Page 86 - Once a copper 10 03 2020

always wear surgical type gloves when inspecting a cell. As I picked up the
garment, I instantly felt sick. Its weight and stench instantly obvious that it
contained human faeces, a steaming ‘Richard The Third’ to use its Cockney
Rhyming metaphor. I flushed the ‘gift’ down the toilet and once I lost my
feelings of revulsion, had a chuckle at my own expense and at the comical
thought of one of them stooping over a sock to make his careful deposit.

Despite all the friendly banter and musical exchanges, it was clear that there
was no love lost for the Babylon (police/Me) by the Rasta Rogues.

I can’t say with any honesty that I enjoyed the experience of my few months
attached to Lock-Up, but I gained an invaluable insight into what life is like for
offenders who served prison sentences. It didn’t soften my view about the
appropriateness of custodial punishments. It did, however, broaden my views
about sentencing and if terms of confinement under these conditions served
as a deterrent or merely hardened a once softer criminal, equipping him with
societal resentment and knowledge to further a career of re-offending.

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Home Again

As soon as I landed back on shift at Erdington, it was as if I had never been
away and I picked up where I had left off. Inspector John Brown made good
his promise and I was posted as observer on both fast response Zulu and local
Delta Mike panda units. I was so delighted to be back I was even able o
shrug off the jokes that I had just had a three-month holiday, if only they
knew.

I was happy to be back, and it showed in my work record, with good arrests
and plenty of the dreaded traffic process. What seemed like days turned to
weeks and before I knew it, on a cold February Monday morning in 1981, I
was attending a course at Walsall Police Station which back then was ‘H’
Division Headquarters. A week of refresher training on law where the ancient
Inspector in charge would order us all up to the roof of the building each
morning for a parade and uniform inspection. Impatient as ever, all I wanted
was to get back to the shift to the job that was now all I cared about. I
worked a 2-10 shift on the Sunday before the course, that ran into the early
hours after the shift plus the dog-man chased burglars across a muddy field
with a couple of successful captures to finish the night. By the time paperwork
was completed it was nearer 3am and Inspector Brown had been with us all
he way on the arrest and doing his share of the admin. Exhausted, it was
gone 4am before I finally pulled the quilt over my head. The alarm was set for
7am as I was being picked up by a mate at 8 to go to the course. Page86