Pay day, Friday night.
For most of us it is a chance to let our hair down after a hard month’s work.
Thousands of revellers hit Dundee city centre for food, drinks and dancing with friends.
It is a chance to relax a well-earned break from the daily grind.
But that is not the case for the dozen-or-so officers tasked with keeping the people in the city centre safe for them, a busy night of work awaits.
It is 10.30pm. As the pubs and clubs of Dundee are starting to fill up, 14 policemen and women are briefed on the night ahead.
The chatter ranges from the foam party at Beau nightclub, which is expected to be popular, to people who are banned from various establishments, to the vulnerable missing people who could be in the area.
Patrol routes and call-signs are dished out with military precision. Final checks are made. Then the officers head out.
“It is about keeping people safe,” Inspector Suzanne Smith said.
“Dundee has an extremely popular and vibrant city centre with lots of bars, pubs and clubs. You expect several thousand people to be out, particularly on pay day.
“What we are doing is making sure everyone is going out and having a good time. We’re here to help that happen.”
Just a stone’s throw from the police headquarters at Bell Street is the Safe Zone Bus, which is nestled next to two of the city’s busiest nightclubs.
It is an initiative, largely funded by the city council, which is designed to free up police time by providing more tailored services for people who might find themselves in difficulties on a night out.
“We can have as many as 20 people coming here on a typical Friday or Saturday night,” Safe Zone team leader Louise Rouke said.
“We free up police time. We help people get home safely. We have medical staff who can help people if they might’ve fallen over or hurt themselves.
“It is just a calm environment where people can come and talk.”
On the other side of the city centre, at the newly opened Beau Nightclub, two officers are doing their routine checks.
They do this across the bars and clubs of the city check the toilets for drug misuse, liaise with door staff and ensure premises are living up to their strict licensing obligations.
“We have a great working relationship with the police,” Beau owner Tahir Ramzan said.
“We feed information to them and they feed information to us. It gives them time for preparation, particularly if we have a very big event on, we will tell them in advance.
“Compared to 10 years or so ago, it has hugely improved.”
Other licensees, such as Stuart Smith at the newly opened Wine Press on Exchange Street, agree.
Alex Crichton, a security manager who has been working doors in Dundee for almost 30 years, is another who believes the police’s strategy has never been better.
“We’re able to talk to the police through the radio system and can tell them if there’s a troublemaker or someone is drunk and disorderly, stuff like that. It is pretty effective. It certainly makes our jobs a lot easier,” he said.