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legal system. Of the high-profile collapse of several rape trials in which officers failed to disclose key evidence, he said: “These cases strike at the very heart of our legal system and leave our confidence in it severely shaken. They damage people’s lives. At the moment, constables do not receive sufficient and specific training in this area. As almost all police officers begin and end their careers as constables, this is unsustainable.” Sir Thomas also urged police chiefs to embrace the latest technology to “interrogate” the huge amount of material now held on electronic devices. But he said steps taken by internet giants “to make sure their services cannot be abused by terrorists, paedophiles and organised criminals are inadequate”.

“Impenetrable” coded messaging has made life easier for criminals, he said. “If the giants of that world continue to devise ways to frustrate law enforcement...the case for compulsion will be ever stronger.”

Two officers on the beat in London. But it is the ‘gruesome’ side of policing that often goes unseen