About The Author

I have always been captivated by crime and stories of career criminals and the endless fight to bring them to justice. I also knew from a young age that I wanted a job serving the public. By the time I reached the age of eighteen, I contemplated joining the army but I didn’t relish the thought of being shot. So, I gained employment as a civilian at New Scotland Yard, Victoria Embankment, SW1. It was here that I learned more about the work of the police.

I worked alongside detectives who were there on secondment. I was told many stories of their antics and successful prosecutions and was also shown the file library. At that time everything was paper-based. This library contained thousands of dossiers of convicted criminals as well as those suspected of involvement in crime. Some famous names were among the many brought to my attention.

The detectives painted a vivid picture of early morning raids and some of the crimes they had investigated. I was told that if I wanted a more interesting life, I should join the police.

Having been sworn in as a constable I went to Hendon Training School where I was introduced to those famous words from the Instruction Book of the day:

The primary object of an efficient police is the prevention of crime: the next that of detection and punishment of offenders of crime is committed. To these ends all the efforts of police must be directed. The protection of life and property, the preservation of public tranquillity, and the absence of crime, will alone prove whether those efforts have been successful and whether the objects for which the police were appointed have been attained.  (Sir Richard Mayne, 1829.)

After Hendon Training School I was posted to Bethnal Green (HB). In 1974 I successfully passed a Traffic Division interview board and was transferred to Bow Traffic Garage (TDH), Bow Road.

I eventually transferred to Chadwell Heath Traffic garage (TDK) which included policing the M11.

In March 1982, having passed the sergeants’ exam, I was transferred to Barking and Dagenham Division where I carried out various duties until I was medically retired in December 1997.

I have always enjoyed poetry as an art: the relative succinctness of the form underlining the importance of word choice; the evocative imagery; and the rhythm and rhymes possible within its structure. I started writing poetry from an early age and, upon joining the police, was inspired to continue this hobby. Many of the situations I found myself in and the people I worked with were ideal topics for poems. I found that this form of writing made the mundane interesting; the ridiculous humorous; and the tragic manageable.

My service in the police was – at various times and to differing degrees – joyful, depressing, fulfilling, unpleasant, exciting and challenging. I found that writing poetry helped to manage the myriads of emotions which came with the job and, what you hold in your hands now, is a selection of this work.

Names and some details have been changed to protect privacy. It is also important to understand that these poems were written between 1968 and 1997 and reflect attitudes and society of that era. The author accepts that society and policing have changed and whether some or all of those changes are for the better or worse is for the reader to decide.

Today I continue to write poetry about events in my domestic life.

Laurence Kamm