A potent force for change

"My career in detection, the commendations, running my own force and being commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service would be the stand out achievements," he suggests. "Above all, though, the majority of my efforts have been centred on the ability to make a real and genuine difference – both in terms of crime reduction and supporting police officers on the streets. Ensuring that they're not taken for granted. You can't hope to do much more than that."

However, if Sir John had heeded family concerns the story that's about to unfold might have been very different. He was interested in a career in the police service from an early age – his grandfather had been in the Metropolitan Police for 30 years, no less – but his father didn't want the young professional to follow in those footsteps. Sir John takes up the story.

"I don't think my father felt I'd last very long, but I took to policing like a duck to water," adds Sir John. "The sheer amount of variety in the job and the opportunity to do something good for society has always been appealing. I've enjoyed every minute of my policing career."

Beginnings at the Met
Sir John very quickly made his mark, beginning a career in the Metropolitan Police where his roles included leading successful murder inquiries, working on the hunt for the infamous spy George Blake and serving as commander of the busiest CID office in London.

As time moved on, Sir John increasingly became involved in strategic decision-making at the highest level, and – not infrequently – in highly sensitive circumstances. He spent two-and-a-half years as assistant chief constable of Hampshire (where he was appointed in 1986, with responsibility for personnel and training), and then served as deputy chief constable in the Cambridgeshire constabulary tasked with looking after discipline, policy and strategy, personnel, finance and administration.

In September 1989, Sir John was appointed to conduct the so-called 'Stevens Inquiry' into breaches of security by the security forces operating in Northern Ireland. This eventually resulted in 43 successful convictions and over 800 years' imprisonment for those found guilty of wrong-doings.

Not only that, the report produced post-inquiry in 1990 contained over 100 separate recommendations for the handling of security documents and information, all of which were accepted and implemented.

In September 1991, Sir John was appointed chief constable of Northumbria Police, where he implemented a total restructuring of the force and its crime reduction policies. This led to a 42% decline in crime across the region over a five-year period – results the like of which had never been achieved in British policing. He also served as chairman of the ACPO Crime Prevention Committee and the Behavioural Science Committee, and acted as an advisor to the Forensic Science Service.

More recently, in 1996 Sir John was appointed one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary with direct responsibility for the north east, the National Crime Service and the National Criminal Intelligence Service.

During the course of his career, Sir John has been commended on 27 separate occasions for his outstanding detective abilities and courage in the field. Clearly, he's used to introducing major changes and 'troubleshooting' in circumstances where he may find himself facing a degree of mistrust and resistance. In such a scenario, Sir John's approach to the problem is very much based on consensus.

"You need to take people with you," he states, "and remember that the best ideas usually come from those on the ground floor. They're the ones who are closest to the problems. It's then up to you to produce the overview. You need to look at the demands placed upon the police within the given organisation, and try to match these with the demands of the people you serve."

Sir John is also no stranger to criticism. It's a normal by-product of the demanding targets that have to be met, and certainly something from which the most high profile figure in the police service cannot hope to escape. Sir John accepts all of this with typical sangfroid.

He comments: "Members of the public have high expectations, and it's only right that they should. The bottom line is that you can never hope to be 100% right all of the time. The only way to deal with criticism is to admit to your mistakes and then tell people what you're going to do to rectify them."

The Metropolitan Police commissioner will also routinely accept responsibility himself. "I will not let the blame for any errors be placed on the shoulders of individual police officers. I'm still very involved with operational activities, and so I can fully understand the exacting challenges officers are having to face up to on a daily basis."

Making a real difference
Sir John assumed his post as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police on 1 February 2000. Morale was low at the time due to a variety of factors, not least the inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the fact that staffing levels were plainly inadequate (the Met could only recruit 60 officers in any given month, whereas the current figure stands at 60 officers per day). Since then, there have been dramatic changes. Surveys show that morale is high among the Capital's policemen and women, which has been reflected in notable successes.

