The Metropolitan Police of the mid-twentieth century, in particular The Flying Squad and Obscene Publications Squad, has been described as 'the most routinely corrupt organisation in London'. Larger-than-life characters such as Ken Drury and Alfred 'Wicked Bill' Moody routinely fraternised with underworld figures, paid off witnesses and struck dodgy deals to get their man - regardless of whether he was innocent or guilty. And the problem went far beyond a couple of 'bent' coppers: in the end, fifty officers were prosecuted, while 478 took early retirement. Using Metropolitan Police files obtained under Freedom of Information, which have not been accessed since the 1970s, author Neil Root can finally tell the real story of how the Met became systemically corrupt, and how Sir Robert Mark, who became commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in 1972, finally cleaned it up.

About the Author
Neil Root is a true crime historian and the author of Gone (Mainstream, 2016), Frenzy! (Preface, 2012) and Twentieth-Century Spies (Summersdale, 2010).

Reviews
"Root demolishes the excuses of corrupt police; that they cut corners for the greater good, to bang up criminals. As for sources, Root has gone to the National Archives for the Met's files on the investigations of the 1970s. One of the books in Root's list of books consulted, 'The Fall of Scotland Yard', is equally worth reading, to give a sense of the press sniffing at the corrupt squads and of the smell of the Seventies, including that aura (as exploited by the likes of Drury) that British police were the best (also pushed by The Sweeney on TV) and could not do wrong." * Professional Security Magazine *



Book Information
ISBN 9780750989206
Author Neil Root
Format Paperback
Imprint The History Press Ltd
Publisher The History Press Ltd