Q&A Session With Inspector McElroy

Year 5&6 pupils were delighted to be offered the opportunity to tour the local operations base for the Met Police in Havering. From the operations centre in Spillsby Road, the police organise their response to 999 calls, train for fitness and learn new techniques to help keep us safe.

Question & Answer Session - with Inspector Rob McElroy

'What inspired you to join the police force?' - Holly Clark
Watching The Bill on TV inspired me to become a policeman. I joined the force at the age of 20 and was posted to Westminster. While I was there we had to deal a lot with shop owners, tourists and shop lifters.

'What do you think of the possible plan to turn of traffic lights and street lights after 12am?' - Toby Smith
Both of those areas are the responsibility of the local council. However we would keep an eye on safety, accidents and reports from the public. If we thought that there was a problem then we would make representation of it to the council that it wasn't safe.

'What happens on a normal day?' - Emily Morton
There is no such thing as a normal day, which is why I enjoy this job so much. The team could be responding to a burglary or a road traffic accident. In the time that you have been in the base this morning, we have sent teams out to deal with an elderly man who was lost - suffering dementia - an returned him to his home. Our staff have also been to a vehicle where it was reported a theft had taken place.

'What jobs do you do that help keep us safe' - Daniel Joy
Surprisingly  we now get alot of calls to help with things that wouldn't normally be considered 'police jobs'. If the ambulance is called and can't get to a person, we may be asked to help them. PC Mike is first aid trained as a medic. He can go and help and wait with that person until the ambulance arrives. We also carry out a lot of jobs to do with the elderly - like this morning - particularly when they get lost. Missing children are also an area we are responsible for.

'The lighting around Bosworth Park is not very bright. In the evening we can feel quite nervous walking home from our football match.' Charlie Birdsey
The street lighting is not something we are responsible for. Our suggestion would be that you write a letter to council - ask about street lighting and any other aspects you feel could make Harold Hill safer.

'What do you do to ensure that dog owners look after their pets responsibly?'
Please make sure you report a dog attack to the police - if your dog is out in the street and they bite another dog, or person, you must go to court to explain why they did it and why they weren't probably supervised. If we are called to an incident then we can seize the dog to check that it is safe to go back to the owner.

'On the way to school we see bad behaviour on the buses. Can you put police on them to keep us safe?' - Kynan Omundi & Success Obazee
There is a separate team, called the Safer Transport Police. There have been reports of poor behaviour and they do appear on buses. The first step should always be to inform the driver and he/she can call the police if necessary or ask the person to leave the bus.

'In my road there have been people fly tipping. What do you do about that problem? - Simona Raclevicius
Fly tipping is normally dealt with by Council. Try to get the registration number of the vehicle and report it to the Council. If caught they will face an appearance in court and a fine.

'Why are children able to get games that are rated 18+ when they can't buy cigarettes?' - Charly Wallace
It is down to the parents to be responsible to ensure games and videos are appropriate. If it is bought by an adult, then we are powerless to stop it.

'We often go to play in Central Park and the behaviour is quite bad and threatening. Can you help improve it?' - Archie Smith
Our Safer Neighborhood team are aware of the issues in Central Park. More lighting has been proposed and a higher presence of officers and PCSOs are now on patrol. Please report any anti social behaviour that you see.