Police Scotland, Greater Glasgow Division – Partnerships
On 1st November 2023, I was invited to give the welcome and opening address to the One Glasgow Let’s Get Reconnected Event at the Emirates Arena, setting the event in the context of working in collaboration. The purpose of the event itself was to:
- Increase participants awareness of a complex eco-system;
- Enhance their knowledge and understanding of the delivery environment;
- Make vital links to improve multiple outcomes through better joined up working;
- Promote and share information about their services; and
- Enhance their inward and outward referral flow.
The invite provided an opportunity for me to reflect on collaboration and the role it plays in the context of the vulnerable young people who come into contact with, or who are at risk of coming into contact with, the justice system in Glasgow.
There is no more important time than now for meaningful collaboration and joint working practices across statutory agencies, public sector and third sector to improve outcomes. Demand is high, budgets and finances are tight, so working collaboratively and utilising a whole-systems public health approach – which targets the underlying issues (the pieces of evidence), whether they be personal, familial or societal – is vital if we are to truly improve the outcomes for young people who may be prevented from achieving their full potential.
My reflections took me back to my early days as a Police Officer training at Tulliallan, and a principle that I was first introduced to then – Locard’s Principle. I was introduced to this in the context of forensic science, but I think, when reflecting on the importance of collaboration, it is just as relevant.
Edmond Locard was a French forensics scientist born in the 19th century who gave his name to an idea which remains fundamental to the way in which we investigate crime in the 21st century. It has been used to solve the most serious murders in Scotland. Locard’s Principle is only five words and quite simply says ‘Every contact leaves a trace’.
Every time two objects come into contact with one another, an exchange happens. Picture the following scene: a family home in a quiet residential street. A thief climbs over the back garden fence, leaving footprints in the flower bed. He breaks a ground floor window, cutting himself as he does so, leaving drops of blood on the sill. As he climbs through, he catches his clothing leaving fibres on the edges of the glass and once inside he leaves his fingerprints over all of the surfaces. Finally, as he tries to make his escape the registration plate of his car is captured by a CCTV camera.
Okay, so he is not the brightest of thieves – but I hope this small story offers just a small insight into the genius that is Locard. So, imagine, the Police do their job well and they get to the scene quickly. They find the footprints and the blood; they recover the fibres and the fingerprints. Evidence of the suspect left at the scene and they catch up with him quickly enough to find mud from the flower bed on the bottom of his shoes and microscopic fragments of glass all over his clothing. And because they are having a particularly good day and because it is my story, they even find everything that he has stolen in the back of his car. Evidence from the scene carried by him. It is a powerful principle that explains how a great many crimes get solved.
Traces of the scene carried by the suspect, traces from the suspect left at the scene. Because every contact leaves a trace.
But if you think about it even more it seems to me that Locard’s principle has an application that goes beyond the investigation of crime. It has an application for every kind of human relationship and interaction. Every time two people come into contact with one another, an exchange takes place.
We encourage, we ignore, we hold out a hand or withdraw it, we walk towards, or we walk away, we bless, or we curse, we love, or we hate, and every single contact, every single interaction leaves a trace. If all the participants of the Let’s Get Reconnected event made those traces positive, encouraging, meaningful, optimistic ones – interactions that collaborated around the needs of the vulnerable young people who come into contact with our justice system – just imagine how powerful that would be in addressing the multiple and complex needs that will have brought them there in the first instance.
Every contact you make leaves a trace and I would encourage you to make it the most effective and supportive as you can.