Pigs on Patrol

My first encounter with the police occurred in the smaller section of the Central/UTS tunnel where I had set up on a Friday to test the location. Four officers wandered up and I stood up to greet them, offering a free print with my ever graceful foot in mouth comment of…

Nothing like bribing the local constabulary. If you see one you like, just let me know as they are free.

…their response was a polite no thank you as they were on duty.

Fair enough.

A couple of minutes later after I returned to working on my dragon, there was a tap on my shoulder as the smallest officer asked to speak to me.

Apparently someone had phoned up the police to report me drawing on the ground. Expecting the worst, the four officers had been dispatched to apprehend the vandal.

Upon encountering someone who responded in a friendly manner (even taking into account my foot in mouth issue), who was careful not to mark the area (using cardboard between the paper and pavement) and the obvious interest of students who had stopped to admire the work, the police realised I wasn’t exactly what they were expecting when they arrived.

A couple of questions later, revealing that normally I was down in Pitt St Mall on a friday and that I normally packed up at 5 to go meet friends, only still being in the area because I was closer to the station.

The officer was very friendly, reassuring me that they respected what I was doing and had no problems with it. The only thing they could determine was a space related issue due to the increasing size of the dragon and as I had been planning to move shortly they didn’t feel the need to issue a move on order, wishing me well in my pursuit.

So the moral of the story boys and girls, is that how you treat someone goes a long way towards how you are treated. Profiling is obviously a bit of an issue, but the best approach is an open and friendly one.

Police are there to do a job and if you get into trouble, having them on your side is obviously a good thing.