth Live discovered that one in four Devon and Cornwall Police officers who had died did so at their own hands at a time when there were growing calls to 'protect the protectors' with better mental health provision for all emergency workers who faced traumatic incidents.

In March 2018 Devon and Cornwall Police’s Deputy Chief Constable Paul Netherton announced he would robustly defend his officers after many of them explained how they were fed up with receiving complaints from members of the public who rounded on them as they ate or drank in cafes.

A poll we ran at the time was answered by more than 3,000 readers - with 98 percent saying that police officers should take their breaks in public.

Sorry Mr X - we won't be joining you in your criticism of coppers having a cuppa. We've just put the kettle on. Two sugars officer?

Do you have a crime story to share or for us to investigate?

Get in touch using carl.eve@reachplc.com, call 01752 293119 or tweet @CarlEveCrime

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