The forthcoming Mayoral election gives the good citizens of London an opportunity to make their feelings known.

As well as Mr Livingstone, the (realistic) choices are limited to Boris Johnson for the Conservatives, and Brian Paddick for the Liberal Democrats.

Unfortunately Boris Johnson has absolutely no track record in doing the job which needs doing in London.

If the Mayoral role were restricted to Holland Park, Chelsea and Belgrave, maybe, but the fact is, the sight of Bozzer and his associated entourage, walking through Lambeth, Wandsworth, or Brixton is more likely to fuel the angst, rather than diffuse and stop if for good and with this in mind, the person best qualified to carry out the job of Mayor of London is a no-brainer so far as London, and Londoners are concerned.

Its been said that if you snapped Brian Paddick in half, like the proverbial "stick of rock", you could read the word "LONDON" right through the centre of him and after reading Brian Paddicks record of service to the community over the years, its hard to take issue with the claim but don't take my word for it..

Brian Paddick - the early years on the manor
Brian Paddick was born on 24 April 1958 in Balham in London, England, and spent his early years in Mitcham and Tooting Bec.

A Londoner to the core, he was educated at Bec Grammar School in Tooting Bec, and at Sutton Manor High School (now Sutton Grammar School), in Sutton.

He went on to take a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at The Queen's College, Oxford and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) at Warwick Business School, University of Warwick (1989–1990), on police scholarships; and also studied for a postgraduate Diploma in Policing and Applied Criminology at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

When he was at Oxford, he was Captain of the University Swimming Team and Vice-Captain of his college's rugby team. Pedigree enough to keep "the establishment" happy? Only time will tell.

Brian Paddick - The Beat Bobby
Paddick joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1976, living in Highbury and Limehouse while he worked for four years as a Constable in Holloway.

Rising through the ranks, he served as a response team officer, community officer, detective, and as a member of the Territorial Support Group (commonly referred to as the riot squad - the arm of the police force who get sent to deal with the distasteful stuff which generally includes having rocks and petrol bombs thrown at you).

Stripes
Speaking of petrol bombs, Paddick was a sergeant on the front line during the 1981 Brixton riot, an experience which shaped his attitudes about confrontational police action and strengthened his belief in community policing for evermore.

He was appointed Inspector in Fulham in 1983, Chief Inspector of the Personnel Department of New Scotland Yard in 1986, a staff officer in 1991, and Chief Inspector in Brixton in 1993.

During this period, he also worked in Deptford, Lewisham, Thornton Heath (where his brother was the local vicar) and Notting Hill while living in Sutton, Pimlico and Westminster.

CID
In 1995, Paddick became the officer in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Notting Hill and was responsible for policing the Notting Hill Carnival.

Responsibilities he stood up to, and undertook with aplomb, whilst at the same time gaining respect from the community which hosts the carnival.

Paddick returned to New Scotland Yard, first as Superintendent of the Personnel Department in 1996 and then as Chief Superintendent in 1997.

Back in Uniform
He then served as Borough Commander for Merton for two and a half years (1997–1999), responsible for policing Wimbledon, Mitcham and Merton.

After attending the Police Staff College in 2000, in December 2000 he was appointed Police Commander for the London Borough of Lambeth where he worked until 2002, fulfilling his ambition of becoming head of policing in Brixton.

At Lambeth he had direct responsibility for 940 police officers and 230 support staff, and he controlled an annual policing budget of £37 million.

Specialist Policing
After a stint in the Specialist Crime Directorate, which deals with serious cases such as murder, kidnap and fraud, Paddick returned to borough-based policing, overseeing the northwest London boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, and Islington between 2002 and 2003.

Clearly Mr Paddick could sit and pass London cabbies test "the knowledge" with ease, so many boroughs of the city has he worked in on patrol.

Perhaps most important of all, he was also responsible for youth and community issues including Police Community Support Officers and police volunteers across the whole of London. Quite a task in the grand scheme of things and a record which would stand him in good stead for tackling the "gang" mentality which currently runs through the streets of the Capital.

In November 2003 Paddick was promoted to Deputy Assistant Commissioner, and in April 2005 he took over management of Territorial Policing across all 32 London Boroughs, with responsibility for 20,000 police officers and support staff.

He was accountable for reducing "volume crime" in London (all offences up to and including rape in terms of seriousness) and increasing the number of offenders brought to justice.

