Colchester police officers joined by the Gazette for a shift

And while it wasn’t the most high-octane stuff, it certainly gave an insight into the day-to-day work carried out by the officers from their base in Southway.

Perhaps the pace of Monday’s late shift was best summed up by the fed-up parent in Greenstead who called the officers to come and tell her son to tidy his room.

“Not quite the right use of police time,” said PC Lucy Robson.

On the beat - PC Lucy Robson and PC Steph Harris patrol Castle Park (Image: Newsquest)

However, the incident did help paint a picture of a wider system under serious pressure.

Police officers are now being asked to be carers, mental health responders, support workers - all due to other institutions being in crisis.

It is mental health issues which are being increasingly dealt with by constables, but it is taking them off the streets.

“Mental health is linked to every job we deal with in one way or another, whether they have got something to do with crime or not,” said Lucy.

“It has been the same since I have been in the job. It does consume us a lot.

Presence - officers attended a domestic incident at a property near North Station Road (Image: Newsquest)

“If you go to Colchester Hospital you will see so many police cars and these are officers who are not responding to jobs.”

Lucy revealed how in three years she has only ever been offered a crisis bed at the Lakes Mental Health Hospital for a patient once.

Her shift partner Steph Harris added: “Because the NHS is so stretched we might be stuck with them for hours and hours and that is time we’re not responding to incidents.”

The officers aren’t immune to their own battles with the toll taken from jobs they attend.

The day before, Lucy had to break the news to a woman that her husband had died after getting into difficulty in the water in Frinton.

Frontline - a row in Tesco saw officers called for support (Image: Newsquest)

“It just makes me want to cry,” she explained, reliving that all-too-short walk to the front door moments before changing someone’s life forever.

“It’s easy to forget we’re human, it’s impossible to do this part of the job without finding it upsetting.”

Back on the beat, the officers are looking for a group which has been seen shooting “gel” at people visiting Castle Park, in the city centre.

Following a patrol and the pursuit of inquiries, incidents start to come in thick and fast over the radio.

A woman who claimed to be suicidal and walked off from Colchester Hospital was quickly located in Mile End.

Response - the officers quickly located a woman in Mile End who had concerns raised for her welfare (Image: Newsquest)

A family dispute which turned for the worse was attended in Greenstead before another callout to a similar incident.

Officers also drove to West Mersea and carried out a patrol in response to concerns from residents.

On the way back to Colchester, reports of a theft come in.

But upon arrival, the theft appears to be a mum angry at her son for taking what she thinks is “too much food” from the fridge.

Hard at work - Colchester police station (Image: Newsquest)

The officers are more than happy to help, opting to draft up a letter for support from social services, but they admit it can be frustrating.

Steph said: “Although we want to be doing the so-called bigger crimes, to these people the trivial issues are a big deal.

“Often they genuinely want help and just don’t know how to go about getting it.”

It’s the approach which has epitomised the shift; officers doing the best job they can under mounting pressures.

And while Colchester is battling its demons with well-documented problems impacting the city centre, it’s clear to see the officers trying to police it are committed to doing so.