Preventing suicides, finding lost children and treating a stroke victim - why policing is more than just arresting criminals for Peterborough officers

To give the public an idea about just how varied (and challenging) the role is, police in Peterborough posted a lengthy list on Facebook outlining some of the support officers from the D Relief team have given over the last couple of days, on top of the usual crime-solving duties.

These were:

• Helping a male who was having a drug-induced psychotic episode, getting him the medical assistance he needed

• Finding three separate high-risk missing people (high risk factors can include dementia, being suicidal, young children)

• Assisting an autistic child in crisis, helping to calm them down

• Locating and arresting the suspect from a high-risk domestic incident

• Sectioning a person under the Mental Health Act who was threatening suicide

• Finding a three-year-old child who had sneaked out of their house and reunited them with their family

• Removing a swan from the parkway

• Assisting the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust with a woman in mental health crisis, restraining her to stop her hurting herself and bringing her to the hospital

• Forcing entry into a flat to stop a large water leak, preventing further damage

• Finding a male who was having a stroke, giving him first aid and assisting the ambulance service getting him to hospital

• Helping staff on the mental health ward with a patient having a violent psychotic episode.