Boomerang and foot cream among host of presents to police

POLICE officers have been presented with a boomerang, shampoo and foot cream.

The unusual items are among a list of gifts given to officers at Lothian and Borders Police, which also includes the more mundane invitations to government receptions and official lunches.

The motive behind the boomerang gift is not recorded, nor is the reason why other residents decided to present officers in Edinburgh with the shampoo and hand and foot cream.

A total of 66 gifts to the force were recorded since last January, and many have an international flavour.

New Deputy Chief Constable Steve Allen was invited to a concert showcasing the classical Bharatanatyam dance at the Indian Consulate in the city's Rutland Square, while Assistant Chief Constable Iain Livingstone welcomed visitors from France and China, receiving a leather business card holder and fountain pen and tie from his respective guests.

Representatives from Finland and Poland both gave the force CDs of homegrown music, while the Chinese Consulate offered a silk scarf and a bottle of whisky.

Other gifts of alcohol were not in short supply, with six bottles of Macallan whisky presented on behalf of HRH Prince El Hassan of Jordan, while six bottles of alcohol and ten cans of beer were gifted by Barclays Funeral Directors, a firm which also invited officers to its Christmas night out.

The generosity of the Chinese Consulate was on display again when it handed over a bottle of the national drink, rice wine, to a police sergeant in January. Not to be outdone, the US Consulate made an offering of a bottle of its native Jack Daniels.

As the head of the force, Chief Constable David Strang was well-placed to receive a number of gifts, including invites to dinners with both Edinburgh's Lord and Lady Provost and the Moderator of the General Assembly, as well as attending the Triennial Dinner celebrations for the Royal College of Surgeons in January.

Former deputy chief constable Tom Halpin also received a number of invites before his retirement last August, including an offer from the French Consul General to an event onboard one of the country's naval training ships.

A number of companies also weighed in with surprises, with Domino's delivering five pizzas to officers at the Wester Hailes station last September and supermarket giant Tesco handing over a 10 gift voucher.

The details of the gifts were released under a freedom of information request made by Michael Traill, a council worker from Portobello.

A police spokesman said: "Any gifts presented to Lothian and Borders Police can only be accepted if doing so does not conflict with the professional interests of the force. Each gift received is logged on our hospitality register and illustrates the positive relations we continue to build with our local communities."

THEY'VE GOT IT WRAPPED UP

THE list of gifts handed over to Lothian and Borders Police shows an often unusual regard for the work carried out by the force.

Among the other presents on the gift list were 13 silver tankards gifted by the Taxi Drivers Association last February.

A visiting group of Chinese police officers left a model of a tree as a token of their esteem, while the Abu Dhabi police force preferred an unspecified "ornament" to show their thanks.

Beaumont Solicitors sent greetings to officers at St Leonards police station along with 24 bottles of beer and a tin of chocolates.

Officers would be unlikely to go hungry for long, thanks to meals provided by Sacro, the Annual Edinburgh Insurers Dinner and organisers at the Peebles Beltane Festival.