Bedfordshire Police bosses defend 'Luton-bashing' Channel 4 show
The chief constable of Bedfordshire Police and the county's police and crime commissioner (PCC) have defended a TV show after Luton Borough Council accused it of giving the town a “disproportionate amount of bad publicity”.
Last week, a leaked letter revealed that LBC had urged John Tizard and Chief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst to end the force’s participation in Channel 4 programme 24 Hours In Police Custody, saying it fuelled "Luton-bashing".
The letter read: “Every week when this programme airs to millions of people across the UK it fuels the “Luton-bashing” we have become accustomed to which further damages our reputation.”
The documentary series mostly follows officers in Bedfordshire who investigate crimes in the county. But it has covered cases in Cambridgeshire and from the Eastern Regional Special Operations Unit. According to the PCC and chief constable, since 2019 “only a third of programmes featured cases in Luton”.
The leaked letter continued: “This kind of negativity affects our community’s sense of identity and purpose, in limiting their perception of their own lives, relationships, and opportunities.
“It’s also a kick in the teeth to all of us who work hard every day to support our residents and are trying to take our town forward.
“We feel that it is time for Luton to end this negative relationship with wider audiences and if the programme is to continue, for another force to feature in it.”
In response, a letter signed by John Tizard and Trevor Rodenhurst said that the show has had an “overwhelmingly positive impact on the public’s perception of policing” and is regularly watched by over two million people.
According to research by Channel 4, 98 per cent of viewers said it had either improved or reinforced their positive opinion of the police and
more than 80 percent of viewers agreed the series sensitively brought important but different issues to a mainstream audience.
The men said they would “discuss with the producers to see what measures can be put in place to reduce any negative perceptions of the town”.
They added: “Over the past 10 years this programme has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on the public’s perception of policing.”