:00:03. > :00:07.Many of us will get the chance to elect police commissioners. We have
:00:07. > :00:15.been to America to see how commissioners there can have a
:00:15. > :00:20.dramatic impact on crime and the community. Everybody wants crime
:00:20. > :00:24.rates to drop. Now the coalition are looking to America for
:00:24. > :00:29.inspiration. What is it about the police commissioner system they
:00:29. > :00:34.find attractive? Here in Springfield, Massachusetts, we
:00:34. > :00:44.might find the answers. It is not much bigger than a town like
:00:44. > :00:50.Blackpool. Springfield is the birthplace of basketball and doctor
:00:50. > :00:54.was used, of Cat In the Hat fame. You might think it's too many
:00:54. > :00:59.employers fat hand in glove. One is the gun manufacturer, Smith and
:00:59. > :01:09.Wesson, the other, a hospital. It is a beautiful city but it has an
:01:09. > :01:13.
:01:13. > :01:19.A gunshot wound. Not life- threatening but the ambulances on
:01:19. > :01:23.the way and will bring him to the hospital. There were 19 mark does
:01:23. > :01:29.here last year and the rocks and a big problem. But things are
:01:29. > :01:35.improving. It was the 18th most crime-ridden city in America a few
:01:35. > :01:42.years ago, now it is 80 forced. Asked front line cops why and the
:01:42. > :01:49.answer is clear? The Commissioner's sole function is to relate to the
:01:49. > :01:56.community. He has fingerprints and everything and the Department.
:01:56. > :02:05.is the man. He has enabled us to utilise any resources to accomplish
:02:05. > :02:09.what we need. More free time to catch bad guys. It is what we do.
:02:09. > :02:13.William J Fitchet is the police commissioner here. There is no set
:02:13. > :02:19.model. They can be civilian administrators or can rise through
:02:19. > :02:27.the rank as police officers. He is not elected as commissioners in the
:02:27. > :02:30.UK will be. He was appointed by the elected mayor of the city.
:02:30. > :02:35.Springfield's police commissioner is protect and surf through and
:02:35. > :02:39.through. He started as a rookie policeman in 1973 and has been a
:02:40. > :02:47.sergeant, Lieutenant, and deputy chief, before being appointed as
:02:47. > :02:53.commissioner in 2008. The position as it exists here is the chief
:02:53. > :02:58.executive of the Police Department. That is in all phases.
:02:58. > :03:05.Administrative, budget, deployment, Assignment, promotions, hiring and
:03:05. > :03:15.firing, and overall philosophy of deployment strategies. It is an all
:03:15. > :03:15.
:03:15. > :03:21.encompassing position. So how has this American version of the Police
:03:21. > :03:31.Commissioner affected will be seen on the streets? We are in heroin
:03:31. > :03:38.Ali. This is where drugs are belt all the time. It never stops.
:03:38. > :03:44.Sergeant John Delaney has served with the department for 29 years.
:03:44. > :03:51.The hazards that we face every day at gangs, drugs, guns. They usually
:03:51. > :03:58.go hand in hand. Crane fuels -- the kind that fuels everything is
:03:58. > :04:06.narcotics. As regards where we patrol the commissioner has his
:04:06. > :04:11.fingerprints on everything inside the department. Take for example
:04:11. > :04:16.the shot spotter system. Fought for and delivered by the commissioner.
:04:16. > :04:21.What you are about to see happens in real time. When a gun is fired
:04:21. > :04:26.in Springfield, thanks to a network of microphones covering three
:04:26. > :04:31.square miles of the city centre and computers and African -- patrol car,
:04:31. > :04:40.this is how long it takes for every person -- policemen on the streets
:04:40. > :04:46.to know that it happened. We're going to a shot fired report right
:04:46. > :04:53.now. They are saying that at least one shot was fired. It has helped
:04:53. > :04:56.these officers catch Keller's antique firearms off the streets.
