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Thanks for that, Cress (from Oxford).
The last Commissioner to be born in London was Sir Edward Henry (retd 1918).
I assume the new policy will also put an end to the revolving door between the counties and Met at ACPO rank level, or will they be a special case? https://twitter.com/obbsie/status/1327334320927879168
The last Commissioner to be born in London was Sir Edward Henry (retd 1918).
I assume the new policy will also put an end to the revolving door between the counties and Met at ACPO rank level, or will they be a special case? https://twitter.com/obbsie/status/1327334320927879168
37% of London's population are from outside the UK. Only about 32% were born in London- the rest moved from the rest of the UK or overseas.
800,000 who work there commute in from outside.
31 (2011 census) to 36% (2018 estimate) are BAME.
800,000 who work there commute in from outside.
31 (2011 census) to 36% (2018 estimate) are BAME.
The dishonesty of this supposed concern for where police were born is galling. There is no talk of targets for non-UK EU citizens (about 20% of the London population) for example. It is a proxy for skin colour and it would be far more honest to have a discussion on that basis.
In the 1990s, the likes of @policecommander could buy a two-bed flat in Brixton straight out of training school. That would be laughably out of reach even for a top-band superintendent now.
The notion that London-born officers would "know the streets" is also bullshit. Officers who live in London almost never, with good reason, work in a station near where they live. Doing so poses a risk of corruption, and to personal safety.
You do not want to run into the family or friends of someone you put away while you're doing your shopping or having a pint.
Tell me that an officer from Tottenham will know the streets of Lambeth or Chiswick better than one from Luton or Gorton and I'll laugh at your prejudice and ignorance.
London is, and has always been, a place where people from the rest of England and the world have come to make their lives. They make up the majority of those who live there. The same is the case in the Met.
A police force that resembled the population of London would be in large majority born outside of London, just like most of the people of London are.
The Met has been bending over backwards for years to recruit as many BAME people as possible. The greatest barrier to success is not the Met, but the false narrative the media and politicians like to peddle (except for brief respites when one of us is hurt or killed).
No suprise that black Londoners are put off when the media and politicians are incessantly telling them they won't be welcome there. And ask any black officer where they get the most racial abuse from and they'll tell you it's from their own communities.
London is lucky that so many of the best and brightest from around the country and the world choose to join one of the finest police forces anywhere on Earth- just as they come to work in her banks, ministries, theatres, bars, universities and hospitals.
