Personally my interview questions for a new Met Commissioner would just be throwing a bunch of Commander Vimes quotes at them and asking them if they agree.
With Vimes, Pratchett showed he perfectly understood both the complexity and correct way of policing a large city.
With Vimes, Pratchett showed he perfectly understood both the complexity and correct way of policing a large city.
Vimes/Pratchett on consent policing:
"When we break down, it all breaks down. That’s just how it works. You can bend it, and if you make it hot enough you can bend it in a circle, but you can’t break it. When you break it, it all breaks down until there’s nothing unbroken."
"When we break down, it all breaks down. That’s just how it works. You can bend it, and if you make it hot enough you can bend it in a circle, but you can’t break it. When you break it, it all breaks down until there’s nothing unbroken."
Vimes/Pratchett on the application of the law:
"The common people? They’re nothing special. They’re no different from the rich and powerful except they’ve got no money or power. But the law should be there to balance things up a bit."
"The common people? They’re nothing special. They’re no different from the rich and powerful except they’ve got no money or power. But the law should be there to balance things up a bit."
Vimes:
What was a policeman, if not a civilian with a uniform and badge? They tended to use the term these days as a way of describing people who were not policemen. It was a dangerous habit. Once policemen stopped being civilians, the only other thing they could be was soldiers
What was a policeman, if not a civilian with a uniform and badge? They tended to use the term these days as a way of describing people who were not policemen. It was a dangerous habit. Once policemen stopped being civilians, the only other thing they could be was soldiers
Vimes/Pratchett:
"Commander Vimes didn't like the phrase 'The innocent have nothing to fear', believing the innocent had everything to fear, mostly from the guilty but in the longer term even more from those who say things like 'The innocent have nothing to fear"
"Commander Vimes didn't like the phrase 'The innocent have nothing to fear', believing the innocent had everything to fear, mostly from the guilty but in the longer term even more from those who say things like 'The innocent have nothing to fear"
As a sidebar this whole thread has made me realise that the main character in my next book is basically just Vimes if she were 26 and gave up a career in the Met to solve supernatural crimes on the London Underground.
Not sure if that's a good or bad thing. Guess we'll see.
Not sure if that's a good or bad thing. Guess we'll see.
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