What is it really like to spend almost 20 years policing London?

In Part 1 of this conversation, I sit down with one of my closest friends and former Metropolitan Police colleague, Laura Pond.

From the outside, policing is often reduced to headlines and headlines rarely tell the full story.

Together we look back on our time in the Met, talking honestly about Hendon training school, response policing, becoming detectives, Counter Terrorism, Professional Standards, major incidents and the unseen pressures that come with wearing the uniform.

Laura shares how she nearly never joined the police because of anxiety, how putting on the uniform transformed her confidence, and how she went on to work in Counter Terrorism, helping improve the UK's response to victims following the Tunisia terrorist attack.

This isn't a conversa ...