Aid to Westminster

Shift: Friday Night Time Economy

Rank: Special Constable

Length of Service: 3 years

Planned duty: 1900-0300

Due to lots of aid across boroughs in the MPS I found myself in Westminster on a recent Friday, where 125 Specials were deployed to police the night time economy. Unfortunately a slightly shirt shift as I only booked on last minute and had to be up early the following day.

1900 - Arrive at local nick, pick up a car and head into central picking up a mate I'd be working with that night enroute. Our tasking was to provide media support for the evening and generate as much activity we could on social media using the @MPSSpecials twitter channel. (Give us a follow!)

2100-2130 - Briefing at Westminster - get a couple of good snaps from the top floor of the Specials being paraded in the yard prior to deployment.

2131 - Walk out of the back gate to get something from the car and notice two males making observations of who is going in and out and looking very suspicious. Having stopped and accounted them and built up some substantial grounds I conducted my first ever terrorism search. Negative result, but they both got nicked for being illegal entrants to the UK having arrived on lorries that morning!

2135-2300 - Queue for custody, although there is no one in front of us... At the risk of getting an email inviting me to a meeting without biscuits we'll say no more about it!

2300-2330 - Prisoner booked in, notes written and handed over to UKBF.

2330-0200 - Answered a few calls, got a few more photos and most enjoyably met a bunch of really great Specials from all over the Met.

0200-0300 - Drive back to the nick, dropping off my oppo enroute and booked off for the night.

Hopefully this wasn't too boring to read, but it will certainly be a memorable shift for me just for the search!