Bobbies: the ‘Swiss Army knife’ of British Policing

Swiss Army knife

When people hear the words Swiss Army most will usually think of knives, it’s a fact that was recently highlighted on the BBC Today Show (see here). For my part I probably fall into that category however I also think of British Police Officers…

The original Swiss Officer’s and Sport Knife and predecessor of the Swiss Army knife was originally patented in 1897. Since then Victorinox, which now makes 35,000 knives each day, has continuously developed it’s business to match customer demands. Just like the British police service, contrary to much of the financially driven political rhetoric.

The company have supplied the Swiss army with knives for more than 125 years, that’s nearly as long as Bobbies have been protecting and serving the public. Today Victorinox also produce many other products in addition to their knives, they have updated their portfolio to meet changing expectations, as have the British police. The Swiss Army knife adapts to remain a cutting-edge tool, the police have done the same but it serves various political and personal agenda well to suggest or imply british policing is stuck in the dark-ages. Not so!

Loosely continuing the knife analogy BBC Today also asked (see here): “Is the brain like a Swiss Army knife?”Apparently Professor Nancy Kanwisher, of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, is leading research to ascertain if  the brain is like the Swiss Army knife i.e. is it a mass of different tools or a single general purpose tool?  I would add a further observation to that – A British Police Officer was just like a Swiss Army Knife. That is until politicians and senior officers damaged the flexibility and overall worth of the tool as a valuable resource for the public.

Years of specialisation in specific roles and, to a certain extent, increased demarkation between remits and responsibilities have effectively created a less useful resource. One that is less able to meet the differing requirements in what is often, a fast-moving and changing environment of critical demand.

The creation of a multi-tiered service, with extremely reduced experience of specific tasks outside a limited remit, has in real terms, reduced the overall flexibility of a valuable resource. Management and allocation of that resource to specific tasks has become far more problematical than was previously the case.

Many will say that a one size fits all ethos is no longer appropriate, especially in an age of increased requirements of professionalism. The same people will suggest; increased demands in areas requiring greater levels of technological and investigative skills are required. That may be so and yes, there are differing demands today than was previously the case.

International hi-tec crime, narcotics and terrorism et al are all challenges facing police today however; the largest proportion of police work is still and always will be, the mundane and routine. The burglaries, the petty theft, road accidents, domestic disputes, violence and anti-social behaviour. It all happens 24/7, despite reams of manipulated crime statistics and suspect public confidence surveys, or even cleverly created police PR campaigns around one-off ‘special’ operations suggesting any different.

It’s the stuff that impacts upon you and I as citizens and rightly, the stuff that we all want dealing with in an expedient and efficient manner. Unfortunately this often isn’t the case now, mostly thanks to the changes that UK policing has endured over recent years. Which in turn, is probably also the predominant root cause of the (mostly disguised) increase in petty crime, drunkenness and mayhem we see in our communities up and down the country, on a far too regular basis.

Politicians would all do well to remember; the flexibility and convenience of a Swiss Army Knife as a tool of convenience in difficult and urgent situations should never be underestimated. At least you have a chance of making running repairs until the specialist tools can be deployed.

You can’t replace the quality of a Swiss Army Knife with an inferior product just because it costs less; at some point that replacement is likely to result in a catastrophic failure. A failure that presents danger for all around but in particular, the user is also likely to get injured!

Note: We may be in the early stages of understanding the brain scientifically however; perhaps it’s time for some research into what actually goes on in the grey matter of our politicians!

Investigative Journalism: Public Interest or Emotive Witch-Hunt?

Our Police?

Much like the ‘suspicions’ expressed by many of our so-called investigative journos, from time to time, I also have a propensity to harbour concerns about the actual motives driving their work ethics. I suppose trying to answer the question, who is the most paranoid, would probably result in a subjective conclusion… 

This week, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ), a not-for-profit organisation based at City University, London, is launching its latest ‘project’ - an in-depth investigation about Deaths in Police Custody.

• TBIJ Deaths in Police Custody Project
• Analysis: Too many deaths, too little accountability
• How many have died after police restraint? MP calls for inquiry
• Police guidelines permit techniques that can kill
• Revealed: Deaths that were not in official report
• In video – the arrest of Frank Ogboru

The initial analysis for the series would seem to suggest; hundreds of people dying at the hands of the police and police officers are escaping punishment for this heinous crime. Not so!

But don’t get me wrong, I have no desire to placate public concerns with platitudes about any excessive use of force, or abuse of authority. Any death in police custody is a sad (sometimes avoidable) event, not least for those police officers involved in the circumstances leading to that death.

Because of the often mischievous and emotive methods of many of our journalists, some individuals within our society find it far too easy to castigate our police. For any failure, no matter how tenuous the link between their actions/inactions and the final result. Why is this?

Do we hold the belief that every surgeon who ‘lost’ a patient on the operating table, is another Harold Shipman? Do we look at every school caretaker as an Ian Huntley? Even the pacifists and conscientious objectors amongst us have a tendency to support our military personnel. It’s somewhat bazar that, irrespective of any vociferous condemnation of the politicians who sent them to war, most still respect our military and look upon them with pride.

The common factor here is that, despite all the above actually serving our society, there is an underlying tendency to dislike and/or mistrust those who challenge our behaviour. Much as many children don’t like teachers and parents telling them what to do (if they don’t want to do it), many adults also don’t take well to being prevented from doing whatever they want to do (and are non compliant). Even when their desires/habits have a negative impact upon others, or they’re in contravention of our democratically developed legislation.

In a related article, from The Independent, about police restraint techniques (see below), the Metropolitan Police Commander responsible for self-defence and restraint at the Association of Chief Police Officers, said:-

Where an individual is violent and represents a danger to themselves and the public, the police are rightly expected to restrain them for their own safety and to protect other members of the public. Foremost in officers’ minds is the safe resolution to volatile situations, not a medical diagnosis…(Simon Pountain)

Despite the fact many will assume, considering my background, that I am bound to be supportive of the police. Let me assure you, nothing could be further from the truth, especially where any wrongdoing or abuse of power is concerned. However, this almost constant vilification of our police service actually does more to reduce even further the already limited levels of support they enjoy. This now predominant trait simply serves to undermine the concept of policing by consent. A slippery slope towards the police state that so many (wrongly) believe we already reside in.

I look forward to reading and learning from the content of the BIJ articles however; there is a media tendency towards achieving the exact opposite to the desired/perceived results. As the vast majority of our police officers work for our society, not against it, isn’t it time we tried to examine the police in a far more supportive and objective manner?

Related articles

• Deaths in custody ‘understated’ (bbc.co.uk)
• Number of deaths of suspects in police custody is higher than officials admit (independent.co.uk)
• Restraint techniques that have an ‘ever-present’ risk of death (independent.co.uk)