Frontline Riot

 

Sat there, and the first thing I noticed was that I am bouncing my legs up and down. I make a conscious effort to think about what I’m doing and I slap my hands on my thighs. My legs stop moving and my hands take over from where my legs left off as I tap down on my thighs with no particular beat. 

“One minute away” is the shout from the Sergeant. 

Its then I remember why I am here and why my legs and arms are drumming this random beat. Nervous energy seeping out of me. My hands are clammy, my mouth dry and then inside my riot helmet I can hear my heartbeat in my ears and the tension in my chest. 

“Form to the left”

The carrier door flies open and I flip down the visor on my helmet, grip my shield tightly and jump out in the sequence we have been drilled many times before. 

My nose is instantly filled with the smell of burning rubber and the noise of shouting and breaking glass and metal landing on concrete is ringing in my ears. 

Instinctively I hold my shield in the “protect position” and move to the building line on my left hand side and form up with my colleagues. I raise my eyebrows to force my eyes to focus and lick my lips to try to generate some saliva in my mouth. As I do, rocks begin to land on and around us....

“Missiles” is the shout from colleagues and we form up accordingly. 

I look into the distance and see the silhouettes of people. The shapes of their body very vivid against the backdrop of bright yellow and orange flames.  I ‘guesstimate’ there to be about 70-80 people, mostly males and the majority small framed and of a youthful build. There is 18 of us at this point. 

One particular lad catches my eye as he runs forward towards us, getting within 15 metres. He collects debris from the floor and begins to throw it in our direction as hard as he possibly can. This boy looks no older than 14/15 years old and the anger and hatred on his face is plain to see. He slows his throwing and comes to a stop as he tires and begins to slowly retreat towards his new found comrades as he shouts all manner of abuse at us. He then stops......and in the middle of all this carnage he starts laughing. I cannot believe it. 

I look at this lad and think of my own family, my own friends and how they would feel in this situation and how has it all gotten to this point. How can this lad be so angry with life, or with Police, that he feels the need to be out of his house at 1am to ‘front up’ up the Police in such a way at such a tender age? 

After several hours basically being pelted with all manner of missiles and petrol bombs the crowds begin to tire and disperse. I look around at the carnage that has been left in their wake. Buildings and cars ablaze, debris all over the floor. Shops ruined and ran-sacked and the boxes and packaging of loot strewn in the road. Wheelie bins blocking road, and some melted in place having been set alight. Boxes of bottle, rocks, scrap metal, and various other items stock piled to be thrown at Police. It was like looking at a war zone on TV and not the street of the City I had grown up in. 

I had gone into work yesterday afternoon and expected to be off duty at 10pm. I finished at 6:30 am and had done two shifts in one having dealt with 999 calls initially and then being deployed to this riot zone latterly. Like nothing I have known in my service. 

Bobbies stood with mouths agape, just in shock of what they had endured and seen.  A few sat with head in hands and other just stood stunned in silence. The odd one sat in the carrier in tears with the adrenaline having worn off and the reality sinking in. It reality is a scene that no news reporter can paint. If you were there – as a Police Officer, or not – then you know what it was like. The rest are simply guessing. 

I clambered into bed, desperate for some sleep but I couldn’t drift off. My body aware that I would be back on duty to do exactly the same thing again within 11 hours. Yet my body would not wind down. 

I wake up to see the TV news broadcasters using every available opportunity to try to lead questions about how the Police failed people, or were nowhere to be seen. In circumstances like this, the countries “decent people” should be uniting to come as one against this, and the media is simply putting more of a divide in the way. Leading questions and blunt negativity to Police responses and actions were more often than not [thankfully] met with voices of support by the people on the receiving end. Decent, fair minded people can see that officers like my colleagues and I were sent to an area, thin in numbers and faced with having to deal with people there. Quite often being outnumbered by 2/1 at the very least, with us working to a strict rule of law under the watchful gaze of the media and mobile phones. Yet with them acting like thugs, and lawless maniacs with no morals or ethics. How can you deal with those people who are always willing to escalate beyond what you can get to? If we arrested 1, they brought in another 10. If we protected cars, they torched buildings. If we tried to protect buildings they wanted to injure officers and the public. The bar was always being raised. 

