Former teacher makes big community impact in Cleethorpes policing role

PC David Mickleburgh has only been a police officer for just over a year, but he’s already making a big impact in his community and with his colleagues at the Cleethorpes North Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) station.

As the neighbourhood officer for the Sidney Sussex ward, which stretches from Park Street to North Promenade, David certainly has the required personality traits to make a good local officer.

“I like to talk and say hello to everyone,” he says with a beaming smile.

As a former teacher at a local school, David has plenty of opportunities to do exactly that on a ward walk, as many former students come up to him to say hello.

We stopped at Sidney Park and, even before entering the grounds, PC Mickleburgh was engaging with youngsters and parents about their day.

Sidney Park is hosting events all throughout the summer holidays and we chatted to the organisers about their plans.

With a cordoned area offering activities and food on the proviso that the kids do some litter picking in the park, there was an excellent take up. PC Mickleburgh stood at the gate and was quickly approached by former students.

There was great engagement with children, some of whom had caused issues in the past, and the organisers were pleased to see the kids were being educated without realising it.

“Children have vulnerabilities, and you can see that from an early age,” said PC Mickleburgh, referencing his teaching past. “Your criminals of tomorrow are your kids of today, so where do you think we should focus our attention?

“We look to the long term in neighbourhood policing. As a force, we are victim led, but there are about 25 outcomes and diversions available to us for suspects.

“While it’s always an option we are prepared to take, we may not dish out the harshest penalty on every occasion. Community cohesion and common-sense policing are important for me.

“As I said, we will use the harshest penalties where we consider it the best option, and we are aware that if you allow a problem to grow it will only make it worse. This is why I like to get partners round the table as soon as possible. That way, we can put robust and coherent plans in place to deal with issues as they arise.”

Further down the road, at the Rec, PC Mickleburgh dropped in to meet one of those partners and check up on any concerns.

Chairman/manager Steve had helped provide a hub for officers in the area and has been reassured by the additional presence.

Talking to PC Mickleburgh about the ward’s parks, it was clear how important they are, and how passionate David is that they should be shining examples of Sidney Sussex and Cleethorpes.

The ‘broken window’ theory was discussed many times and, to someone who is locally born and bred, it was apparent that David would do everything he could to make the area as safe and appealing to residents and visitors as possible.

The ‘broken window’ theory suggests that any problem that that is not dealt with in a given environment affects people’s attitude toward that environment and leads to more problems. For example, if there is litter in the street, more people are likely to throw their rubbish on the floor.

“Sidney Sussex ward is quite varied. There are mixed demographics, with residential areas as well as the sea front.

“The areas have different priorities, but we understand and analyse them. It’s vital to know your area. We have a system that collates the statistics, and gives dates and times, so we can focus on a particular location at a time when we know crime is most likely to occur.

“In some areas, we know drugs and antisocial behaviour are the main concerns. I know to some people it might look like we are not doing much, but my colleagues are often out in plain clothes gathering intel and building up that knowledge and evidence.

“The same applies to motorbikes, which are an issue in other parts of the ward. There’s always something being done as it’s on our beat plan, so we’re accountable to that.”

PC Mickleburgh has certainly been able to transfer some of his teaching skills to the world of neighbourhood policing, particularly interaction with the community.

“We’re encouraged to be ourselves and to have our own personalities – we are human after all!

“In neighbourhood policing we get to spend time with the community. It’s important to be friendly.

“I want to be stopped and talked to. I say hello to everyone and, if someone doesn’t react well, it’s a great icebreaker to talk to them more and try to find out why they didn’t want to talk.

“At the end of the day, we want to help give people in our areas hope.”

To find out more about the Sidney Sussex Neighbourhood Policing Team, click here.