he, ee FOR MORE than a week during the British promotional event held recently at Park Royal shopping centre in West Vancouver, homesick U.K. expatriates made a point of br- inging in their children to meet the ‘‘real”’ British bobbies. “Northumbria Police Force of- ficers Insp. Malcolm Magnay, 39, and Det. Const. Linda Brown, 28, were there as part of the promo- tional razzle-dazzle which saw in part a Rolls-Royce balance on four Wedgwood teacups and characters depicting Britain’s past mingle with the mail masses. Said Magnay, a 20-year veteran with the force and currently work- ing as an operational inspector in Northumberland: ‘‘You hardly walk one or two steps before you are accosted by people. “The mystique’ with regard to the British police officer is origi- nally we’ve been on the beat and we’ye had a certain relationship with the general public. The of- ficers were. friendly and used to _ deal more like a counselling service through a combination of proba- tion service and social service, and used to advise people what to do and sort their domestic problems out, Unfortunately, with the ad- vent of the motor car, that was de-personalized. We’ve now returned officers on the beat to foot patrol to maintain this high profile.” . .For people dropping by to the mall to see the bobbies, the sen- timental floodgates opened once it was determined the two weren’t simply actors hired to tug at English heartstrings. Said Brown, a drug squad of- ficer: ‘‘One of the things has been that they want to know about places back home — ‘Do you know such and such a place? I’ve got a relative there.’ They want to hear you say, ‘Ya, that shop’s still there.’ “They’re also a little bit fasci- nated about how we got to be here. It’s certainly not a regular occur- rence. People have asked us if we're real.” The two were pressed into public relations service by virtue of their collective depth of service as police officers. Magnay’s curriculum vitae includes stints on foot patrol and highway patrol. He went on to computer studies, and was involv- ed in a five-year, multi-million- pound-sterling project to develop a command and contro] network for the Northumbria force. Brown has served with the force for 10% years, She joined at ege 19 and worked a beat five ycars in uniform. She moved on to join Computer Skills for the Workplace Register Early! For Course Schedule and more information, call 984-434 Gene student succeeds PAGE 37 NEWS photo Mike Wakofleld BRITISH BOBBIES Det. Const. Linda Brown, left, and Insp. Malcolm: Magnay, right, were treated to a free airborne tour of the North Shore by Vancouver Helicopters Inc. during their recent locai visit. special squads including a purse on the drug squad for the past 24% staff. The force serves a theft squad, shoplifting squad, years. geographical area approximately plain clothes criminal investiga- The Northumbria Police Force is 50 miles long by about 40 miles tions (burglaries, assaults and the eighth largest in England with wide. The two major cities in the break and enters) and a domestic an approximate manpower of See Police child abuse section. She has been 3,500 officers and 2,000 support Page 37 BRITISH COLUMBIA'S : | FIRST EVER | <1. BRIO-MEC WORKSHOP SERIES ..for children aged 3 and up... (accompanied by an adult) (Friday, Oct. 14 tam-2pm 3 Workshops (Friday, Oct. 14 6pm-9pm ot (Saturday, Oct. 15 ttam-2pm PRIZES 3 FREE Brio-Mec #1 sets (value: $40) 1 FREE Brio-Mec #2 sets (value: $60°) FREE ADMISSION pre-register 5 ~~ or drop in... (limit: 30 children per workshop) > ‘ Store hours: 986-4111 Ya a ~~ Mon-Sat. 9:30-5:30 g iy 1065 Marine Drive (Fridays till 9:00) (at Lloyd) Sundays 11:00-5:00 North Vancouver, B.C.