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“Contact Policing” and the Role of the Constable

In the past twenty-four years in my profession, three men have had a profound effect on the way I think about what I am doing in the police service. The first was Sir Robert Mark who, for me, was the man who pushed our front door open and lifted the blinds. He encouraged, even demanded, that we should allow people to see us as we really are. His argument was that there was more good in our make-up than bad. I like to think that we were rather like a family, content to roll along in a comfortable muddle when suddenly we received notice that visitors were expected. The first thing that generally happened in these circumstances was that a thorough 'tidyup' effort swung into action so that by the time our visitors arrived they saw us in good shape. What they did not see, however, was us as we really were unless they remained with us for an extended stay. Our visitors the public, in all their shades of opinion, attitude, prejudice, intention and sheer curiosity are still with us and, of course, it was inevitable that this should be so. On the one hand it is difficult for us to ask them to leave without appearing to offend them, and on the other we have seen great benefits in their being around. Put quite simply, we have had to put our house in order, keep it in this condition and not rely upon the quick 'tidy up' to divert public scrutiny or criticism. The man who took us a stage further in this process of 'open policing' was Sir Kenneth Newman. For him, it was necessary that we should be seen to be not only a tidy and well-ordered family, but also one that lives and works by example. His whole approach was one of professionalism in all that we do. The highest standards were called for, particularly from those entrusted with management responsibilities and those of us involved in this way became familiar with a full range of management jargon objectives, strategy and tactics, research and planning, goals, action plans and, more latterly, budgetary forecasting, control and analysis. Sir Kenneth's great strength lay in his ability to be innovative and to encourage others to use their creative skills. To this end he completed his planned re-organization of the Metropolitan Police, the theme being that of de-centralization and corporate management. Great impulses of change were felt by us all and the mood became one of optimism and promise as the weight of responsibility was levelled across the entire force and no longer focussed upon a central point. The third man to affect my thinking was a young constable who, during a conversation over coffee, remarked that his job satisfaction