Journal articles

21st February 2017

The New Commissioner's In Tray

This week sees the final interviews for the job of Met Commissioner. There are some truly outstanding people in the running. And what awaits the successful candidate? Simply, the honour and responsibility of leading the finest police service in the world. The Met has its faults and failings of cour

6th February 2017

Taking its Toll

It seems to me that we, as a society, owe a remarkable debt to police officers and their civilian colleagues. Pause for a moment to think about what we ask of the men and women in blue - what we expect of them. Amongst the humdrum and the routine, we expect them to go where most wouldn’t and to do

25th January 2017

Heroes of our Time

On Tuesday 24th January 2017, whilst scrolling through my Twitter feed, I came across the stories of three very remarkable men. Stories of quite astonishing courage. But, aside from a passing mention in a couple of newspapers they seem, largely, to have been overlooked by the mainstream media – an

19th January 2017

Addicted to Violence

Violence. Society is addicted to it. In homes. On streets. Outside pubs and clubs on a Friday night. After the football. On TV. In the cinema. On games consoles. On the web. In fact and in fiction. We pursue it. We portray it. We glamourise it. We normalise it. We show it in slow motion replay. A

5th January 2017

Policing Challenges in 2017

So here we are then, at the beginning of 2017. And the multitude of challenges facing the police service in Britain are, it seems to me, greater than at any point since the end of the Second World War. I.    Operational There are the crime challenges: Terrorism Serious Violence - including Hom

19th December 2016

A Copper's Christmas

Allow me if you will to present a retelling of the traditional Christmas story, using detail drawn from a little known historical source - the archives of the Bethlehem Police Department. One document in particular, the BPD Daily Crime Bulletin, offers a fascinating insight into the work of a hithe

16th December 2016

Guest Blog: A Copper's Tale

Allow me to introduce you to a colleague of mine, PC Ben Forbes. He's a remarkable man. A couple of weeks back, he emailed me his story and asked what I thought of it. I told him it was powerful stuff - and that people should read it. He asked me if I'd be willing to publish it. So here it is. H

9th December 2016

Misconduct & Mistakes

It occurs to me that, from time to time, police officers make mistakes. It also occurs to me that we live in a world that is increasingly unforgiving of them when they do. There are, of course, any number of reasons why police officers might get it wrong: (1) Because they are human Though my wif

23rd November 2016

What Coppers Want

On Tuesday 22nd November 2016, a Met police officer was stabbed three times in the stomach. He was one of four London-based officers injured in separate incidents on the same day. One PC had their hand broken, one was attacked with a hypodermic needle and another was punched in the face. They were

18th November 2016

Meet the Press

I know some brilliant journalists. I’m proud to count some of them as friends. And dealing with the media is an important part of my job - something, believe it or not, that I actually enjoy. As a police officer, I have a professional responsibility to engage, to respond, to explain – and, dare I s

11th November 2016

Two Sides

There are two sides to every story. Every conversation. Every meeting. And there are two sides to every encounter between a police officer and a member of the public. Somewhere out there today, an officer will be dealing with a victim; a suspect; a witness; a protestor; a passer by; a young pers

1st November 2016

Knife Crime

I’ve written about this before. But it keeps happening. And at what point are we going to accept that current approaches to tackling Knife Crime in England & Wales just aren’t working? How many more young lives is it going to take? In 2007, I stood at the scene of the murder of Kodjo Yenga a

3rd October 2016

Heroes

Soldiering and Coppering are not the same thing – though there are certain common threads that might be drawn from the lives of police officers and military personnel. Beginning with the courage, compassion and simple humanity that characterises the best of them. Soldiers (and sailors and the men a

20th September 2016

When I was a PC

  When I started out as a PC in the early 1990s, things were a little different to the way they are now. I handwrote my first crime reports on large sheets of colour-coded paper and filed them in binders in the CID office. I prepared my warrant applications on an antique typewriter – one of those

7th September 2016

Spitting Feathers

I’m not an expert on Spit Hoods. In fact, even as a serving officer, I was completely unaware of them until relatively recently. If I’m honest – and this is very much a personal view – I think they look pretty alarming. And so do a lot of other people if the debate of the last couple of days is an

23rd August 2016

Somewhere Out There Today

Somewhere out there today, a police officer will tell you that there’s no other job that comes close to this one. Somewhere out there today, a police officer will save the life of a complete stranger. And they will risk their own life to do so. Somewhere out there today, a police officer will talk

4th August 2016

Yesterday in London

Yesterday in London, at about 11.25am, armed criminals attempted to rob a jewellery store in Piccadilly. Members of the Flying Squad, carrying out an intelligence-led operation, moved in immediately to arrest them. All four suspects were detained, but not without a desperate struggle. Four officers

27th July 2016

At the End of the Day

At the end of the day… I will pause for a moment or two. And I will remember the places I’ve been and the faces I’ve seen. I will think of all the lives I’ve encountered - strangers and old friends, the lost and the used, the homeless and helpless, the scared and abused. I will think of crime sce