There’s now a far greater acceptance that police officers can’t do everything when it comes to fighting crime within the much more demanding society in which we find ourselves

"Last year, you may recall that we made 160 promises relating to crime and community safety. All have been met," states Sir John with obvious pride. "Indeed, we've realised all but one of our promises this year as well. We're on course for 35,000 serving officers in the Metropolitan Police, so clearly things have moved on. However, there are still plenty of issues to be tackled. We need to perform better when it comes to diversity, in particular when we're considering race and gender."

There have been huge changes in London in recent decades, all of them eventually impacting on how policing needs to be tackled. The Capital has become a multi-cultural city, with 16 new communities evolving since Sir John joined the police service as a raw recruit. There have also been major technological developments, including the advent of the mobile phone (which has pretty much changed the tactical organisation behind many crimes) and, of course, the evolving terrorist threat.

The wider policing family
It's the complexity of today's challenges to law and order that have made it so important for the police and private security industry to work much closer together in the fight against crime and criminality. To this end, Sir John agrees with those industry commentators who suggest that attitudes within the police service towards the private security industry participating in the wider police family have mellowed of late.

"There's now a far greater acceptance that police officers can't do everything when it comes to fighting crime within the much more demanding society in which we find ourselves," suggests Sir John. "The considerable success of the various community partnerships that we've already witnessed is consolidating this approach even more."

Sir John then goes on to discuss some of the new models that have been emerging. Models that have – in truth – been working well for a number of years. The CCTV Control Room Sir John opened in Sedgefield four years ago, for instance, represents an excellent example of partnership working. It involved "a Control Room run by members of the private security industry, the district nurse, the local Council and the local beat bobby". As Sir John rightly states: "That's the way to deliver the service."

As part of its Safer Neighbourhoods programme, the Metropolitan Police service has introduced ward-based teams dedicated to policing the communities in which they're based. Each team comprises one sergeant, two constables and three Police Community Support Officers.

Sir John is also quick to highlight the valuable work that can be carried out by Neighbourhood Wardens. That said, he still feels there's some way to go yet before the opportunities arising from both the extended police family and closer working between the public and private sectors have been fully explored. Sir John also stresses that the police service needs to run the delivery wherever new crime-fighting structures are developed as, by law, this is their responsibility.

Of course, closer working isn't merely about taking on duties that might previously have been executed by those directly employed by the police service. It's also about co-operating, networking and learning from one another. Indeed, Sir John feels that the police and the private security sector have much to learn about each other's ways of working.

Sir John continues: "While working within the rigid framework required by public accountability has helped the police to control the ways in which its services are delivered, the private sector benefits from having a much freer rein which encourages innovation. The private sector also enjoys a tremendous skills base in budgetary and IT management. Security professionals have very specific areas of expertise, and can offer us a better understanding of the challenges facing them."

According to Sir John, in turn businesses can learn a good deal from the police about controlling, monitoring and reporting on the quality of service provision, anti-terrorism delivery, dealing with organised crime and the various types of cutting edge technology and forensic science solutions in which the police has invested. Any increased co-operation, though, will need to be based on mutual trust, and a belief (backed up with hard evidence) that all parties concerned are operating to the highest professional standards.

For this reason, Sir John is keen to promote enhanced standards within the security sector – as exemplified by his agreement to become Patron of The Security Institute (TSI). "It was an immense privilege to be asked to become Patron of such a prestigious organisation that's very obviously having a significant impact on raising levels of professionalism across the security sector," stresses Sir John.

Initiating strategic policies
As Patron of TSI, Sir John is looking forward to helping the Institute initiate strategic policies and projects, further influence standards of education and training and set and deliver the goals required to attain Chartered status.

He adds: "A key part of my role will involve developing the type of alliances and partnerships that are so important – with Government, the police, the military and the academic fraternity. This focus on cultivating closer links is already in evidence. Contributors to a planned TSI guide on CCTV will include representatives from the police and the Home Office. Indeed, the Institute already numbers a fair few police officers among its membership."

So what are the secrets of Sir John's success? Obviously, the ability to formulate a strategic overview, cope with pressure and embrace change, allied to an enthusiasm for constantly acquiring and applying new knowledge.

Perhaps what's even more impressive is that Sir John has managed to retain a genuine understanding and respect for what occurs at the grass roots level, remaining firmly committed to supporting those who are facing day-to-day operational challenges.