The full extent of armed crime in London and the efforts of the Met’s C019 officers to tackle it are explored in a shocking new two-part ITV documentary, In the Line of Fire, which starts tomorrow night (Tuesday 10th February).
I’ve had the chance to see a preview of the programme and, although most of these police fly on the wall documentaries are pretty lightweight stuff, this one is just terrifying.
Nothing I’ve read or seen previously had prepared me for the blatant manner in which the criminals shown in this documentary behave. In my naivety I was totally unprepared for the sight of a 15 year old encased in body armour as he drove around the streets of London.
Given the potential danger of each ‘stop’, the lengths officers go to to avoid shooting suspects and to eliminate innocent passersby from their operations is nothing short of impressive.
A lot of people who should know better have spent the last couple of years branding London’s armed police “trigger happy”, hopefully they’ll tune in and learn just how far their claims are from the truth.
Part two’s on next Tuesday and is just as compelling, definitely worth making the effort to watch.
