Among the very first acts carried out by Sir Ian Blair in his new job as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police was to change their logo. At the cost of several thousand pounds drawn from his budget, the word 'together' was added making the logo now read, 'Working Together for a Safer London’.
Londoners, I am sure, will now all be able to sleep more soundly in their beds together, safe in the knowledge of Sir Ian's bold initiative.
At the time he announced it, Sir Ian remarked “The word you’ll hear a lot from me is ‘together’”.
The Commissioner has certainly lived up to his promise. In an open letter sent to all Londoners at the start of his appointment, Sir Ian remarked, after declaring one of his central aims to be ‘to build stronger links with Londoners’, ‘If we are to be successful, we must work together with you.’
Few at the time could have appreciated just how much a man of his word Sir Ian would turn out to be, or how literal-minded.
Sir Ian is reported in today’s papers as having just announced his intention of encouraging senior police officers to spend up to five years away from their jobs working in industry and commerce to improve their management skills.
Now, we know what Sir Ian had in mind by saying he wanted London’s police and population to work more closely together.
Whether their doing so will ultimately make the capital any safer is doubtful. However, if the way in which Sir Ian has started his job is anything to go by, part of his undying legacy will will be to have given fresh currency to the familiar police initials, ‘PC'.