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Some Met officers have never patrolled alone, chief admits
18 Jun 2009SOME POLICE NEVER PATROL ALONE, ADMITS MET CHIEF
Some police officers in Britain's largest force have never patrolled alone, Sir Paul Stephenson admitted today.
The Scotland Yard chief said walking the streets in pairs became routine over the past 20 years because no one questioned the practice.
He said a drive to get uniformed officers and community support officers out and about on their own has met some resistance.
Speaking at New Scotland Yard today, he said many officers simply prefer to have someone to chat to and it is up to managers to change the regime.
Sir Paul said: "Cops do like company, just like anybody else, and without intrusive supervision they may slip back into patrolling together.
"There is no doubt one officer will engage with the public in a different way than two officers gossiping about the latest football results.
"There are some police officers who joined the Met who have not known much else and are asking: 'What is going on here?"'
Since taking the helm at the Metropolitan Police earlier this year, Sir Paul has focused on promoting his "five Ps" among the force's 52,000 employees.
He said presence, performance, productivity, professionalism and pride form the centre of his policing philosophy.
Earlier today, Sir Paul outlined his "presence" message to several hundred senior officers gathered at the Royal Horticultural Halls in Westminster.
During the meeting one borough commander joked an officer may only need one pair of shoes for his entire career because of the lack of patrolling.
Sir Paul has asked every one of the 32 London borough commanders to put on at least four extra patrols every day in their main town centre.
As a result, 176 extra patrols are now on the streets every day in London, some 64,240 every year, he said.
Sir Paul added: "The public have been saying for a long time 'we want to see more uniformed cops on the street'.
"The default position is single patrols and I want to increase the number of patrols per day, and we are achieving a lot more extra patrols."
Members of the Metropolitan Police Federation have said some officers are concerned whether patrolling alone could put them in danger.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Rose Fitzpatrick said risk assessments take place before officers are sent out. In some places several officers may be required.
Reader views (6)
Police should not walk in pairs.I have never understood how they can get away with having a chit chat with each other whist walking on the beat .It is laziness and unproductive and we are paying for it through our taxes.
I work in retail and if i was talking instead of working i would be reprimanded
- Lee Skeggs, buckhurst hill essex, 02/02/2010 15:44
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Mark,London....too true, the public do have to venture out with no protection...however they are allowed to run away and hide when faced with dangerous situations. police officers sadly can't and won't! Police do this so that joe public can go around un protected!
- Jh, London, 02/02/2010 14:44
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You can now add another "p" for "piffle".
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe UK, 02/02/2010 14:44
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They have to do a risk assesment? They have stab vests, tasers, truncheons and handcuffs. Whereas Joe Public has to venture out without any protection......maybe Sir Paul should add another P, pluck!
- Mark, London, 02/02/2010 14:44
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Hold on a minute, I am not good at maths but does this mean if my house is burgled, and I want some help on the hurry up, only one cop arrives now. Dont bother. In fact in Surrey there is only ever three cops on duty for the whole county at any one time and two of them are doing a breathalyzer.
- Paul Johnson, Guildford, Surrey, 02/02/2010 14:44
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So after years of complaining that there haven't been enough police on the streets and years of being told that the public don't know anything about policing it turns out that the public were right all along.
- Richard Holloway, London, 02/02/2010 14:44
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