:04:57. > :05:06.We will see if there are many victims, sometimes they just fire
:05:07. > :05:07.
:05:07. > :05:13.their guns in the air, there are no victims. The victim, Just 17, has
:05:13. > :05:18.been shot in the rest. The system leads officers know if they're
:05:18. > :05:24.heading into a so-called hot call. It is just one example of the
:05:24. > :05:28.Commissioner's impact on policing. He develops rules, regulations,
:05:28. > :05:34.policy and procedures, is in charge of disciplinary procedures,
:05:34. > :05:39.training, even the equipment that we carry. Whatever the crime of the
:05:39. > :05:43.issue, domestic violence, car crashes, or a gun crime, it is the
:05:43. > :05:53.commissioner that decides how it is most effectively or efficiently
:05:53. > :05:55.
:05:55. > :06:00.policed. This year is called the X. One of the busiest parts of
:06:00. > :06:05.Springfield and one of the most crime-ridden. The commissioner is
:06:05. > :06:09.here to launch an initiative. It is called Operation Badge. He has
:06:09. > :06:15.listened to residence and formulated a plan. Now he will sign
:06:15. > :06:19.teams to implement the plan. They risk their lives every day for you.
:06:19. > :06:29.I would ask that you remember them and keep them in your prayers every
:06:29. > :06:29.
:06:29. > :06:39.night. Patrol men a day and Dan a part of the Operation Badge team. -
:06:39. > :06:57.
:06:57. > :07:02.We will check it out and confirm it before we go. Have a seat. So this
:07:02. > :07:09.American police commissioner his hands on. A mixture of police chief
:07:09. > :07:15.and police authority. But has area is not much bigger than Blackpool.
:07:15. > :07:19.Our system will be different. We will elect commissioners are on
:07:19. > :07:25.November 15th to represent entire constabularies, like Lancashire,
:07:25. > :07:29.not single towns or cities. They will be civilian administrators
:07:29. > :07:33.removed from day-to-day policing. That said, the philosophy is
:07:33. > :07:39.similar to the American model. Listen to communities, give them a
:07:39. > :07:42.voice, set policing priorities accordingly. Here at they will hold
:07:43. > :07:47.police chief Constable's to account if they fail to tackle priorities
:07:47. > :07:50.effectively. It is a powerful position and one person who will
:07:50. > :07:56.see much of the overseers role currently wielded by police
:07:57. > :08:03.authorities which are being scrapped. And they could be from
:08:03. > :08:08.any background. Policing experience is not essential. Our system will
:08:08. > :08:12.not exactly mirror for the American experience. Depending on your
:08:12. > :08:16.viewpoint it I'd against the public a proper say in policing for the
:08:16. > :08:19.first time, it is a waste of money that could be better spent on more
:08:19. > :08:27.officers. William J Fitchet believes that giving people a voice
:08:27. > :08:32.in how their streets are policed pays off. If the public are not on
:08:32. > :08:36.board, no question, with your mission and objectives, then those
:08:36. > :08:42.objectives are much more difficult to obtain. So in all things
:08:42. > :08:48.communication is vital. And not just glossy communication,
:08:48. > :08:52.effective communication. American experience can teach us
:08:52. > :08:56.that commissioners can directly influence the way away streets are
:08:56. > :09:06.policed. The vote that we all have in November would appear to be
:09:06. > :09:07.
:09:07. > :09:11.Coming up: after winning celebrity mastermind, Stuart Maconie axe --
:09:11. > :09:20.asks our poet Laureate what makes more than poetry different to the
:09:20. > :09:30.south. Getting cent flounced by pop music, the arts, surrealism,. -- it
:09:30. > :09:32.
:09:32. > :09:37.What if a town could grow its own food? Sounds bold but embraced by
:09:37. > :09:41.the residents of Todmorden. They have been farming their own produce
:09:41. > :09:44.in public spaces from police stations to graveyards. As well as
:09:44. > :09:54.growing vegetables they have also grown a strong sense of community
:09:54. > :09:57.
