The Richard Dimbleby Lecture 2005

By Sir Ian Blair QPM, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service

November 16th, 2005

Good evening. What kind of police service do we want? Let me begin with a story.

"A riot is going on. Bottles, bricks and petrol bombs are raining down but the line of police officers is standing firm. Suddenly, one turns and runs. The young man runs and runs and then collides with a tall dark figure. Without looking up, he says, "I am sorry, Sarge. I just couldn’t take it any longer."

A voice says, "This isn’t your sergeant, son, this is the Commissioner."

"Ah", says the lad, "I am so sorry. I didn’t know I had run back that far."

I usually tell that to new officers and their families, as they finish their initial training. I use the joke primarily to poke fun at myself but also to emphasise that, like every Commissioner since the 1960s, I have been a constable as well as the Commissioner. Therefore, I am telling these officers, I know what you will experience, for good and ill, and I am also telling the families that

I know what you are feeling because mine felt the same, worried about dangers ahead.

However, even within that explanation, there may be potential for concern about whether the police service is open enough to outside influence, a thought to which I will return.

During the next forty minutes, I will sketch a brief history of British policing but I will also be asking three interlinked questions. What kind of police service do we want, who should decide that and how? The first question, what kind of police service do we want, could be asked at any time but two days this year seem to me to demand that it be answered now, in our time. I start with 7th July, when fifty-two people were killed in the largest single act of murder in modern English history, an event which has profound implications for our society. The other day was 6th July, when London won the opportunity to host the 2012 Olympics.

The presentation which the London Olympic Team gave in Singapore was an astonishing, vibrant tour de force. It represented London as an open, diverse and modern city, which valued equality of opportunity and love of life, including sport, as essential components of a free society.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• DIY video helps the WI get to grips with sex
• Artists urge nation to save Titians
• Go home, Iraqi leader tells Britain