Let’s be 110% clear here. This is no fault of the Police, they may be culpable in respect to responses and deployment, but with finite resources this was always going to be difficult, given the size and movement of the rioting. The fault lies solely and squarely with the people who are committing these crimes and causing all this misery. 

As I get ready for another night of the same, with my shift varied and my days off cancelled, do not lose hope and faith in us. We want to be doing the things you expect us to do. We need to work together and we need to unite as one against these mindless idiots.  I, along with my colleagues, all have families, we are just normal people. We chose this job and as such we are going out to try and make these streets safer and better for you – but ultimately we are as scared and upset by all of this as you. The uniform doesn’t make us immune from this. 

Thank you for the phenomenal words of support I have received so far. It means a lot.

Society controls the media - not vice versa

Its fair to say that the UK media has held a grip over what happens in this country for a number of years, and in my opinion this grip has tightened over the last 15 years to a point where they can pretty much decided what party is in power, what public opinion is on all range of subjects and who we love and hate as a society. 

Recent examples range from encouraging us to decide who we like in X-Factor, to forcing referees to quite the game of football due to public pressure and abuse following a media “witch hunt”. The power that these thin sheets of red topped newspaper hold is amazing. But we as a society seem to accept this and are happy to be led along like Lemmings. 

From a Policing point of view we have seen the Police become a national scapegoat on a number of occasions and it’s fair to say that at times we have not helped ourselves. That said, there have been incidents whereby the media have ripped open the case and basically played judge and jury to persuade the country to come to the decision they want.

Recent events involving The News of the World have shown the British tabloid media for what it truly is. Ultimately a selfish, arrogant, swinging axe of an industry that doesn’t care about its bulldozer approach, nor the devastation it leaves in its considerable wake. 

The general British public have been horrified, appalled and disgusted with the actions of a minority of “reporters”  - and rightly so. Yet, this stinks of double standards. The News of the World is the highest selling Sunday paper, and by some considerable margin. People were happy to buy and read its gossip and poorly researched stories and terribly evidenced reports as long as it didn’t directly affect their lives.

But it seems that recent events affect the general public and people are starting to realise the paper for what it is and are showing an open disgust towards its approaches. The phone hacking of soldiers families and it’s direct link with stories that touched the National heart strings such as the Milly Dowler case and subsequent phone hacking have made people sit up and take notice. However, how do people think the NOTW have come about all the gossip they have enjoyed for so many years?

I’ve heard people say, “The News of the World will just re-open under a different name”. However, if this happens it will be clearly reported to the public. That will then create a decision. Do people forget what happened and hide behind the excuse that it is a re-branded name and continue to buy the new product. Or do they stand fast in their disgust and refuse to buy it?

We, as a society, need to remember that we hold the power here – not the media. If we choose not to buy their papers, then they will ultimately have to change or close down. I fear however that the majority of the people will put that little bit of gossip and scandal ahead of morals and standards. As a country we love to moan that things don’t get done, that we are hard done to and that no one listens. I’m sorry, but this is bollocks. We hold a greater amount of control now than we ever have done, we just aren’t led properly to believe it, or we fear that if we stand by our decisions that we will be “the black sheep” and everyone else will not follow and we will stand out and be mocked.

I can imagine a lot of people saying, “Well, what do you suggest then?”

OK, if money was no object and I was in a position to do so, this is what I would do:

I would call for all the good people of this once Great Island to come together and unite as one. Unite behind truth, justice and a sense of doing “what is right”. We don’t need lies, we don’t need scandal and to read/watch people do anything for 2 minutes of fame by simply degrading themselves for our amusement [I’m thinking Jeremy Kyle et all] and we should embrace reasonable, balanced, fair and impartial discussion and debate. We should be proud as a country and promote the good. It isn’t “cool to be bad” and you don’t get what you want by shouting louder and more aggressively.

In replacement,  I would create a national newspaper called “+POSITIVE” and I would employ select journalists to write for the paper.  I would invite anyone to provide stories via a website to provide the rest. The best stories would be selected and the people chosen would be given a set price for their piece.

