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State of the Metropolitan police

So that the Croydon shooting thread isn't derailed.

A close friend of mine is a Street Duties instructor in the Met. During a conversation they've stated that he can't get uniform through the system, to the extent that officers are being told to buy their own and put a claim through.

This is a snippet of our conversation as follows..
___________________

Not even that will do it.
Probationers are being told to buy their own trousers from specific locations and then claim the money back.
Me. You're fecking joking

I wish I was. Most of them come to Borough without trousers, flat caps and beat duties.
Procurement are issuing out of data shirts and body armour because they haven’t got the new stuff.

It’s an absolute joke.

Me.. That's fecking outrageous.
It’s been raised, it’s been discussed and yet still people are coming to borough without the kit.
At one point an officer came without body armour and their advice was to “share with another officer, take it in turns going on patrol”.
The standard of the organisation.



This ladies and Gentlemen is the state of the Metropolitan police, direct from a frontline officer, this is a person I trust with my life.
 
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The uniform issues are more a reflection on how much procurement has been torpedoed by covid. I am front line and have also recently been a street duties instructor. Up until covid, our probationers were coming along fine, uniform-wise.

I doubt it's a met-only problem either, since there's a single national police procurement hub these days anyway.
 
So that the Croydon shooting thread isn't derailed.

A close friend of mine is a Street Duties instructor in the Met. During a conversation he's stated that he can't get uniform through the system, to the extent that officers are being told to buy their own and put a claim through.

This is a snippet of our conversation as follows..
___________________

Not even that will do it.
Probationers are being told to buy their own trousers from specific locations and then claim the money back.
Me. You're fecking joking

I wish I was. Most of them come to Borough without trousers, flat caps and beat duties.
Procurement are issuing out of data shirts and body armour because they haven’t got the new stuff.

It’s an absolute joke.

Me.. That's fecking outrageous.
It’s been raised, it’s been discussed and yet still people are coming to borough without the kit.
At one point an officer came without body armour and their advice was to “share with another officer, take it in turns going on patrol”.
The standard of the organisation.



This ladies and Gentlemen is the state of the Metropolitan police, direct from a frontline officer, this is a person I trust with my life.

I'm involved with procurement of clothing and security gear and I quickly learnt - the factor that ultimately determines everything is not funding, nor getting approval but availability (and therefore timing). While the situations you're describing make things look grim on the ground, they may not necessarily reflect on the entire organization.
 
I'm involved with procurement of clothing and security gear and I quickly learnt - the factor that ultimately determines everything is not funding, nor getting approval but availability (and therefore timing). While the situations you're describing make things look grim on the ground, they may not necessarily reflect on the entire organization.
Tell that to the guys and girls at the sharp end who are going out on duty without the kit that could ultimately save their lives.

(Not having a dig at you personally, far from it, but the system appears to be fecked)
 
The uniform issues are more a reflection on how much procurement has been torpedoed by covid. I am front line and have also recently been a street duties instructor. Up until covid, our probationers were coming along fine, uniform-wise.

I doubt it's a met-only problem either, since there's a single national police procurement hub these days anyway.

It's come from someone I've known for nearly 20 years, utterly professional and with the very highest of standards and integrity.
For them to have a rant about the shortcomings of the organisation is unheard of. He's MET pissed.

But they're the kind of person to give the probationer their own body armour to keep them safe and rely on experience and wits for their own.
 
I'm not questioning that or his integrity, what reason does he have to make it up? I'm merely saying there are some reasons it may be happening now, and it may not entirely be that the Met is failing although I'm sure PhotEx will be along shortly to explain how I'm wrong.
 
A bit of both, shurley?
Their one task is to issue kit. Get kit, issue kit. Covid aside, has the system run completely dry with nothing held on the shelves? How so? Chefs know to order before they run out, not after the last egg has been used.
Methinks its the civvy contract interfering and working civvy hours, holding the Force up, a'la the Army.
 
Isn't there supposed to be an extra 20,000 constables incoming? I take it they will be available once the Police equivalent of Quartermasters have kit to issue.
 
Isn't there supposed to be an extra 20,000 constables incoming? I take it they will be available once the Police equivalent of Quartermasters have kit to issue.
that was probably all talk to make it look like something is being done seemingly Priti Patel is all talk such as with the migrant crisis which is getting worse.
 
A bit of both, shurley?
Their one task is to issue kit. Get kit, issue kit. Covid aside, has the system run completely dry with nothing held on the shelves? How so? Chefs know to order before they run out, not after the last egg has been used.
Methinks its the civvy contract interfering and working civvy hours, holding the Force up, a'la the Army.

I agree with you about the civvy contract aspect (which may also depend on importation from other countries) but i don't think you can compare a chef ordering foodstuffs to the procurement of stab vests and uniform items per the standard determined for them.
 
Whiney liberals in USofA have been complaining for years that their Police Departments so are too militarised. This is due to federal laws allowing surplus military equipment to be bought and used by Police. Considering what is being sold on eBay UK (plastic baton rounds are now common), why aren't surplus body armour (kestrel) being made available (dye them black first) to our Constabularies? Have seen a lot of C95 uniforms available in black over the years too, and some police do wear their own purchased kit.
 
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