19th July 2016

Trying to Make Sense of the World

I don't understand why a person armed with an axe would choose to board a train and attack a group of strangers. But I do know that love is stronger than hate. I don't understand why a person would choose to drive a lorry into an innocent crowd, intending only to kill and destroy. But I do know t

16th June 2016

Ten Thoughts About Leadership

  I’ve been a police officer for 24 years. I’ve been a human being for 46. I’ve seen and experienced plenty of brilliant leadership in that time. I’ve also seen and experienced the alternatives. Here’s what I’ve learned so far.   I.     It’s people stupid Right there. That’s the whole ball gam

1st June 2016

Psychological Contracts for Dummies

Yesterday, I sat down and had a conversation with another Met PC who is thinking about moving on. He’s got seven years’ service and loads to offer, but he had tears in is eyes as he told me he’d reached the conclusion that his future lies elsewhere. Not that long ago, I had similar but separate con

1st May 2016

Hillsborough: a Personal Perspective

  Every last detail of the Hillsborough story breaks my heart – as a police officer; as a lifelong Liverpool supporter; as a human being. As a human catastrophe, it is amongst the most vivid and terrible of my lifetime – in this country at least. It is the story of ninety-six people who went to se

18th March 2016

I Was There

I was there when it happened... I was there when the old man held the knife to his own throat, wanting to end it all. I was there when the unsuspecting family heard the news that their son wasn’t coming home. It was me who told them. I was there when the medics tried desperately - and hopelessly

10th March 2016

All the People, All the Time

Last week, I was listening in as a senior Met officer suggested that they could think of no other organisation in the UK that is the subject of headline scrutiny as frequently as the Police Service. ‘Every day except Christmas day,’ they remarked. Policing is being tested and challenged - invariab

12th February 2016

Losing the Plot

There’s a danger that I’m going to start repeating myself… But, I wonder whether some of us have started to lose sight of what policing is - what it is that we’re here to do; what it is that we stand for… ---------------------------------- The job of a police officer isn’t to count things; it’s t

29th January 2016

A Handful of Thoughts about Police Reform

As 2016 begins to unfold, policing remains in a relentlessly challenging place - both operationally and organisationally. And, amongst the endless conversations going back and forth about this truly extraordinary job, talk keeps coming back round to the question of reform. But it seems to me that,

22nd October 2015

Police State - Part II

Following publication of my first ‘Police State’ blog yesterday, one reader challenged me - not unreasonably - to suggest what I think should be done in response to my concerns about the state we’re in. What might be done about police morale? What might be done about police reform? What might be

21st October 2015

Police State

Or, perhaps the title should read, 'The State of the Police'... We need to talk about morale. A couple of weeks back, I wandered into the canteen at Scotland Yard and spotted a former colleague from one of my old Boroughs. He was tucked away in the far corner - over by the drinks machines - starin

13th October 2015

Like No Other

On Sunday 4th October 2015, PC Dave Phillips booked on for his final shift. Back at home earlier on, he had said goodbye to his wife and two young daughters as he headed off into the night. Before dawn the following morning, he was killed in the line of duty - mown down by the driver of a stolen v

21st September 2015

Brave

Every now and then, the people I serve alongside take my breath away. The shortlist of Met nominations for this year’s National Police Bravery Awards has been published - and these are the chosen few: • PCs Unal Ibrahim & Matthew Basden from Southwark - who chased an armed burglar, despite the fac

14th September 2015

The Loss of Innocence

Sex & Violence. Two things that have been on my mind for the last few days. And I need to talk about both of them. Last week, I read a brilliant and important article by Grace Dent - about the impact of internet porn on young lives. And it troubled me. You can find it via this link: http://www

7th September 2015

God Help Us

It may not be on the front page of every newspaper, but there are children dying on the streets of London. Victims of the curse of Knife Crime. In 2007, I stood at the scene of the murder of Kodjo Yenga and watched as his family wept. It happened in a quiet residential street in an otherwise unrem

19th August 2015

Leadership Lost

Another day; another headline about the failures - both professional and personal - of the people who are supposed to be in charge. And we find ourselves in a world that, perhaps more than ever before, is mistrustful of those in positions of leadership and authority; cynical and even antagonistic t

28th July 2015

Taken for Granted

Some Police Officers are idiots, capable of all manner of stupidity... But most of them are heroes. Some Police Officers are pompous, self-important buffoons... But most of them would go to the ends of the earth for you. Some Police Officers are idle, workshy lumberers... But most of them would

17th July 2015

The Things That Have to Matter More

23 years ago, I made a promise - a promise to serve, without favour or affection, malice or ill will. It's a promise I plan to keep. These are challenging times for policing - arguably more challenging than at any other point in the last 70 years: - The New Economics of Austerity - Public Scrutiny

18th June 2015

You Know You Are

Every now and then, I stop to listen to what’s being said about policing in this country. And, every now and then, it can start to sound a little like a variation on that tired old football chant: ‘You’re sh*t and you know you are…’ For some, it’s an accusation; for others a product of experience