:09:57. > :10:02.spirit. We went to meet them. Beneath me as the Pennine town of
:10:02. > :10:08.Todmorden. Once famous for will and cotton. I have come to find out how
:10:08. > :10:12.the town has gone -- undergone a green revolution. Many of us take
:10:12. > :10:17.an interest in gardening and some of us even plant a few bulbs. But
:10:17. > :10:23.Mary Clear and her friends began a food revolution in 2007 called
:10:23. > :10:28.Incredible Edible. They started by planting food all over town. Free
:10:28. > :10:33.for anybody to take. It started around the kitchen table like many
:10:33. > :10:37.good ideas often do. We were just a couple of women worrying about the
:10:37. > :10:42.future of the world. How do we survive in a supermarket culture?
:10:42. > :10:48.That is how it started. Instead of blaming other people, politicians,
:10:48. > :10:55.global warming, let's think about what we can do ourselves. What do
:10:55. > :11:01.you grow and where? We have had to squeeze in bits and bobs wherever
:11:01. > :11:06.we can. Strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, every type of
:11:06. > :11:10.rhubarb, Bury, and help you can think of. In the police station we
:11:10. > :11:17.have sweet corn, lettuces. We have attempted to squeeze him whenever
:11:18. > :11:25.we can. The railway station, potatoes, helps, so whenever we can
:11:25. > :11:29.find bits of space. We have had to use our imagination. The graveyard
:11:29. > :11:34.did look very sad and quiet and lonely. It was really a brilliant
:11:34. > :11:40.idea because the people who own the but -- the graveyard, the church
:11:40. > :11:46.council, instead of rejecting the idea, thought it was brilliant.
:11:46. > :11:53.the emphasis just and self- sufficiency? We had an ambitious
:11:53. > :12:02.aim to be self-sufficient in food and vegetables by 2000 any team.
:12:02. > :12:05.That work has even gained royal approval. That was fabulous. To get
:12:05. > :12:11.an e-mail saying Prince Charles would visit, I thought somebody was
:12:11. > :12:16.winding us up. It was a glorious day. The sun was shining and it had
:12:16. > :12:23.all was quintessential English things. A brass band, children
:12:23. > :12:29.waving flags, it surely was a lovely day. Do you have to ask for
:12:29. > :12:33.permission to grow things anywhere in the town? We are very lucky that
:12:33. > :12:43.our council has issued a licence. Any surplus council land you can
:12:43. > :12:44.
:12:44. > :12:48.apply for a licence to grow food on. I met one of the green fingered
:12:48. > :12:52.pioneers of Incredible Edible. Having a bit of experience of
:12:52. > :12:56.growing something is very important. It is a connection with the
:12:56. > :13:01.environment. One of the things we do when people first come here, not
:13:01. > :13:08.in January because there is not much to eat, is help them to try
:13:08. > :13:11.things and taste staff. It goes from that direct personal visceral
:13:11. > :13:14.experience to a I can make this grow. We are doing it in a
:13:14. > :13:19.different way in that we are trying to help young people to develop
:13:19. > :13:22.their own businesses as individuals or as small groups and to become
:13:22. > :13:28.farmers of the future. It is wonderful, the best thing I have
:13:28. > :13:33.ever done. This passion for food is shared
:13:33. > :13:38.with the students at the local high school. I spoke to the head teacher.
