A Sheriff rode into town.....

So - 'supercop' Bill Bratton from New York is coming to tell us how to manage our gangs, is he?  Thankfully, the post of Metropolitan Police Commissioner is only open to Brits, so our beleaguered police are spared the final humiliation of having an American tell them how to do their jobs. It's one of the few times I've felt grateful to Theresa May.

It's possible that Sir Hugh Orde, seeing that police work in the capital may be guided by someone essentially acting as a consultant, has decided that being Commissioner will be a sacrifice too far, and is sniping from the sidelines as well as he can - loudly supported by Boris Johnson, who always has an eye for political opportunism.  I note that Bratton is Chair of security consultancy Knoll and it would be interesting to know what fee is being paid to him. Or indeed, the consultancy.

The fury of the Met, (who have reduced gun crime in London) can only be imagined at this move by David Cameron to bow to the popular demand for a crackdown.  This demand, from an equally unpleasant mob now rampaging through the streets of England, is driven by powerful emotions against those people who have looted and caused criminal damage. The emotion is only to be expected; what's less to be expected is a knee jerk reaction from number 10.

Why someone to sort out 'gangs'?  When everyone arrested by the courts has been processed, it will be interesting to see who, exactly, has been caught up in the riots.  I would bet my rapidly shrinking savings that they're not all council house tenants, on the dole, or under the age of 21.  Which begs the question - why this sort of expert?

And it also brought to mind the resigned anger of many people in organisations, who have a consultant thrust upon them.  It may be that they're doing a good job, but perhaps more slowly than management wants, and in order to accelerate the programme, a consultant is parachuted in.

They often have the same sorts of issues that Bill Bratton will have; different experience, an outsider's view of the situation (which may not be right), a different culture.  Plus, they will be facing the irritation of the existing staff who've been dealing with the situation for months, if not years.

The difference between a successful and an unsuccessful consultancy assignment is often down to the communication of the introduction of the consultant - and being hailed as an 'expert' can sometimes be the kiss of death.  You can imagine existing employees folding their arms and sitting back, waiting to be impressed.

And this situation has made me understand why existing employees can be hostile towards consultants - you can see why when you look at the response of senior Met police officers who aren't short of experience. Hugh Orde helped deal with sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, for goodness' sake. 

Bill Bratton hasn't helped himself in his interview in the Daily Telegraph in his positioning - tough guy coming to enforce order. From this 'know it all' stance, any movement looks like a climb-down, but really, a little humility wouldn't go amiss.  The British don't, after all, subscribe to the idea of the wild west and a sheriff riding into to town to sort out the bad guys.