He was the national lead for the police service on disability and mental health issues for a year and a half and he was also in the media spotlight as the senior Metropolitan Police Service spokesman for the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales and after the 7 July 2005 London bombings.

Two of the highest profile "situations" London has dealt with in recent times.

Paddick on Cannabis?
In 2002, as Commander for the London Borough of Lambeth, he instructed his officers not to arrest or charge people who were found to be in possession of cannabis. They were instead to issue on-the-spot warnings and confiscate the drugs. Although Paddick is credited with the idea, the pilot programme was sanctioned by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, Sir John Stevens.

At the time The Borough of Lambeth was, as it is today, a tinderbox which was just waiting for the spark which would explode it into an anarchic, no go zone for police and citizens.

But Brian Paddick's actions had a positive effect on the crime rate of the Brixton area, and relations between the community and police were greatly improved as a result.

A situation which sadly no longer exists today.

His popularity was also boosted by his willingness to engage in debate with the local community, and on their terms.

Urban 75
In an unprecedented step he registered an account on the message boards of Urban 75 , a Brixton-based community website, and set about communicating with the citizens he served, using a method never before used by the police. Not overtly anyway.

Today in 2008, the Internet is THE wild west which enforcement needs to conquer.

Not to infiltrate in a covert, secretive manner, but to use as a communications platform on which local people can, anonymously if they wish, discuss the concerns they have for community issues and there can be no doubt Brian Paddicks track record shows he is already well able to undertake and succeed in this task.

Mail on Sunday
But even though the sortie onto Urban 75 was hailed as a great success there were rumblings of dissent. Thunder clouds on the horizon which broke into a storm of biblical proportions when the Daily Mail's Sunday edition, "The Mail on Sunday", published a story written by Paddicks former partner, James Renolleau .

It was a "kiss & tell" situation in the very best traditions of the term, which went on to say that Commander Paddick had used cannabis himself.

The article also highlighted Brian Paddicks homosexuality as a matter of concern. Why that would be the case is anyones guess but it also claimed he was an anarchist based on a comment he had made on Urban75 in January 2002.

In fact, he had written that "the concept of anarchy has always appealed to me", but that he was "not sure everyone would behave well if there were no laws and no system."

Paddick was transferred to an intelligence position and the allegations were investigated by the Crown Prosecution Service.

In a show of support never before or since seen for a serving police officer, his transfer led to public rallies in Lambeth, in support of what the people of Lambeth saw as "their" police commander who was a member of "their community".

A community which took the Mail on Sunday's allegations as a personal affront.

The CPS decided in late 2002, (perhaps wisely) that no charges would be brought and in November 2003, Paddick was promoted to Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Territorial Policing.

In a December 2003 out-of-court settlement, the Mail on Sunday accepted that their story was false. A web of lies, for which they apologised, and paid damages.

The only shred of good to come from this distasteful situation was the governments decision to re-evaluate its policies with regard to drugs, and a change in the law to decriminalise cannabis from a class B to a class C drug was suggested. Subsequently the law was altered by then Home Secretary David Blunkett in February 2004.

Paddick for Mayor
On 2 September 2007, Paddick informed Pink News of some of his priorities if elected mayor.

Paddick on Drugs
On illegal drugs, he reiterated that they are "dangerous and harmful and it is better if people live without them", but that he had a "realistic approach" to enforcement and would not be afraid of adopting a "radical solution if it's fully thought through, if it's workable, affordable and gets the right result".

Sophisti-Cat
He promised to regulate the timings of London's buses and to apply the London congestion charge in a more sophisticated manner that differentiated wealthy chauffeur-driven chief executives from delivery drivers.

Paddick on the Olympics
As regards the 2012 Summer Olympics to be held in London, he pledged to ensure that "the best possible show" would be staged with "value for money for every single pound spent".

Paddick on Climate Change
He promises to take the lead in tackling climate change and minimizing the impact on the environment by powering the London Underground with renewable energy, and to provide the right environment for business without interfering in businesses.

Paddick on Knife Crime
Perhaps most importantly, in a leaflet released on his campaign website on 10 September, he pledged to "put more police officers, fully trained, equipped and with the necessary powers out on the street, dealing with violent gun and knife crime" and as an aside to this, Brian Paddick has vowed not run for a second term of Mayor of London, if he fails in any of his aims or claims.

Brian Paddick - the choice is yours
But after reading through his record to date, I don't doubt for a minute, the man who seemingly achieves everything he sets out to achieve, will make a marked difference on the streets of London.


Chronological information sourced from wikipedia