:13:38. > :13:43.It has been incredible. It started small. The school catering manager
:13:43. > :13:48.was keen to develop food we produced in school and rather than
:13:48. > :13:54.just providing healthy food in the canteen, he was interested in where
:13:54. > :13:57.the carrots were coming from. It happened that at the same time, the
:13:57. > :14:02.community was developing things in the same way. It became one of
:14:02. > :14:05.those moments when it two different parallel routes suddenly realise
:14:05. > :14:13.that the other person is doing the same thing and decided that that
:14:13. > :14:16.was the way we have to work together. She used colours. Because
:14:16. > :14:20.of the initiatives that have changed in the town, we are
:14:20. > :14:26.starting to see students choosing to do projects around food. We have
:14:26. > :14:31.seen some of the students who have linked with Incredible Edible in
:14:31. > :14:34.Todmorden to design a logo has. We will be sending them to one of the
:14:34. > :14:38.groups to seek which warned they will use in the town. That is a
:14:38. > :14:44.proper piece of exam work that the students have been doing that is
:14:44. > :14:51.based in a real example of everyday life. We are successful in gaining
:14:51. > :14:56.a bid from the lottery. We have nearly �750,000 to spend and we are
:14:56. > :15:00.going to design a fish farm at the back of the school for school use,
:15:00. > :15:03.but also for community use. That should then become a viable
:15:03. > :15:07.business that produces fish that the canteen will use and then
:15:07. > :15:11.hopefully, we can sell some fish to the community as well. For many
:15:11. > :15:17.students, it is not just about exam results, peeping that gives them
:15:17. > :15:20.the confidence and the resilience they will need in the world are the
:15:21. > :15:24.proper practical skills and the fact they are working with adults
:15:24. > :15:27.on an equal footing. We are changing opinions about what high
:15:27. > :15:35.school is about. It is a bit different, but it is exciting and
:15:35. > :15:41.it makes people smile. It is not just new producers of
:15:41. > :15:45.food that of feeling this community spirit, local farmers feel that
:15:45. > :15:55.they can contribute to the community and the economy. We have
:15:55. > :16:01.got many British rare breeds. We have probably got close to 100 pigs
:16:01. > :16:06.in some form or another. They are outside, they are doing what pigs
:16:06. > :16:12.do and therefore, this reflects in the meat. What of the benefits for
:16:12. > :16:16.the local economy? It is very easy when you live so isolated to become
:16:16. > :16:19.someone who does not understand what you need to do it is sell your
:16:19. > :16:26.goods to the town otherwise you will mop be a farmer. That is what
:16:26. > :16:31.we did. Incredible Edible introduces do a lot of people
:16:31. > :16:35.farming. It is imperative that a lot of local businesses are kept as
:16:35. > :16:44.local businesses because the town it needs them. We need the town. It
:16:44. > :16:50.is a two-way thing. If more people bought more curly -- locally, we
:16:50. > :16:54.would be better off. People want to know what they are eating. You can
:16:54. > :17:02.go and have a look. If you don't like what you see, don't buy it.
:17:02. > :17:07.That is the end of it. If you eat something from South Africa, you do
:17:07. > :17:13.not know how it is kept. If you respect the food you eat, then you
:17:13. > :17:16.will find it, see it, ask questions. More people enjoy a bringing their
:17:16. > :17:23.children up, letting them touch the animals and see what they are like.
:17:23. > :17:28.It makes a difference. What started out as a small idea around a
:17:28. > :17:33.kitchen table has taken the town by force. Mary and Incredible Edible
:17:33. > :17:38.have created a movement which has become a community focus. It is an
:17:38. > :17:43.idea that is based on goodness and kindness. Everybody wants to be
:17:43. > :17:47.good and kind so it can happen anywhere. Mary got to meet Prince
:17:47. > :17:51.Charles again, this time in a more formal setting. It is very
:17:51. > :17:56.embarrassing to be asked to go to the palace and get a brooch, but I
:17:56. > :18:00.have been, I have done it, it is finished, and it is lovely to get a
:18:00. > :18:04.reward for doing something that you love anyway and that you could not
:18:04. > :18:14.do unless hundreds of other people wanted to support you in what you
:18:14. > :18:15.
:18:15. > :18:20.The landscape of the Lake District has proved a great inspiration for
:18:20. > :18:26.poets, not least William Wordsworth, who wrote some of his most famous
:18:26. > :18:32.works here. These days, our modern poets are inspiring a new
:18:32. > :18:42.generation of young writers to put pen to paper.
