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Julie Newton |
Julie’s in thin blue line for a top cop award
PCSO: ‘I’ve got best job in the world’
JULIE Newton’s daily beat takes in some of the more down-at-heel parts of the borough: homeless hostels, dingy alleyways and shopping centre toilets.
But on Wednesday evening the Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) will find erself in the more glamorous surroundings of the Park Lane Hilton for a police convention that should have every crook in the West End hunting for a getaway ride to the suburbs.
Ms Newton, 35, has been nominated in the PCSO of the Year category at the Jane’s Police Review Gala Awards – the only national award ceremony for the police force in the UK.
A PCSO for the past seven years, the single mother who came into the job with barely a qualification to her name having left school at 15 to look after her son, has won the praise of her peers at Belgravia and Charing Cross police stations for her work with the area’s homeless community.
Ms Newton is credited with stamping out crime at the Victoria Hostel in Castle Lane, heading up a joint action group of residents, clients, council workers and charity groups to restore the peace.
She said being a PCSO in Westminster is the “best job in the world”.
“I remember seeing an advert for the job and I liked the sound of it,” said Ms Newton.
“The community bit appealed to me.
“PCSOs get a bad name, and you definitely need thick skin to do the job, but you can really make a difference.
“A lot of people use the job as a stepping stone to become a PC, but for me I never want to be anything else.
“Because we don’t have the threatening garb of PCs you have to be a great communicator, using your voice and words to diffuse situations.
“It’s all about conflict management – that’s the most testing part of the job. For me just being nominated is like being a winner.”
Ms Newton will be fighting it out with 40 PCSOs from around the country for the award.
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