Publisher's Synopsis
"PC MITCHELL! BUTTONS!"
It's 1981. Margaret Thatcher is Prime Minister and police inspectors are picky over untethered pockets. Charity bands and police body armour haven't been invented yet.
The police service has just come through a difficult decade of low numbers, low pay and low morale. As a new decade dawns Brian Mitchell is propelled from sixth form to uniform - to a two-year probationary period as a PC in Shirley, Southampton.
In this witty, thoughtful and fascinating tale of policing in Thatcher's Britain, the former superintendent recounts his experiences as a young recruit - from the penal-like homophobic regime of training school to foot patrol work - where he deals with deranged dogs, drunk drivers, domestic disputes - and a knife wielding youth in his first hour on duty.
An exposé of life on and off duty, Can I pee in your helmet? recounts uproarious tales of ignominious encounters with "Hells Angels", IRA sympathisers and exotic dancers, while exposing the grim realities of sudden death in a compassionate and reflective way.
Meet Reg, the racist footie fan; local crime kingpin Val (VD for short) Dromone and back breaking public order shield training drills. Explore the social lives of young men living in single officers' police lodgings with curries, clubs, pubs, a shift brewery trip and a stag night - all 1980s style...what could possibly go wrong?