The stories selected would be based upon “positive outcomes and stories” rather than revelling in sorrow and delighting in misfortune. The employed journalists would report upon the national events, but from a completely new perspective and to promote the good work done rather than enjoying the mistakes made.

The paper would be a closer link between media and public as the public would be large contributors and as such the direction the paper takes would be set by the public. Support would be given to people, industries and organisations who are trying to do good and right. It would be a positive look at the UK.

Would it work? Would it make any difference? I don’t know. 

But its got to be better than being programmed like we have been for years.

GMP Chief Constable: Peter FAHY - "Do the right thing"

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Peter Fahy please stand up [and as an ex-premier league pundit once used to say] “Tick-a-boo Son” [“Take a Bow”]. 

On 9^th June 2011, Mr Fahy was quoted both locally and nationally as saying:

"sometimes in following the letter of a procedure we miss the spirit and intention behind it... pursuing a policy may mean overriding the wishes of the victim.”

He wants HIS Officers to “be driven by doing "the right thing". If that meant ignoring established policies and procedures then he would back them. [I’ve posted the links at the foot of this piece]

I stand up and applaud Mr Fahy. I think he is one of the more outspoken, ‘old skool’ style Chiefs about at the minute. He appears to be in touch with the troops on the front line and has his finger on a pulse that few others in his position have.  I’ve found myself in agreement with a few things he has said over recent months on the cuts, when he spoke out against the Home Office, and his general remarks on staffing issues. In fact, my neck often has repetitive strain from all the nodding in agreement that I do when I see or read his observations. 

There will doubtless be arguments that Mr Fahy has said this comment flippantly and that Officers need to know where they stand should they make decisions. It’s all well and good releasing sound bytes, but will Officers get their tunic chewed should they decide to stray off the boundaries of “Force Policy” for the “greater good”.

That said, its words of good intent and a step in the right direction from a man who is clearly in a position to express an opinion in a wider forum than most of us. He must realise that a lot of process and procedure contradicts each other and only results in time delays and inefficiencies. It’s clear to anyone who completes the paperwork on the frontline that it’s like a tug of war between agencies and departments for the gathering of information – all of which can sit on a file somewhere until the day when you behind is about to be well and truly kicked with a size 10 Magnum boot on the Chiefs landing.  [Note to younger service Officers: Stuff the daily newspaper down the back of your trooosers. It’s a welcome source of padding] 

To give you an example of when this should apply and why we currently operate in a working environment where Officers are fearful of doing “the right thing”. 

In my area a few weeks back, there was a 999 call reporting a concern for safety for a female who had driven off in her car having taken an excessive amount of tablets in front of her petrified family. The vehicle was circulated to all local Officers and low and behold a colleague of mine found the car parked up in a secluded car park. This colleague has about 3 years service and was driving in company with a probationer [Previously known as a “Sprog” or someone who has yet to be confirmed in the role of Constable]. 

They approach the car and see the female sat in the driver’s seat, slumped over onto the passenger seat. Empty medication packets scattered everywhere and with white foam like liquid emanating from the females mouth. There was an apparent suicide note on the dashboard, but the keys are in the ignition and all the doors and boot are locked. 

Now.....I ask.....to all of you, whether you are a Police Officer or not, what feels like “the right thing to do?”

Of course you know the answer............The car window ‘goes in’ to ‘save life and limb’ – which is the primary role of our very existence. However, what happens next left a very sour taste in my mouth and led me and my colleagues to sit down with our duty inspector to “sound-off” our thoughts on the process and protocol. 

My colleagues shouted up over the air, describing the scene they found themselves in and asked for authorisation from the Inspector to force entry to the vehicle. They both knew their powers and knew what ‘felt right’. The Force has spent tens of thousands of pounds to train both of them in the law and in their legal powers, and they have committed a considerable amount of time and effort in training – yet they have been “brain washed” into “arse covering before arse saving”. 

