RESPECT, dignity and politeness are things you need to be a good police officer, George Cook says. After 47 years in the Essex Special Constabulary, he should know.

George – he hates being called Mr Cook – joined the Specials in December 1963. His two eldest brothers were regular officers. He was keen to follow in their footsteps, but the force’s strict entry criteria meant George’s less than 20-20 vision was a problem.

Instead, he became a Special Constable, keeping his day job and pounding the beat in his spare time.

In those days, he worked in the City, though later, his day-job and his part-time role moved closer when he took a civilian job with Essex Police, as Southend police station’s admin manager.

Five years ago, he reached the pinnacle of his career with the Special Constabulary, becoming its Chief Officer, a post from which he will officially retire in October.

In almost five decades, George has seen policing change hugely, but feels its core values are unchanged. He explained: “I always say to all the new recruits: ‘We will give you the best training and equipment, but your best weapon is your tongue. Treat people with respect, courtesy and dignity’. I was brought up to respect people and to have discipline.

“Ninety-five per cent of young people are as good as gold. We all have a bit of fight in us, growing up, but if parents, teachers and coppers get it right, it can be controlled.”

A vital weapon in George’s armory as a Special has always been his sense of humour. He said: “You’ve got to have some fun and you’ve got to make people laugh. You have to inject some humour into things. We lead stressful lives these days, and youngsters are under such pressure – pressure in in school, pressure to smoke and pressure to take drugs or drink alcohol.

“Sometimes you can take the sting out of a situation by having some fun.”

One incident saw a George taking inspiration from movie actor Paul Newman’s character, Patrolman Murphy, in the film, Fort Apache the Bronx.

Newman is confronted by a crazed knifeman. Instinctively, he turns his hat backwards, pulls a stupid face and does a crazy dance towards the astonished knifeman – allowing him safely to pluck the blade away.

George’s encounter might not have involved a weapon, but his actions calmed a man who was not only very angry, but very large. He said: “I remember thinking, if he hit me, I was going through the pavement and never coming up.

“Afterwards, he had an enormous amount of respect for the coppers, which was a good result. I’d been saved from being bloodied and beaten – and he wasn’t even arrested.”

Looking back over 47 years of changing policing methods, George believes the recent return to neighbourhood policing to be important. He explained: “You can’t engage with the public unless you talk to them – and you can’t do that from a car. We can’t police society on our own. We need the help of the media, teachers, social workers, the butcher, the baker and the rest.”

He says, 45 years ago, when he first served in his home town, Southend, 600 coaches of visitors would sometimes arrive on a Saturday night. He added: “Although we don’t get those coaches any more, the night time economy has changed. That’s when we get most of our problems.”

Reflecting on the job, George said: “Our role is to protect life and property. The public – rightly so – is far more aware of its rights and is reporting far more crime.

“What has changed is a huge increase in the laws and regulations. All the agencies and the Government need to do something to reduce bureaucracy, not just talk about it.

“Once you nick someone, you’ve got to bring them in and then there’s a plethora of paperwork to be completed.”

On Thursday, George handed over the day-to-day management of the county’s Specials to Derek Hopkins, though officially, he will be Chief Officer until October.