Journal | John Sutherland • Author

John Sutherland

Good Grief

The painful privilege of policing is to see all of life - in all its vivid, unedited extremes. And, after any length of time in this line of work, there might be a danger that you start to lose the capacity to be shocked; that having seen and heard so much, you somehow become immune to it all. But

Little Big Stories

You might have heard it said that policing is a job like no other. Let me tell you a handful of stories… ------------------------------------------- I’m a PC in Westminster, sent to my first Sudden Death. It’s a basement flat in a big old Pimlico townhouse. No suspicious circumstances - just some st

Dear Alex

Dear Alex - Your article for the Guardian has been read by a lot of people. And rightly so. The thing is, you're not one of those embittered souls with an axe to grind and scores to settle. You were one of the best PCs I've worked with during my service - and you remain a very fine man. I know you

16th February 2015

Locard's Principle

Dr Edmond Locard. Brilliant man. French Forensic Scientist, born in the 19th Century, who gave his name to a law that remains fundamental to the investigation of crime in the 21st Century. Locard's Principle states, very simply, that: 'Every Contact Leaves a Trace'. Picture this... A Burglar in a

2nd February 2015

Chin Up

It seems to me that there are plenty of police officers out there with their heads down at the moment. I’m proud to count any number of them as my friends... I’m proud to serve alongside them all. • There's the retiring officer - who thought they'd never say it, but they're glad they're going; • T

26th January 2015

The Cost of Austerity

I don’t want to get into a political debate. Professional discretion is the better part of valour - and some things are just too important to be left to partisan perspectives. Neither am I about to venture into an ideological argument. There are better thinkers out there than me. But I am interest

12th January 2015

Just Another Day at the Office

The truth is... there really is nothing else that comes close to policing. Challenge and complexity; crisis and risk; weapons and violence; heartbreak and harm; helpless innocents and deeply troubled souls; the frayed edges of society. And you get days like Friday 27th April 2012. There I was, in

5th January 2015

A Handful of Thoughts about Policing

Where to begin? There are times as a Met Officer when I just want to bury my head in my hands. Stephen Lawrence. Plebgate. G20. Even Hillsborough - in another time and another place - becomes an inescapable reality for the Met. The sins of the past and the sins of the present. Conspiring. And, i