:18:42. > :18:46.
:18:46. > :18:51.Our next contender, please. Your When I was asked to appear on
:18:51. > :18:57.Celebrity Mastermind two years ago you might have thought I would
:18:58. > :19:07.choose music, football or the Lake District. But instead, I chose
:19:08. > :19:11.
:19:11. > :19:18.something I am even more passionate The north-west has been inspiring
:19:18. > :19:22.poetry bought hundreds of years. The Lake District was inspiration
:19:22. > :19:29.to Ruskin, Coleridge and Wordsworth. But the more gritty areas have also
:19:29. > :19:35.inspired poetry. Do workers want a living wage? Do a rock star's light
:19:35. > :19:39.about their age? Are you the business? As a punk obsessed
:19:39. > :19:45.teenager in the late 1970s, I must have seen John Cooper Clarke
:19:45. > :19:51.hundreds of times. He made his mark early, becoming more successful
:19:51. > :20:01.later. No, and not the same poet as I was
:20:01. > :20:03.
:20:03. > :20:12.back then. You always had a blind us about you. High energy. Very
:20:12. > :20:22.fast. But I don't think I am as fast as I was. Bandit, say goodbye.
:20:22. > :20:35.
:20:35. > :20:39.It is a hire car. Try not to kill He went on to become an unlikely
:20:39. > :20:43.part of the establishment when his poems were chosen for the national
:20:43. > :20:52.curriculum. It was at his own school in Salford that his passion
:20:52. > :20:59.for words began. I am lucky because I always had good teachers.
:20:59. > :21:07.Especially in the case of Mr Malone, who was a very rugged type with a
:21:07. > :21:12.glass eye. He was always incurring serious injuries in the holidays.
:21:12. > :21:19.He loved outdoor pursuits, 1 -- water-skiing, mountain-climbing,
:21:19. > :21:29.and he was very passionate about certain Victorian poets. He managed
:21:29. > :21:30.
:21:30. > :21:37.to convey this. Because he was so into it, it was not seen as been
:21:37. > :21:44.anything cheesy. What I touch you with a ten-foot
:21:44. > :21:50.bargepole? Are you the business? You read this poem about 10 years
:21:50. > :21:54.ago. It tries to express the beers and nerves that I feel on a stage.
:21:54. > :21:58.Enabling young people to express themselves is exactly what
:21:58. > :22:03.performance poet Mike Garry aims to do when he holds workshops in
:22:03. > :22:07.schools. He spent 15 minutes in here with me and you will feel like
:22:08. > :22:12.you have lived here for one week. You constantly rationalise what is
:22:12. > :22:19.right, what's wrong, what is white, what is black. At constant search
:22:19. > :22:25.for something witty, profound or so sing to do come up with one working
:22:25. > :22:29.with students at safe -- St Cuthbert's.
:22:29. > :22:33.If I'd read them my poems, they can see how simple they are. Then they
:22:33. > :22:40.can think that they can do it as well and they can have fun. That is
:22:40. > :22:47.what I say to young people all the time. They will be shocked, and
:22:47. > :22:53.some of them were even say for exams? Isa no, entertainment. They
:22:53. > :22:56.were meant to entertain people sometimes. Mike is a former
:22:56. > :23:00.librarian and is passionate about books, so much hope he is
:23:00. > :23:10.encouraging the children to publish their own. When the children write
:23:10. > :23:14.good poems, I photocopy them. I photocopy them, staple them, fold
:23:14. > :23:19.them and create a book. They create this him -- this anthology within a
:23:19. > :23:26.day. Her fully what this has done is sparked a desire within young
:23:26. > :23:32.people to want to hold books, to want to go to libraries. I put them
:23:32. > :23:37.in strategic places in the libraries as well. I started
:23:37. > :23:44.building up a character. As a result of him coming into this
:23:44. > :23:48.school, more pupils want to stay on at the Rochdale school.
