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This is all I can find, it's from 2003>>>Scotland Yard's flying squad, the elite anti-crime unit whose macho image was glamorised in the 70s drama The Sweeney, is to be run by a woman for the first time.
The Met's highest ranking woman detective, Sharon Kerr, will command the squad from next month, taking with her a reputation for straight talking and coolness in a crisis.
As head of Scotland Yard's SO7 division, the 44-year-old will also be responsible for the Met's kidnap and specialist investigations, and the force's hostage and extortion unit.
Though The Sweeney projected the squad as a bastion of male chauvinism, where characters such as Jack Regan charged around high on testosterone and low on fashion sense, Detective Chief Superintendent Kerr insisted yesterday that times had changed.
In a career which has spanned 26 years, she said she had only experienced real problems of sexism with one junior officer when she first joined the City of London force.
"Everywhere else I have been, the men have treated me with the utmost respect and I have never felt excluded," said Ms Kerr, a mother of two.
This will come as no surprise to senior officers at the Met, who like her no-nonsense attitude and the fact that she has flourished in a series of potentially tricky jobs.
"Some people think I'm a bit scary," she said. "I think that is because I'm pretty unflappable. I'm clear in my own mind about what needs to be done. You can't mess around. I want to do the job, and do it right. This is the post I have always wanted. For me, it is the jewel in the crown of crime fighting."
Ms Kerr has worked in the fraud squad, the regional crime squad and the anti-terrorist branch - she investigated the 1992 IRA bombing of the Baltic Exchange and Staples Corner. She has also won four commendations for bravery. At present she is the borough commander in Greenwich, south-east London.
Her husband, Peter, was also a detective, but has retired to look after their two children, Sarah, seven, and Lucas, two. "He says it's the hardest job he has ever done. He is now the primary child carer. Jobs like these are not easy. They are a 24 hour a day, seven day a week commitment."
Ms Kerr said yesterday that one of her first tasks would be reviewing the sentences given to armed robbers. Her instinct is that, with the recent focus on street crime, courts may have become more lenient.
"The same focus isn't given to armed robberies. It will be interesting to see what typical sentences are. You don't hear of people getting 20 years or 18 years any more."
Fictional and real life officers
Det Chief Supt Sharon Kerr
Image
The guv'nor: first and only woman marksman in the City of London force, with 26 years' experience and four commendations for bravery
Family
Married to a former detective inspector in the flying squad, two small children
Catchphrase
"I am not a Scotch drinker and there will be no one to tell me to 'shut it'"
Car
Unmarked saloon car
Det Insp Jack Regan
Image
The guv'nor: no nonsense, sheepskin coat wearing, hard drinking, tough talking thief taker
Family
More of a ladies' man than a family man. The producers killed off partner Sgt Carter's wife early on so he could spend more time with his boss
Catchphrase
"Shut it!"
Car
Ford Granada
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2003/feb/11/gender.ukcrime
| 12 years ago. Rating: 4 | |
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