The choice to name Sergeant Martyn Blake – the police officer who took the fatal shot which killed Chris Kaba – has placed him and his family in intolerable danger.
Anti-police activists, some of whom work in our public institutions, sought to push the narrative of Mr Kaba as a father-to-be and an aspiring architect. In reality, he was one of the most dangerous gang members in London. When he was killed he still had gunshot residue on his arms from a shooting he’d perpetrated against a rival six days earlier.
In court it was revealed that Mr Kaba’s associates were seeking to kill a police officer in retribution. They had offered a bounty of £10,000 in exchange for Sergeant Blake’s personal information – including his addresses and vehicle registrations. The threats were made against both Sergeant Blake and his family – who were forced into hiding. His children had to move schools. During the trial the officer had to be placed under armed protection.
The demonisation of police officers by a noisy minority has led us here
Every day, as they leave their families to go to work, police officers know that they may have to walk into the most dangerous situations. It is a part of the job officers accept when taking their oath to “discharge the duties of the office of constable with fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality”. But to expose their own families to such risks is to ask far too much of any officer.
The demonisation of police officers, going about their sworn duty to protect the public, by a noisy minority has led us here.
As part of a wider anti-police coalition organisations such as the Runnymede Trust, Inquest and Liberty have, supported by a cadre of legal activists, crushed the spirit of police officers. Those officers are now too often unwilling to do what is required to fight crime. While knife crime in the Capital has rocketed in recent years, stop and search has plummeted. In the last 15 years the number of firearms officers in England and Wales has fallen by 16%.
Following the not guilty verdict, the lukewarm statement offered by the Mayor of London is an example of everything that is wrong when those in positions of leadership fail to provide officers with the support they deserve. The statement by the Leader of Lambeth Council was even worse, with not a single word recognising the difficult job we ask police officers to do.
It is the right decision for the Prime Minister to have revived the review into police accountability, which had lain dormant since the General Election. The first change needed is legislating for a presumption that officers placed in a similar position to Sergeant Blake retain their anonymity throughout any trial. We owe it, not just to the police officers involved, but to their families waiting at home too.
David Spencer is the Head of Crime and Justice for Policy Exchange and former Detective Chief Inspector
