Revisiting Met-Track's source of inspiration 11 years on

Met-Track Scheme Director and Founder, John Powell MBE, returned this week to the very source of the inspiration that had him devise Met-Track back in 2005 as a then London Police Superintendent.


He met with officers of the Los Angeles Police Department in Downtown LA, who currently champion their Juvenile Impact Programme (JIP) - the scheme that John used as the initial template for Met-Track. Although a very different format to the London project, he emerged from the meting all smiles with several ideas to bring back for potential implementation at home.


"It was a really productive meeting," said John. "Our schemes are very different in format, but identical in terms of what we want to achieve, and many of the principles on which JIP operates illustrate common ground with Met-Track.


"In its infancy, the LA JIP was far more 'boot camp' style and there were a lot of aspects we couldn't have entertained back in London, but their reformatted version recently introduced had many parallels with what we seek to deliver.


"I had been back once already a few years ago with then Scheme Manager Jason Hussain, and we went into the programme in some depth over a number of days, but this single meeting was just as useful by way of update on where they are now. Both LA and London have common issues in providing for young people, and the fact that two cities can be drawn together in this way, I believe, is totally unique, and a process of which Met-Track should be very proud."


John was initially entertained in the downtown district of the city at the Police Station on East 6th Street, and was later able to visit the LAPD Academy - famous if nothing else, for its featuring in the initial Police Academy feature film.


John, Scheme Manager Matt' Threadgold, and the new Met-Track Executive Board will consider a full report put together by John upon his return to London next week.

Met-Track Scheme Director, John Powell, meets Deputy Chief Commanding Officer Robert N. Arnos, of the LAPD Operations Department

At the conclusion of his LAPD visit, time for a quick 'selfie' outside the LAPD Police Academy

John was hosted by LAPD Juvenile Impact Programme Coordinator, PII Cintia Hernandes