A rainy day on the front line

As I arrived this morning, it was such a pain parking. Not the reserved spaces that some staff officers have wangled, but a ten minute walk from the overflow car park. That 8.30am dash up the HQ drive is highly reminiscent of the last lap at Interlagos, the adrenaline flowing fast as the realisation hits that there is one spot left in the main car park and three cars vying for it, I can’t imagine how I’d feel if it were Interlagos.

Such is the disciplined nature of the police service that I kept my stare firm in spite of knowing the other car was driven by the head of crime. However, some young staffer got there before both of us and condemned us to a long wet walk.

Thank heavens those days of weekly dry-cleaning of soggy uniforms from my early service are long behind me. I can’t grasp why so many people were against PCSOs when they were introduced; they are now the ones getting wet every day instead of PCs. Give me conflict over dank soggy kit any day.

Talking of walking in the rain, we have been scratching our heads wondering how we can get our percentage of time on patrol up to 80 per cent on the right patch in time for Christmas. We were told that was when we have to have the Policing Pledge in place, only to hear that Essex has gone it alone again and launched its Pledge ahead of everyone else. Not that the chief was miffed, the swearing I heard coming from his office was as a result of poor service at the local bakery.

It is hard enough keeping everyone out of the station at the best of times, if we are to manage 80 per cent, our strategy will need to be very focused, upwards delivered, and geographically embedded to make it work by Christmas; never a better time for a slice of fudge I say.

The Met looks set to take a novel approach to their violent crime. From what I am led to believe, they are about to replace their slogan – ‘Working together for a safer London’ with ‘Take no prisoners’. Violent crime among teenagers will be tackled in the future by Nepalese veterans of the Ghurkha regiment. Such loyalty and commitment is so valued that ex servicemen who have served the nation well around the world, including Afghanistan and Iraq, should be offered employment as police officers in the most violent hotspots in London in return for leave to remain in the UK.

I am not expecting a huge take-up; I think I would prefer armed combat against insurgents in Basra to tackling 14-year-olds in Brixton.

Yours as ever,

Stitch