:23:48. > :23:52.Traditionally the grips of language and literature were only about nine
:23:52. > :23:59.or 10 at strong. Now it is about 32 or 33, so it has massively
:23:59. > :24:02.increased. What he has done is make them realise that they are as
:24:02. > :24:06.talented as anyone else. It does not matter about the estate of the
:24:06. > :24:11.postcode, it is about aspiration. Students should be going to sixth-
:24:11. > :24:18.form and university. That is what he did and the great marquee has
:24:18. > :24:27.left with the score. A tuneless tune coming out of a toothless
:24:27. > :24:35.tunnel. Can't cry for conscience. Can't cry, well, because you just
:24:35. > :24:40.can't cry. We have worked with poets because there is a special
:24:40. > :24:47.freedom in the north-west because they look at the world differently.
:24:47. > :24:54.It is a non-London centric in terms of identity. When did the President
:24:54. > :25:04.give you the date? Nothing to do with him. 1,200 targets, where they
:25:04. > :25:04.
:25:04. > :25:11.marked on a chart? All was the prisoner stripped of?
:25:11. > :25:21.There is a real performance edge to northern poets which has made him a
:25:21. > :25:23.
:25:23. > :25:30.bid team -- a different. I noticed his hands, her hands, the
:25:30. > :25:37.clash up their sparkling rings and their painted nails.
:25:37. > :25:41.If you did a roll-call now of the most interesting poets, they might
:25:41. > :25:46.not all be based in the north. There is an energy that is in
:25:46. > :25:51.London centred. Is that northern voice may be the opposite of an
:25:51. > :25:57.academic Metropolitan poetry? It takes its influences from other
:25:57. > :26:03.sources, so it is not just poetry which is influenced by English
:26:03. > :26:13.literature, it is influenced by comedy and pop music, the arts,
:26:13. > :26:13.
:26:13. > :26:20.surrealism, by what you over here in the corner shop. I think the use
:26:20. > :26:25.of language in the north is unique. It is sparky.
:26:25. > :26:30.In first place, 33 points, it is a steward. In case you are wondering,
:26:30. > :26:36.I went on to win at Celebrity Mastermind so the best way to learn
:26:36. > :26:40.something, is to love at first. That is all from me for this week.
:26:40. > :26:44.If you have missed any of the programme, you can watch it again
:26:44. > :26:53.on the iPlayer. I am back at next Monday at seven deadly pm on BBC
:26:53. > :26:57.One. Until then, have a good week. -- 7:30pm.
:26:57. > :27:07.Next week, the plight of High Street. Are they a thing of the
:27:07. > :27:07.
:27:07. > :27:54.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds
:27:54. > :27:57.Two men have gone on trial charged with plotting to murder Celtic
:27:57. > :28:01.manager Neil Lennon. Trevor Muirhead and Neil McKenzie are
:28:01. > :28:11.accused of sending letter bombs. They deny it. This is a blaze at
:28:11. > :28:13.
:28:13. > :28:16.Tilbury power station in Essex. It began in a building containing wood
:28:16. > :28:19.pellets. More than 100 firefighters were called out. No-one was hurt.
:28:19. > :28:23.Silence was golden at the Oscars. The Artist won five awards
:28:23. > :28:25.including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor. Meryl Streep won
:28:25. > :28:29.Best Actress for her role as Margaret Thatcher. Hello, I'm
:28:29. > :28:32.Annabel Tiffin, the latest from the North West. Kenneth Stott died from
:28:32. > :28:35.a single punch during a row at Glossop railway station. Three
:28:35. > :28:39.people are being questioned over his death at the weekend. 35 people
:28:39. > :28:42.died when a plane crashed into Winter Hill in Lancashire in 1958.
:28:42. > :28:46.They were all workers from the Isle of Man. Today a memorial service
:28:46. > :28:50.took place to remember the disaster. The weather, a cloudy and quite wet