Police confidence in justice system is 'badly damaged'

Speaking at a commemoration marking the 60th anniversary of the deaths of three Metropolitan Police officers, Sir Mark said the state had provided “wholehearted and unequivocal support” to the families and police service following the tragedy.

On August 12, 1966, plain-clothes officers Detective Sergeant Christopher Head, Detective Constable David Wombwell and PC Geoffrey Fox were on routine patrol in an unmarked car in west London.

As they turned into Braybrook Street, near Wormwood Scrubs prison, they stopped a van containing three men after noticing it was not displaying a tax disc. One of the occupants produced a gun and shot the officers. All three were killed.

The murders shocked the country and triggered an unprecedented police manhunt, with around 18,000 people reportedly joining the search for the killers.

The three men responsible were subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. One died in prison, another was released after 25 years and the ringleader served 48 years.

The public response to the deaths was also extraordinary. Donations to support the officers’ families eventually exceeded £1 million, leading to the establishment of the Police Dependants’ Trust, which later became part of Police Care UK.

Sir Mark said the tragedy also prompted significant changes within policing, including the standardisation of firearms training and improvements in intelligence, risk assessment and operational preparedness.

But he said the relationship between policing and the state had changed. “Today that trust is badly damaged. The case of PC Andrew Harper, another officer killed in what started as a routine policing moment, has left officers across the country angry and upset that the family of a former colleague who lost his life protecting others should be treated so poorly. It has also left them seriously doubting , in their own routine moments of personal jeopardy, whether they can rely upon such wholehearted support.

“The rule of law and public safety has always depended upon officers’ daily courage. Their bravery is doubly underpinned – by both their families’ love, support and resilience, and also the institutional support of the Criminal Justice System and Government. The state, whose first duty is to protect its citizens, must today remember how to nourish routine policing courage, not to treat it with cavalier disregard.”

The comments come as a petition calling for Harper’s killers to remain in prison approaches one million signatures.

Rowley said the issue was about more than individual cases, warning that officers’ confidence could be affected when they see the treatment of those convicted of killing colleagues. He said the bravery of officers was underpinned by trust that the state and justice system would “stand behind them”.

The Commissioner said the lessons of Braybrook Street remained relevant six decades later, despite the significant changes in policing.