Sir Robert Bunyard, CBE, OPM
| Author | Derrik Anderton |
| Published date | 01 October 1991 |
| Date | 01 October 1991 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X9106400401 |
| Subject Matter | Sir Robert Bunyard, CBE, OPM |
SIR
ROBERT
BUNYARD,
eBE, OPM
Commandant
of
the Police Staff College, Bramshill
(and one
of
Her Majesty's Inspectors
of
Constabulary)
One has heard about pillars of society, but Sir Robert Bunyard, as
Commandant of the Police Staff College, Her Majesty's Inspector of
Constabulary and a former ChiefConstable is three pillars at once -more
of a public monument really. What, one wondered, is the nature
of
theman
behind the megalith?
He must be used to wielding power, being regarded with awe and
treated deferentially. After all, if he were in the Army he would be a
general ... at least.
"I've
never thoughtof it that way.
Idon'tseemyself
as having power.
The thing about all
of
us in the police force is how accountable we are - to
the Government, to the local authorities who finance us, to the people. We
are, in fact, to each of them their servant."
With his cultured tones and meditative, articulate delivery he seems
more like an Oxbridge Don than a general ... or indeed, apoliceman. Does
he, as director of the Staff College, have an ideology?
"I see myself as having a mission."
A mission; that is more like a bishop than a general!
"Yes. A mission to produce the highest quality of police service. At
Bramshill we are responsible for providing the leadership of the service,
for inculcating the best human values in the officers we educate. We are
investing in them; investing in the future."
The Police Staff College is for the higher training of leaders and the
organization of training courses for the higher ranks. Is he creating an
"officer caste", a police elite?
"No. What we are trying to do is to create people who can provide
leadership in the top ranks, but they've got to realize that leadership has
to permeate all the way to the bottom. You
can't
have a squad
of
individuals who are the leaders, having below them people who are pawns
that simply move as directed. That would be quasi-military, as indeed
some forces in othercountries are. The quality
of
our leadership is the big
difference between the British police and those abroad. We pride
ourselveson having a service that is part of society, part
ofthe
community,
not imposed upon it."
He is genial and affable - has mastered the art
of
being dignified
without being pompous. There is no trace
of
cynicism in his manner. In
a service where pragmatic decisions have to be taken all the time, it is
unusual to meet an idealist. Which rank does he consider to be the most
important?
"It
has to be the constable. His is the decision that starts everything
off
because he is an executive officer with the authority to act on his own
initiative. To arrest or not to arrest -that isthe decision. The circumstances
are often difficult...perhaps two o'clock in the morning, everyone
shouting, some hysterical, no reference books to consult, no colleagues to
October 1991 281
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