I had the pleasure to meet and spend the day in London with Josep Maria ROTA and his family, a Sergeant in the Mossos D’Squadra, Catalan Regional Police.
As soon as they arrived at Liverpool Street, it was straight to Islington Police Station Central North BCU. A tour of the building included visits to the Body Worn Video download room, something of particular interest, as the Catalan Regional Police will be rolling out the devices later this year.
Introductions to various different units, including Spanish speaking officers, who were able to give Josep and his family a very unique insight into British Policing and being a foreign national Police Constable in the Metropolitan Police, something not very common across the rest of Europe.
After concluding the visit to the station the tour of Islington continued with a visit to the Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club. A long an informative walk around the stadium, coupled with conversations on policing style and tradition. The tour continued with a guided “crime tour” of the borough, with stories being told of the various incidents and crimes that I have had the pleasure to investigate or supervise.
The day concluded at the hotel, after a long and interesting drive through the non-touristic parts of London, giving Josep and his family a different view of London, not typically found on any tourist itinerary. This is typical of any IPA exchange or visit, the chance to meet with colleagues from around the world, to see and experience things that you would never be able to do without tapping into the IPA extended network. “Servo per amikeco”.
Oz Bagatirlar, 9 Region, London North (of the Thames)