Brixton's community groups call for the return of Commander Paddick

The backlash against the decision to remove Brian Paddick was growing in unlikely quarters yesterday.

The Lambeth Community Police Consultative Group, traditionally the type of organisation that would have had little sympathy for a floundering Brixton police chief, announced it was calling a meeting at the town hall to demand the commander's reinstatement.

It reflects growing concern that Scotland Yard was in danger of wrecking the career of an officer who not only enjoyed a unique relationship with the local community but held the respect of his officers and was making inroads into crime levels in one of London's most troubled districts.

Lee Jasper, the consultative group's chairman and the adviser on policing to Ken Livingstone, London's Mayor, said: "He's a tremendously effective officer and his unique rapport with the community has got to be exactly what the Met is looking for to cope with policing such a diverse population."

Since introducing a controversial policy last July to stop arresting cannabis users to concentrate on those involved with harder drugs, Mr Paddick, 43, has driven up drug arrests by 65 per cent while driving down street crime and burglary. He has also brought other initiatives aimed at generating greater public support.

By removing drug-sniffer dogs from Brixton police station he drew criticisms of "Commander Crackpot" from right-wing quarters but won praise elsewhere, particularly among black communities. He has also managed to remove some of the mystique from Brixton police station, the scene of black deaths in custody and, rightly or wrongly, regarded by many in the area as a symbol of oppression.

Claudette Kenlock, 30, the chairwoman of Lambeth's Independent Custody Visitors Panel, set up by Lord Scarman to allow visits to those arrested, said levels of complaints had dried up. She said: "With all the deaths in custody they have had there, people were very sceptical about what goes on behind those doors. Hopefully, that is changing. A lot of the barriers that have been put up are being broken down."

But what makes Commander Paddick extraordinary as a reforming police chief is that he has the support not only of liberal community support groups but the bulk of the officers in his charge. Barry Thomas, who retired as a Brixton police constable last April after 29 years, said Mr Paddick "cares about his police officers and he cares about the community". He added: "This is his third visit to Brixton. He was a sergeant, then a chief inspector in charge of personnel, and now commander. Ask any of the rank-and-file policemen and they would prefer him to any other senior officer at Brixton in the past five years."

A serving Brixton PC, who cannot be named, said Mr Paddick had introduced himself to every member of staff at the station when he became commander. He is also respected for visiting long-term sick officers at home in his own time. "He supports his PCs. He is aware of their welfare, their feelings and the dangers they go through daily."

The PC said that when tabloid newspapers carried reports of Mr Paddick's comments on the Net saying he had sympathy with the idea of anarchism, officers had checked the website for the context. "If you read the whole piece, as we did in the station, you could see it was mishandled in the press. One of the officers said, 'What's all the fuss about?' "

Mr Paddick, a south London grammar schoolboy and Oxford graduate, has never been a CID officer working on high-profile cases or in the glamour units of the Met, but Brixton officers respect how he "worked his way through the ranks".

But support for Mr Paddick is far from unanimous, with concern that the headlines could be harming the police and confusing the public. One senior officer said Mr Paddick had courted publicity and had demonstrated "lack of judgement and naivety". He said: "If you are going to play with fire be prepared to get your hands burnt. And he has."