Merseyside Police officers received gifts ranging from eggs and mince pies to a coffee machine and signed rugby shirt.
At the height of the pandemic, 72 pizzas were delivered to the force - though Covid-influenced generosity typically stretched to smaller items like disposable gloves and a ‘knitted face mask extender’.
Senior officers were also invited to attend dinners at Liverpool FC and the Grand National according to a public record.
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Officers are obliged to document donations, acts of kindness and offers of hospitality in a register that is made available to the public.
The 2020 ‘gifts and hospitality’ list, now published, gives an - at times - heartwarming insight into the gestures made towards officers on duty.
One such case saw an “elderly woman” attempt to buy lunch for officers in a sandwich shop.
The log explains: “Whilst going to buy lunch at a sandwich shop in Bootle an elderly woman has come up to me to try and hand me £10 to buy mine and my colleagues’ lunch, I kindly declined and walked into the shop.
“As my colleague went to pay for the sandwich it appeared the female had come in whilst we were ordering and gave the cashier the £10 to cover our lunch, left no details other [than] that, saying she appreciated the work we did.”
The officer said they had informed their sergeant of the act of kindness.
The knitted face mask extender and a dream catcher were among the homemade gifts handed to officers, while on two occasions in 2020 they were donated eggs.
Boxes of cakes, biscuits and chocolates were regularly received, as were flowers and, on occasion, bottles of alcohol.
There were more expensive gifts handed in as well, with several £50 gift cards accepted “in accordance with policy” and, in April 2020, the delivery of 72 pizzas valued at a combined total of £1,440.
The register does not reveal the source of the free pizzas.
A signed Wigan Warriors shirt was donated - to a police facility in St Helens - while a pub offered unwanted picnic tables for the force to ‘upcycle’.
The register also details hospitality offers including invites to dinners at Liverpool Football Club, the Grand National Weights Lunch - which took place in February, two months before the festival was cancelled due to Covid - and a Mersey Maritime Industry Awards evening.
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: “It is testament to the hard work and professionalism of our officers and staff that from time to time members of the public want to express their gratitude to them by offering them a gift.
“It’s particularly heartening to see the kindness and generosity shown by members of the public and businesses during this pandemic. Some of these gifts, like the donated pizzas, were received at the height of lockdown as a thank you for their service.
“We know that our dedicated officers and staff have continued to serve their communities in exceptional circumstances, and it was such a morale boost to those working long and unpredictable hours to see the outpouring of gratitude to police and other key workers.”
The spokesperson added: “The public rightly expect that our officers and staff abide by the highest standards of professionalism, honesty and integrity and, as public servants, do not compromise or abuse their position.
“That is why the register exists and is published online for the public to see.”
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