On breaking up the Metropolitan Police and localism
Yesterday I left the following comment on F211 : As for of the future of the Met, I'd suggest putting all the Specialist Operations (royal protection, counter terrorism, etc) under the national crime agency, and breaking up the rest into separate forces for each of London's 32 boroughs. It looks like I'm not the only one to suggest this: Is it time to break up the Met? It would involve a structural overhaul of policing in London, to create a new service with a fresh identity, ethos and mission, focused on the capital, and a separate body responsible for national counter-terrorism and security. To expand on my comment from yesterday, one of my guiding principles is that individuals are the best equipped to make decisions about their lives, so power should be exercised at the lowest level possible and flow up from the bottom, not from the top. Additionally, it is easier to hold officials to account locally and has more influence when there are fewer voices clamoring for th...