London Civic Forum,

Pakistan Christian World Organisation,

Caring for Carers association,

The African Families Foundation,

Krishna Yoga Mandir,

Black Cultural Archives,

African Community Forum,

African Youth Initiative,

London Muslim Centre,

Davish Enterprise Development Centre Ltd.,

Genuine Empowerment of Mothers in Society,

Pensioners of Southwark, International,

Aimex,

GALOP,

African & Caribbean Voices Association,

Brent Indian Association,

Hampstead (Quaker) Monthly Meeting,

Anglo Jewish Association,

Friends of Grenada Hospital Association,

The Paralegal Charity,

W.F.Carers Association,

Isle of Dogs Community Foundation,

Nunsbrook Community Group.

I first entered the door of Bow Street police station in 1968 as a fresh recruit from Hendon, with the number C 268 on my shoulder, and spent three happy and busy years at the station. In those days our shift pattern involved 4 weeks of night duty at a time, a very long stretch by modern standards, and the early and late turn officers were supplemented by teams of officers on "market" and "theatre" duties.

The biggest change to the area must be the removal of Covent Garden market. I am continually amazed by the transformation of the area, and the fact that the apparently permanent smell of old vegetables no longer seems to permeate the pavements. Bruce House in Kemble Street, a lodging house which accommodated many single men, often alcoholics, has now become a far more respectable building, and Middle Earth, a club in Covent Garden which attracted many heroin addicts, has long since closed its doors.

I imagine that the nuisances of rubbish, drunks and drug addicts still cause problems, but I am sure that they are not on the same scale now as when I wore my PC's uniform in the area.

Seeing the interior of Bow Street created a few echoes in my mind, but there have been so many changes to the interior in the past 35 years that I had to work hard to remember where the interior walls used to be in some parts of the building. The custody area of the court house next door has also changed substantially, but the features which have not changed are the stone frontage and the cells.

My first arrest was a man called Hugh Healey, a blind alcoholic who smashed a shop window in Little Newport Street with his white stick. I was a bit nervous at court next day, but by the time I had reached the witness box he had already pleaded Guilty and the Magistrate, who knew him very well indeed, said "Hugh Healey. You did this because I did not send you to prison yesterday, didn't you!".

And so he was sent to prison for 3 months or so because that was the only place where he was happy and secure. Very sad, but a reflection of the fact that Bow Street, like many other courts, did their best to deal with social problems by applying the criminal justice system.

If walls could tell tales, they would recount a lot of history at Bow Street, and I am really pleased to think that a museum at Bow Street would be able to reflect the building's tradition and heritage.

I am quite sure that the neighbours in Fletcher Buildings would not be happy to return to the days when stray dogs would howl in the night from the station yard (They sometimes had to "escape" from police custody to give everybody a break!), and do hope that the present proposals for the building can be developed so that everybody is pleased with the result.

Alan Moss

(who retired as a Chief Superintendent in 1997 and is now involved with coordinating the police aspects of the Bow Street museum project )