Very Q (quiet) first night shift (Friday) of our set of 7 nights. Went to a domestic where our caller said his wife had 'stabbed' his new girlfriend (already, I have questions). We got there, it actually turned out that it was a very minor cut with a potato knife - but the 999 call had been very dramatic. He was there, pissed, covered in bumps, cuts and bruises - turns out his wife's new boyfriend had given him a right beating. It was like an episode of Jeremy Kyle, trying to

Stop and search is one of those police powers that everyone has an opinion about. Most people have seen it on TV, read about it in the news, or perhaps been stopped themselves. Depending on which side of the argument you’re on, it’s either an unacceptable invasion of privacy, or a vital tool in fighting crime. From my own experience, it is also one of the powers that is easiest to misunderstand and, sometimes, easiest to get wrong. “Gotta have grounds” Officers have to have g

The news that two police officers were killed on the A66 near Middlesbrough—along with five young men in another vehicle—is horrifying. My thoughts are with the family and friends of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough of Cleveland Police. It’s heartbreaking that they left for work that day not knowing they would never return. May they rest in peace. It’s less than two days since the tragedy, and details are still emerging. Reports indicate officers were in pursuit of a VW Pa

A cell door somewhere. This is the best side to be on! If, like me, you’ve watched enough police dramas, this will already be familiar. Police have arrested someone, they’re marched into a police station, and booked in with a few brisk lines of dialogue, and “bang” they’re shut in a cell before the story moves on. The reality is that custody is one of the most legally important, carefully controlled, and often misunderstood parts of policing in England and Wales. It’s not jus

One in an occasional series (more information here) We had one slightly interesting job last night - a woman calls 999 to say their family dog was asleep on their daughter's bed, suddenly woke up, bit her and went mad - they were all hiding in a bedroom with the dog going crazy outside! We turned up with firearms, all ready to taser/shoot this mad dog, when it came down the stairs wagging its tail! Advised them to take it to the RSPCA as they obviously won't or can't handle t

As a front line police officer, I attended thousands of incidents over the years, and met many people in all sorts of situations. Sometimes there was drama - death, injury, violence, confrontation. But not always, sometimes situations weren't as they first seemed, or people surprised me. There were quite a few funny situations too. People are endlessly amusing! I started writing down some of these more memorable stories, although I'm not sure why. I did for a while have a blo

This is something I’m seeing more and more often, for some reason, in adverts and TV dramas, even the odd dark comedy (I’m looking at you, Inside No.9!) So here is my impassioned and heartfelt plea to the costume team, crowd ADs, or anyone who is putting extras and actors in police uniform in front of a camera… PLEASE NO HELMET STRAPS! Police officers wearing helmets (or ‘bowlers’ if the officer is female) with the chin strap / restraints is an absolute clanger. It never happ

Now available to view on Sky TV and Now TV! Really pleased to see this out there and doing well. I worked with the script editor on a number of scenes, including some of the most dramatic (!), helping to ensure that the drama was gripping and exciting, while maintaining as much reality as we could. This included suggestions to improve dialogue between people in the various agencies, advice on procedure, and some significant plot points too. I really enjoyed my time on this pr

Local Headmaster Michael Polly (David Morrissey) becomes the prime suspect in his wife Sarah's disappearance when he encounters gutsy Detective Annie Cassidy (Eve Myles) in a compulsive game of cat and mouse. I am very pleased and proud to say I was Police Advisor on this production. I was involved from the start, reviewing the excellent scripts (written by George Kay) and offering advice on police procedure and plot points. During pre-production I spent a lot of time working

Shabana Mahmood, Home Secretary (Picture credit: BBC) After not quite five months in post, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has unveiled a white paper setting out the government’s plans to reform policing. On paper, at least, the proposals are radical. The headlines include: Bringing together existing national agencies and specialist capabilities – the National Crime Agency, Counter Terrorism Policing, regional organised crime units, police air support, national roads polic

Blimey, how can it be Christmas, again?! For those that celebrate, I hope you have an enjoyable and peaceful Christmas. If you're working as over the holiday season, as many police officers and staff will be, then stay safe, enjoy the company of those you're with, and I hope you get time to relax and be with family, friends and other loved ones soon. I'm already looking forward to another busy year of working with film and TV productions - maybe if you're in the business, we

We’ve seen two sides of policing this week - the terrible and the heroic. Sadly, the balance is tipped to more of the terrible, I’m...

Jason King brandishes a knife shortly before stabbing a neighbour Jason King is a 55 year old man who, on a warm evening in May 2024,...

You may have seen the above somewhat click-baity headline here in the Guardian . The story goes on to say that: “…a man who had returned...

The nation's obsession with crime - both fictional and true - continues. The former is good news for me as a police advisor (!), but...

Justice is an important part of democracy, and to ensure public confidence, it has to be seen to be effective. That includes the handing...

Some time ago when I introduced my blog series about Armed Policing, I included some statistics about the number of firearms deployments...

The Government recently announced plans to tighten up police vetting to allow forces to sack officers who don’t pass their vetting....

You may remember the appalling story from April last year of a man with schizophrenia who stabbed and killed multiple people in a Sydney...

I was involved in the filming of this important drama - as a Supporting Artiste, not a Police Advisor - you can see me in the still above...