The job these days is all about making sure your backside is covered – everyone’s doing it. Why? Because – as the old saying goes – ‘shit rolls down hill’ and they know that should anything go untoward, or a complaint be made, then the job that once said “we will support you” will now have to actively be seen to leave no stone unturned in the quest for justice. There subconscious thought may have been, “If this woman is hit by a shard of flying glass and complains, I want to make sure it’s on the log that the Inspector said to do it – then he gets the ‘shoeing’”

What felt like an age passed, but it was realistically only 30 seconds, the Inspector was in the control room and gave the “thumbs up” and the window went in. The female was dragged out and an Ambulance called. Officers administer first aid and the lady is taken to Hospital where she ultimately made a full recovery.  

On returning to the station, my colleagues were lambasted by others – much to their dismay. They were only doing what they thought was right, and followed the letter of process and force policy to the word. After all, we don’t want to be paying out needlessly to replace a damaged car window do we? Save money, not life!!!

As I say, it’s no real fault of the Officers who dealt with that incident, nor the control room who organised the authorisation, nor the Inspector who granted it – it’s the person who wrote the policy in stone and threatened “escalation procedures” and disciplinary should a deviation of the policy be made.

Officers live in fear of reprisals of this because we are seeing less and less support from our senior management and this is why Mr Fahy needs to be cautiously congratulated. The sentiment is spot on, and the principles are good – I just want to see them in working practice first.

Reference Links: http://goo.gl/CqUNP and http://goo.gl/XW8PB

Doing something we rarely get to do.........anymore.

This past week I had the opportunity to do something I haven’t been able to do for a number of months. Not because I haven’t wanted to do, but simply because I haven’t had the chance due to workloads. 

It was glorious weekend weather wise and the number of people visiting The Metro was greater than normal due to a collection of events and shows, coupled with the warm English sun that reared its rare face.

I parked up the Police car in the middle of a public park and tourist hotspot and got out and actually spent over an hour just chatting to various passers by and taking in the beauty of the local area. I made a conscious effort [in my high spirits] to say “Hello” or “Good Morning” to pretty much everyone who walked by. 

One young family began chatting about how nice it was to see a Policeman smiling and this developed into me letting the children sit in the Police car and play with the lights and “Nee-Naws” much to the delight of the parents who got some cracking photographs. This in turn led to more people to come over and with their own children and soon enough I was almost like a fair ground attraction with a number of kids getting the opportunity to play Cops and get their cheesy grin pictured by their parents. 

I must admit, the whole experience took me back a few years to when I used to be able to do things like this a lot more. It’s something that costs nothing, takes very little effort but can have a long and lasting impact and effect on the people you meet. I’m not going back a large number of years here either; it’s not the Dock Green days by any stretch. But it got me thinking a whole range of things. Primarily………….where has this all disappeared to? 

Often now it’s through no fault of the Officers that they get little opportunity to do this. It’s more habitually that when it is done, that its more of a pre arranged PR stunt organised by someone far higher up the chain of command than us lowly PC’s.  I can guarantee that almost every Officer would love the opportunity to do this more. We aren’t the unapproachable, stern faced, cold hearted bastards that we can often appear to be as we waltz in and out of people’s lives in a whirl wind, or as we drive past in a car that only further provides a barrier between communications.  We are still matched in the very ethos of what a Constable was developed to be by Robert Peel all those years ago………..we are normal people who are just doing a job at the service of the rest of our peers. 

We have chosen to make some sacrifices in our life for the better of our families, friends and wider society – not always life changing sacrifices, but forfeitures none the less. We have chosen to deal with the minority element of society that the majority would choose not to have any contact with. We deal with the bad, to try and keep the good safe and happy.

One other thing I noticed early on in my little independent hour of community engagement was that people thought I was only there to catch or look out for someone. God forbid that I could be there just to chat to people and see what was going on. There was a slight nervousness in people that was only broken when they saw me chatting and laughing over a slightly longer period of time than the usual “flying visit” . 

Again, I feel I must reiterate at this point I’m not saying “look at me, I'm great”, nor am I criticising Officers. I am frustrated at the system and state of Policing that means that the vast majority of us do not get the opportunity to do this. 

