Monday
My morning stroll from Liverpool Street station to City of London Police HQ takes me past the Bank of England where, only 18 months ago, I was the senior manager responsible for emergency lending to banks.
I take some time to review what happened in the City over the weekend. We have a burgeoning night-time economy – even five years ago the City would be quiet on a Saturday night. Now there’s a real buzz about the place with a huge number of pubs and clubs opening, which is great to see. Sadly, it’s also brought with it a rise in alcohol-fuelled violence.
There have been three arrests outside a particular venue so I chat with the licensing inspector to find out whether there are any specific problems with this pub. In this case, we’re happy that the manager is cooperating – the pub has trained its staff well in CCTV and officers were able to get the film they needed to aid their investigation.
Tomorrow I will pop in to see our operational planning team. I’m the gold commander for a dinner on Thursday night at Guildhall for Commonwealth high commissioners. The Queen will be there, which means a different level of security and protection. I’ve set my strategy – what I want to achieve and what won’t be acceptable. It’s the job of a chief inspector as silver commander to translate my strategy into tactics.
Wednesday
I’m on the train catching up on tweets. There are so many police officers on Twitter now and it’s a really important tool for engaging with the public and sharing information. I’ve noticed an appeal about a high-risk missing person from Hackney. I’m chairing the daily management meeting this morning so I’ll ask my information and intelligence colleagues whether we have circulated the boy’s photo to officers in case he comes into the City.
We deal with quite a lot of missing people in the City, usually those who come from outside, but we work with other police forces to locate them and help establish why they went missing. It’s not enough to say they’ve been found safe and well. Particularly for those who are vulnerable or who go missing regularly – we need to find out what’s wrong. It’s sometimes as a result of abusive relationships, exploitation or mental health issues. Whatever the reason it’s our responsibility, with partner agencies such as the NHS and local authorities, to make sure we follow up and put in place measures to ensure their welfare.
Thursday
I’m in the security group first thing, getting the latest intelligence from the government and security services about the terrorist threat. It’s our top priority given the City’s national and international importance, our iconic sites and critical national infrastructure. I get the latest on the security situation in the UK and Europe. We’ve responded to the changing terrorist threat and tactics by increasing the number of armed officers on patrol. Together with our deployment of high-visibility officers, members of the public will notice more of us on the street. I make a note to discuss with corporate communications how we can make sure our communities are aware.
The high commissioners’ dinner is tonight so I pop along and say hello to the dog handlers who are helping to search Guildhall as part of the security preparations. The dogs trained to search for drugs and explosives tend to be friendly springer spaniels and they’re on duty today at Guildhall.
Tomorrow I’m off to Warwick to a College of Policing event sharing my experiences with prospective Direct Entry applicants. I sketch out a few notes. I don’t want to sugar-coat it for anyone. I’ve dealt with suicides and domestic abuse. I’ve strip-searched homeless drug addicts. I’ve taken children into police protection. I’ve managed serious disorder. I’ll tell them that I feel I’m contributing more to society than I could possibly imagine. I’ll tell them that I haven’t regretted my decision to join the police service for a second.
Learn more about applying for Direct Entry to the police service at superintendent level. Applications close 22 April.
