Evenin' All; policing in Harringay just like it used to be

PC Glynn Kelly, 20 years on the beat in Harringay

Walking home yesterday afternoon I bumped into PC Glyn Kelly the affable Geordie beat bobby for Harringay ward.

I've met Glyn numerous times at various local meetings, but to my shame have never really chatted with him.

Talking with him on Wightman Road yesterday, I was amazed to learn that Glyn has been quietly walking the beat in Harringay for the past twenty years. In this time he has built up an encyclopaedic knowledge of our area, its recent history and the people who live here. Dixon of Dock Green for the 21st Century. How on earth do you put a value on that?

Glyn was also one of the pioneers of the use of social media by the Metropolitan Police in London. When HoL started the Met Police as a whole didn't officially approve of officers using social media. Locally, most of the residents groups, local politicians and the local council were just plain suspicious. Glyn just got it. He understood how something like HoL could be used to keep people informed and to build up good will. And what a great job he did of it. With the growth of the website and, I strongly suspect, policy changes, Glyn has sadly handed over active communication on the site to Haringey HQ. But he still uses it to keep up to date. He was aware yesterday, for example, of the issue on Seymour Road from a post added the previous afternoon.

The attached pdf gives some idea of how the police used HoL between 2008 and 2010. Glyn was the pioneer in this.

So, Glyn, a big thank you for quietly getting on with your job and helping to keep us all safe for the past twenty years. Thank you also to the other boys and girls in blue keeping us safe in all three wards that are part of Harringay.

The spirit of local boy Ted Willis, the dramatist behind Dixon of Dock Green, must be beaming from ear to ear.