NORMAL people, just like you, doing a job like no other.
That's the message a new online campaign by the Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI) wants to get across to the people of Northern Ireland.
The PFNI is described as a representative body of 10500 police officers of the ranks below Chief Inspector.
The campaign, designed change how the people see the police in their area, was launched on March 1.
The #WeAreYou initiative is made up of three mini-movies designed to be screened in cinemas and streamed on social media platforms, showing the everyday pressures faced by police officers in their jobs and at home as mothers, fathers, sons and daughters.
A new website offering real life stories and behind the scenes information has been set up at weareyou.org.uk.
A message on the homepage reads: #WeAreYou is about normal people doing a job like no other. Officers are attacked, insulted, threatened and criticised. Behind the uniform, they are the same as the rest of us. They have mortgages, bills, family pressures. Good days, bad days. They may wear a uniform, but they are you.
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PFNI Chairman, Mark Lindsay, said for too long, police officers were seen as separate from the community in the North, but out of uniform they faced the same pressures as everyone else.
Mr Lindsay said:
Our men and women are wives, husbands, parents, brothers, sisters and all of them have to grapple with daily challenges that are exactly the same as those confronted by their extended families and friends."
“They have to worry about mortgages, schools, debt, everyday bills, in short, balancing the books.
“More than that, they have to worry about their safety and the security of their families in a climate where the terrorist threat level is rated ‘severe’.
The Northern Ireland Justice Minister, David Ford MLA, welcomed the #WeAreYou campaign as a genuine attempt to better explain the role and work undertaken by Officers.
Mr Ford said: “Their job is like no other and they deserve the understanding and support of the wider community who want a more normal society free from terrorism and criminality.”
So far the #WeAreYou campaign has had a positive reaction from twitter users
#weareyou campaign is an insightful strategy executed brilliantly. Congrats to whoever the agency/creatives are. https://t.co/ZC3zYGdDrk
— Mike Fleming (@mikeflemingCopy) March 1, 2016
Watch one of the videos here and tell us what you think
See More: #WeAreYou, Featured, PFNI, Police Northern Ireland, Twitter
