Jianmin Ghulamati told me how to spot any suspicious person from a simple distance.

“Don’t look at those who don’t have coats on, or those who are drunk and make eye contact, as they might look a bit strange and probably a threat; this only works on people who look suspicious,” she said.

Her advice? It’s essential to remember that only a few people are at any one time in the area at one time, and in the early stages of the operation you may feel a bit out of place, especially if you have just come out of a nightclub or a concert in the early hours.

But once you’ve established that any suspicious person is a low probability individual, and that they shouldn’t be approached further, a number of different things can be done:

* Give them a friendly smile.

* Give them a reassuring lift or backhand. You could even tell them that these are some important steps in your recovery while you move through the police.

* Don’t give them any money at all, or just say the police won’t take it, and ask them to get on with their recovery and continue with their day.

For a second hand jacket I got off Ebay, I will say to the person looking for it:

* “I can assure you that these are the items that I’m currently working on, and can’t give any details to the public”.

* “We’d need to work on these again in order for you to sell them”.

* “If you do want to sell them, we might even come down and come back to pick them up again, as I know that sometimes when you get those items I’m often quite busy, and I might not be able to answer all of your phones, so be patient with me”.

This approach means that, although if a new face was to come forward it could cause more harm than good, there is still a positive outcome that could be achieved from the story. “Sometimes people are wary of police and that is understandable. But if we can convince them that we’re looking out for them and taking action in the right way they’re less likely to be intimidated”, said Ghulamati.

* Remember that these are people who may or may not have been involved in a crime, and that the person in question may not want to be confronted by the force.