When I joined the Police it was based on community contact and chatting with people. Being friendly and interested was the best way to gain Intel – either consciously or not. It seems we have become that busy in recent years, and are numbers on sections have dwindled that much as we try to squeeze more work out of each Officer that this has been lost or overlooked, but to me it is a core principle of what we do. 

People see that little of us these days, other than in a quick fleeting visit or by passing them whilst preoccupied whilst on foot – or more likely – by car. When they do see us we are generally busy thinking about what we have to do and that we have X amount of outstanding jobs that are “backing up” and need dealing with and that we have a pot of crimes that need investigating between all the calls for service. Thing is, people aren’t interested or sympathetic to this generally, and why should they be? They don’t know. They don’t know because as a service, we don’t tell them. We don’t advertise ourselves enough and communicate enough – either individually or as forces. We shouldn’t be scared of telling people the truth. Of how things really are. 

All of this has resulted in people forming opinions of us. We are arrogant, unapproachable and uninterested [being some of the most popular ones]. In turn, we have formed opinions that the public don’t like us and that we are unappreciated and not understood. It’s a vicious circle. 

We cannot control what opinions people form, but we can try to influence the reasons why they think them. 

If only we had more opportunities like those I had this week. I think all of us would benefit from it. But I didn’t get a “tick” for doing it, and it’s not measurable by some kind of statistic. 

After an hour or so my fun was disturbed and my mood was changed in an instant as I was shouted up by the control room:

“Can you deal with a harrrassment for me please? There are no other Officers free. The complainant has called to say they were using Facebook this morning when…………….”

Back to it then.

A look closer to home

The question from PC David Rathband to the Home Secretary was “I was paid £35,000 last year. Do you think I’m paid too much?” 

At the time, it was greeted with an awkward look from Theresa May and an uncomfortable silence. But this silence spoke louder and with greater impact than any response could have done. It also opened the realities of Policing to a new audience; those people who think we are paid phenomenally well and look forward to our “golden handshake” in 30 years time. Here was a man who had his life unequivocally changed on a summer’s afternoon last year near Denton, west of Newcastle.  PC Rathband's ordeal had reiterated to people that Police are indeed the final line placed between the good and the bad, and that we constantly work in an environment where an innocuous incident can potentially lead to serious injury or death. 

Wind forward to this week. There have been a number of incidents where Police Officers have been attacked or injured since the events involving David Rathband. However, this week’s most recent unpleasant incident involving Pc Nigel Albuery in Croydon, London has reiterated a recurring problem within the Police Service itself. That being, that senior management are offering very little support publically for the Officers themselves and are more concerned with issuing PR sound bytes and uninspiring words intended for public confidence. 

Borough commander of PC Albuery, Adrian Roberts, was quoted as saying,  

"Last night a working police officer was stabbed several times whilst in the line of duty. 

"I and my officers are shocked and concerned that this has happened but are determined to continue to deliver a professional service to the community of Croydon borough.

"It is important to remember that this is an isolated incident. 

"Local officers have been tasked with increased patrols in the area to reassure the public, and we have spoken with our partners so that the community can share their concerns."

Not one single mention of concern for the PC Albuery or his family. No support offered, nor even any basic courtesy of referring to him other than as a “working Police Officer”. 

Let’s be clear and honest, the words that he and his team are determined to continue to deliver a professional service mean absolutely nothing. The incident did not involve members of the public, there was no threat to anyone other than the Police themselves and the issue was evidently between the group of offenders and the Police. WHO CARES about a service and increased patrols at this point……………really? 

The colleagues of PC Albuery want to hear support for him and how they are going to “hunt down” and “punish” those responsible and by bringing them to justice using all the might for the Police Force. The public also want to see that yobs are not dominating the Force [not 'service' you may note] and that the streets are not running feral. Less talk and more action.

This modern era, PR speak, “Namby-Pamby”, politically correct language does nothing but uninspire the Police slogging themselves each day on “the frontline” and suck confidence from an already drained society. Is it wrong to display strength or power these days?

What chance do we stand if our own bosses can’t even muster a degree of empathy, concern or fight for their Officers?