Do what I say…

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley is calling on technical firms around the nation to make stolen phones harder to reuse, and thus prevent criminals from benefitting from the thefts and frauds that they have committed. As a part of this initiative the Met have started sharing data with Apple to identify what happens to stolen mobiles. As Sir Mark has observed, if they cannot be reactivated, then they are more or less worthless, and are therefore not worth stealing in the first place. Sir Mark has also asked the Home Secretary to make phone companies publish information on stolen phones and render them unusable. In fairness to Apple they have made some changes that appear to be working, and they can now claim that the vast majority of phones stolen in London in recent weeks have not been reset.

This is good work on their part and good work on the part of Sir Mark for prodding them. He retired from the police in 2018, after a full and varied career that led him into several important roles, including chief constable of Surrey Police and Assistant Commissioner in the Met. He then seems to have spent several years co-authoring a book about counter-terrorism before unexpectedly returning to the service as Commissioner of the Met, in succession to Cressida Dick, who has, since her retirement, engaged in walking, swimming and gardening, enjoying the countryside, travel, and visiting galleries with her partner.

Sir Mark swiftly oversaw the burial of Queen Elizabeth and the coronations of King Charles III and Queen Camilla I without incident but in April 2024 faced calls to resign after Met officers made what he described as “clumsy and offensive” comments during a demonstration. He does, therefore, appear to have reacted strongly to the challenges of inter-agency policing and large ceremonies, but in August 2024 he also ‘reacted strongly’ after being asked what appears to have been an annoying question about the Met’s approach to  two-tier policing (whatever that might be). There are few signs of his having initiated changes in The Met, but he might get round to doing some if he gets some peace and quiet. Which seems unlikely. We must wish him well if he remains in office, for the Met remain a troubled organisation. We must hope that he can fix them.

So, whilst we are on the subject, what is ‘two-tier policing?’ This is a question which has prompted a lot of responses, with the last Prime Minister getting christened ‘Two Tier Keir…’ His successor will hope to avoid hurtful nicknames, but if he authorises the use of flamethrowers during demonstrations ‘Handy Burn ’Em’ might come into use. So, why are we discussing two-tier policing? It seems to be a claim that some groups of protesters are treated differently to other groups of protesters, but it is an observation that is a bit low on tiers. There are more than two. Many more. In my experience of public order situations involving football fans, printers, dockers, racial minorities and Orange Lodges each received its own tier of response. As a rough guide, levels of police force directed at demonstrators should be responses, not initiations, and they should be more forceful than that of demonstrators, so that the demonstrators don’t get the impression that they are ‘winning’ and become encouraged enough to demonstrate more violently. This is called ‘quelling’, an admirable approach. How are police officers to measure their levels of response? They aren’t. They are there to deliver them. Some may have been too weak, some may have been too strong. Not to worry! Practise makes perfect…

Yours,

Stitch

stitchley@policeprofessional.com

@SOStitchley