The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Review
THE MET: POLICING LONDON
BBC One, 9.00pm
“I’ve been stabbed,” says 22-year-old Kobi Nelson, to the 999-operator. “I’m dead. I’m dead.” He sounds frightened, but unexpectedly calm, as he manages to give his address to the operator, who promptly sends both police and paramedics in his direction. Before they get there, his brother finds him lying in the street and picks up the phone. The sound of him shouting Kobi’s name over and over is made all the more harrowing when we learn that, after being stabbed 14 times, Kobi died at the scene.
Last year saw the highest number of under 25s killed for a decade, we’re told at the outset of this sobering second episode of the series, which follows the Metropolitan Police as they try to solve his murder, along with that of 19-year-old gunshotvictim Kelvin Odunuyi. Both took place in the North London borough of Haringey, five weeks apart, and police suspect they are linked.
The film puts a human face on the statistics we read about so often – on the perpetrators, victims, their families and the community fighting against violence. Meeting community leaders, police commissioner Cressida Dick admits, “We are clearly not on top of the issue and we need to get out there and deal with it.” Catherine Gee