Better Not Buy Those Wine Gums, Officer….

Leicestershire Police have banned their officers from drinking Shandy Bass while on duty, despite the fact that it contains barely a sniff of actual alcohol:

Leicestershire Police ordered a complete ban after an internal memo was passed round by the Professional Standards Department.

The memo warned that there was a chance people would get a "whiff of alcohol" despite the beverage containing only 0.5 per cent, and being officially classed as a soft drink.

You’d think the Professional Standards Departments in the various police forces would be too busy to worry about this sort of thing, wouldn’t you?

It said: "There is every likelihood that members of the public who come into contact with a member of staff who has consumed such a drink will smell what they perceive to be alcohol on the officer's breath.

"This would create the wrong impression and is unacceptable."

So, has any member of the public complained…?

No, this is another case of your colleagues being even worse than the public:

The order was reportedly issued after a police officer was taken aside by a senior colleague after he enjoyed a can of Shandy Bass with some fish and chips.

Kevan Allcock, secretary of the Leicestershire Police Federation, said the officer initially involved thought he was going to be told "some serious bad news" as he was taken to a room and reprimanded over his Shandy Bass drinking.

There’s a senior officer who knows everything there is to know about the theory of management, and absolutely nothing about the practicality of it…

Mr Allcock said: "When I first heard about it, I treated it as a joke or at least some kind of over exuberance from a senior officer and then the advice came through from the Professional Standards Department.

"You could drink a bathful of Shandy Bass and you still wouldn't be drunk."

If you set up a ‘Professional Standards Department’ expect them to do this sort of thing. They need to justify their own jobs, after all.

A Leicestershire Police spokeswoman said: "Leicestershire officers have been advised not to consume any beverages that may give the impression they have been drinking alcohol - regardless of its actual alcohol content.

"This is an issue of public perception and many people would have concerns if an officer arrived at their home smelling of alcohol.

"All staff, particularly those in face-to-face contact with members of the public, were advised to use common sense and consider whether they might be giving the impression they were consuming alcohol."

Why feel the need to tell staff to ‘use common sense’, when it’s plain you don’t intend to heed that advice yourself…?