There’s a New Dick in Town – Met Police Appoints First Female Commissioner

I can’t help but wonder if there’s a teensy bit of patriarchy in the decision to give Cressida Dick the job as Commisioner of the Metropolitan Police. Fine, we’ll give it to a girl, but we’re gonna make damn sure there’s a dick in there somewhere.

Otherwise, the decision to make a woman Britain’s top police officer is a brilliant boost for equality. Police across the world have long been associated with machismo, violence and misogyny – deserved or not. This promotion goes to show that the best of our bobbies doesn’t always have to be a bloke.

Dick will be the first, and most ironically named, female leader of the Metropolitan Police. She’s currently their head of counter-terrorism, which might be telling as to what the Met’s future may hold.

From Oxford Uni to Met Uniform

The 56 year old was appointed by a panel that included Amber Rudd and Sadiq Khan, two figures vocal about equality. The choice isn’t totally without potential opposition. She was exonerated of any wrong-doing in the shooting of innocent Jean Charles de Menezes, killed by police after the 7/7 bombings. His family have already issued a statement condemning the appointment.

She also isn’t the typical class of London bobby – she was educated at Oxford University and became an accountant before joining the Met. All of this is behind her in the rise to the top however. Dick stated she was ‘thrilled and humbled’ when she was offered the job. She doesn’t have necessarily large shoes to fill though – two of her three predecessors resigned in middle of their five year term.

Cuts and Counter-Terrorism

This less than stellar precedent may provide some breathing space, despite the challenges she will undoubtedly inherit. Money will be the real problem she’ll be tackling. The force is expected to make £400m worth of cuts in just three years time. This will mean job loss and redundancies at a time when knife crimes and violent offences are on the rise. The resulting police force would be unrecognisably small, and yet there are potentially more cuts on the way.

These could be limited though. Perhaps with Dick at the helm, calls for counter-terrorism to be taken from the Met and handed to the National Crime Agency may stop. She is, after all, very much the woman for that job. Guns will also inevitably raise their shiny, hate-filled heads. There are calls for more officers to carry arms after terror attacks in Europe and the US. Others, including some officers, want to keep guns off the streets and out of everyone’s hands.

Regardless of the problems she faces, the Met’s position has been made crystal, Cressida, clear. The old boys are out, the new blues are in, and there’s nothing to stop women rising to the top.

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