Crossing the Line

Lessons from a Life on Duty

By: John Sutherland

Narrated by: John Sutherland

Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's Summary

A Radio 4 Book of the Week.

There is much more to policing than tackling crime. Every one of us will need the help of an officer at some point in our lives, often when we're at our most vulnerable. Yet how much do we really know about the realities of policing? Using real life stories from his 25 years of service with the Metropolitan Police, John Sutherland invites us beyond the cordon tape to bear witness to all he has seen. In doing so, he offers a hopeful vision for how we can tackle some of the biggest challenges facing society today.

Includes a new afterword on policing during the Covid-19 pandemic.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our Desktop Site.

©2020 John Sutherland (P)2020 Orion Publishing Group

Critic Reviews

"A love letter to police officers and the most vulnerable people they protect and serve." (Christie Watson, author of The Language of Kindness)

"Extraordinary...urgent and compelling. We all have lessons to learn from this book." (Simon Mayo)

If you can't trust a police officer...

In recent years there has been a spate of books written by people doing interesting jobs telling their life story. The most successful has been Adam Kay (medical and very funny), the Secret Barrister (hard hitting expose of criminal justice system) and Neil Samworth (gritty tales from Strangeways prison officer). This is former police officer John Sutherland's second book and the first that he has read himself. I like to hear the author rather than a voice actor so selected this instead of his first book Blue: A Memoir.

The author speaks in short sentences with clipped diction with a melancholy tone about his career. Among the grumblings from the author subjects such as pubs and clubs (which he took pleasure in closing down), so-called cafe culture (which he derides), "Scousers" (who "like their football") and crumbling old boozers (homeless people) there are plenty of facts and figures regarding crime rates and the cost to the country of these crimes. It is not particularly political but is scathing about government reforms of the police service which have lead to low morale among frazzled officers and many , Mr Sutherland included, retiring in their 40s due to stress. He argues, quite rightly, the policing is about more than reducing crime levels.

The author wonders what causes terrorists with "twisted ideologies" to commit atrocities but offers no thoughts of his own on the subject. This book came over more as a sorry lament for the state of the world rather than the insight into the police that I had hoped for.

Heartbreaking, insightful and hopeful

As a nurse I always value glimpses and learning from other statutory professionals. The experience and insight shared is fascinating, it offers a glimpse of life’s complexity and considers solutions ...

Well written & thoughtful

Enjoyed this immensely. Written & read by a deeply thoughtful and compassionate man. Struck by his insights, his humanity and his clarity. Highly recommended.

Fantastic.

This book is a fair and honest look at British Policing from a very experienced Officer who's pretty much seem it all. It gives some amazing insights into modern day issues, not just in Polcing, but in societal issues as a whole. It covers everything from knife crime to domestic violence, racism and anything in between. if you think ACAB, then maybe this could be the best way to have a balanced look at Policing without actually doing the job.

A balanced view on a persecuted job

I recently joined the police and found this book to be fair and balanced. Talking about a job that is quite frankly unfairly dragged through the mud on a daily basis.

Policing is tough. But I feel more would appreciate how tough it is, if they took the time to read books like this and actually try to understand.

Melancholy

An review of the life and times of the UK police force by former police officer. Delivered by an honest, pained and beaten down , well to do former public servant.

Policing is an often overlooked and underappreciated service. It gets my respect. despite the few rotten apples.

Respect 👌🏿👌🏿

loved it.

Brilliant book by John Sutherland paints a realistic picture of policing and government politics

What every Politician should listen to

John Sutherland narrates this audiobook perfectly and sincerely. This is more than lessons learnt by a senior poice officer . It should be obligatory reading for every politician, police officer and all others in society who want to make a difference in their communities or simply understand the reality of policing. I enjoyed listening to John narrating the experiences and situations of policing in the past few decades, the changes , statistics and facts. I have a far greater understanding now, which considering I know many police in my church is proof of how little of their work experiences they can offload outside their workplace. A must read for all.

A great listen from experience

This book was a great listen and to have the author read it made it a better experience as it was read from a person who had been there and knew the feelings of the 'thin blue line'

Extremely interesting and thought provoking.

This book covers every aspect of policing we have all read about in the press, then explains the police’s point of view, always remaining scrupulously fair. It is also a thought provoking examination of the issues facing contemporary society in the UK and its rather biased portrayal in the press. I live mostly in France where the relationship between the police and the public seems sadly to broken down. I have often thought how lucky we are in the UK to still have a relationship of trust between the public and the police. This book sounds the alarm about how stretched the police force are as a result of years of budget cuts and how often they find themselves in a « damned if you do, damned if you don’t » position.
I would not usually condone books read by their authors, but John Sutherland does an excellent job as a narrator.
I couldn’t recommend this book more.