Officers to receive training on how to stop canteen culture-but there are no canteens across London police stations.

Police officers across the country are soon to receive training on how to stop ‘canteen culture.’

Across London there are twelve Basic Command Units and not one has a canteen. There have not been canteens across London police stations for numerous years now. Actually, there aren’t many police stations-but that’s a story for another day!

As highlighted in the media, members of the public have been quick to criticise police officers seen eating in their vehicles as they do not have a canteen. Or seen buying food in local food outlets as once again they do not have a canteen to buy their food from.

The aim is to tackle what has been called ‘corrosive canteen culture’ that is believed to be thriving across these canteens that do not exist in London.

There are many problems that need to be tackled across our police forces, but surely if the vetting system is restored as it should be after cost cutting saw it weakened, the need for this training would not be so vital.

We all know that after more than a decade of brutal cuts that have cost police forces millions right across the country, their vetting system that as we can see is so vital, has failed and surely this is what should be focused on. Under going stringent checks before joining the police is a necessity and investing in a vetting system that does not allow for mistakes as they seem to have done over numerous years, is what is needed.

It is also important that any hint of another David Carrick is quickly removed, and not allowed to thrive for many years as he did. There are numerous red flags in certain officers that are spotted by colleagues and bosses, and it is these that need to be dealt with very quickly and not swept under the carpet. These are the important changes that need to be made.

Canteens can provide many positive aspects for police officers, with the obvious having a place to eat being the first without facing abuse, as is often the case from members of the public.

Another important aspect can be the opportunity to actually start to process or share with a colleague, an incident an officer may have dealt with that could well have been traumatic. Those twenty minutes with a colleague who may be able to support them, or flag up a place to go if they feel anxious, could potentially be life saving.

We know that mental health has become a huge area of concern for so many of our police officers, with a shocking one in five suffering with PTSD.

Most of us enjoy that quick time out with a friend or colleague in the canteen to actually decompress from the strains of a busy job and policing certainly is a busy and stressful profession.

Most police officers will tell you that they have very little time for meals breaks, if any at all.

The clearing out of toxic behaviour surely lies with a strong vetting system and an internal system that immediately calls out any officer displaying that corrosive and disgusting behaviour we have seen in the past.

Policing is in danger of losing some very dedicated and hard working officers that are unsung heroes. Reported numbers are leaving in droves due to the endless pressure they are put under, that have so far not stopped wrong doings.

It is time our police forces are rid of those that clearly have no place in policing, but we must also look to retain those who do an outstanding job across our communities despite all the odds.

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