In this game, the score mattered little. Earlier this month, off-duty officers from the Rocks Local Area Command and the Sydney Community Street Soccer Team met for a friendly soccer match at the King George V Recreation Centre in The Rocks.
The Street Soccer Team is comprised of members from marginalised sections of society, including the homeless.
It was a competitive and fast-paced match and the Street Soccer Team was the eventual winners after a dramatic penalty shootout.
Detective Inspector Simon Jones, crime manager with the Rocks Local Area Command said the homeless community’s interactions with the police are not always positive.
“It’s not easy just to go up and talk to people where their experiences with police previously have not been pleasant.”
Mr Jones said the real value of the match was that it provided an opportunity to break down barriers between the police and the homeless.
During Monday’s game, these barriers dissolved.
“[The match] does help interaction. You’re interacting both on the sideline and on the pitch,” he said.
This affected not only the off-duty police officers involved in the match, but also those on-duty officers who were present.
“We had a couple of our uniformed officers, who were working, come down. Because the barriers had started to drop by that time it allowed the uniformed guys to interact as well.”
Mr Jones said: “The common denominator is they enjoy a physical activity, we enjoy a physical activity.”
He said it was imperative for the police to be able to communicate with people from all walks of life. Events such as this soccer match are part of developing that skill.
“I’m hoping to encourage my guys to be able to get out there and talk to people. Talk to these guys, give them five minutes, listen to them for five minutes. It’s amazing what those five minutes can do not only for yourself, but also for the individual you are talking to.” Of course, a game of soccer does not solve all problems.
Mr Jones admits that such interactions are only one step in a much larger process.
He hopes that these matches will grow into a larger initiative but admitted it is still in its early phase.
During the post-game barbeque Mr Jones said a Street Soccer player “went and grabbed his guitar, came and sat down and just started playing and singing. I distinctly remember singling him out at the end of the day just to say thanks. We appreciated that.”
By Dominic Dietrich
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