Paddington Green Revisited: The Plus Programme in Action
| Author | Jonathan Harvey |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X8906200412 |
| Date | 01 October 1989 |
| Published date | 01 October 1989 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
JONATHAN HARVEY
Paddington Green Revisited: The
Plus Programme in Action
For the past four years I have been fortunate in being allowed to spend
an eveningwith the crew of an area car in orderto write articles about their
work for "ThePoliceJournal" and "TheGeelong Advertiser". On a recent
trip to England,ChiefSuperintendentPeter
DeLaRuekindly
arrangedfor
me to spend two eight-hour shifts with the crews of Delta 2 and Delta 4,
the area cars working
out
of Paddington Green Police Station.
The press has given a great deal of publicity to two documents about
the role of the Metropolitan Police:
'A
Force for Change' and
'The
Plus
Programme'. Bearingin mind the stated intentions of 'ThePlusProgramme'
I set out to see whether these were being put into action. My observations
are, of course, based on a very short visit and I am also hardly qualified to
pass any judgment!
A feel of unity and a sense of commonpurpose show themselves when
an officer calls for assistance. The crew of Delta 4, Barry Hones and
Shawn Sawyer, were accosted by a group
of
drunken youths who were
shouting obscenities. The situation became menacingquickly and urgent
assistance was called for. Delta 2, crewed by Barry House, Andrew
Haywardand Phil Gittus, were the third vehicle to arrive - all within three
minutes of the shout for help.
The quality
of
the service to the public would seem to be excellent.
There was also a respect for the leadership within the Station. The
information bulletins with stated aims, followed later by the results, were
clearly liked. The Duty Inspectors whom I met, Martin Teylor, Paul
Ramsey and ScottRollo, were obviously held in considerable respect by
their officers. There was clearly a shortage
of
sergeantsout on patrol. The
duties involved with prisoners, whilst no doubt essential, meant that the
sergeants - surely one of the most important ranks - were rarely seen
out
of their stations.
There was certainlypride in the crews
of
the area cars. The late turn,
Delta 2, had made 34 arrests in three weeks, including six 'steamers' and
two burglars. The drivers take considerable pride in their driving and their
skill and concentration are unmatched. I shall never forget the skill of
Barry Jones as he drove down Edgware Road answering a call for urgent
assistance.
Self
esteem is clearly important and the public need to be
constantly reminded of their role. The public's co-operation is vital and
its failure to understand asituation can be irritating - to say the least! At
an identificationparade the procedure had been carefully explained to the
witness and yet he proceededto ignore totally the Inspector's instructions.
The style
of
policing is understood by most of the public. They see
quickresponse to requests for action. They see a tolerantattitude to minor
offences: on my tours, four motorists were cautioned for failing to see a
October 1989
335
To continue reading
Request your trial