Books by Michael Layton

Proud to Serve chronicles the journey of one police officer between 1999 and 2004 as he worked with key community influencers and colleagues to tackle the challenges of policing diverse communities. Whether working to recruit more black and minority ethnic staff into the West Midlands Police, engaging with counterparts in India and the UK to tackle 'Forced Marriages' or simply making communities safer in Cyprus this illustrated book straddles continents as that journey unfolds. It contains recollections including from Paul Lewin, founding chair of the West Midlands Black Police Association who said of his work, 'Our legacy has been about learning from the past, living in the present in order to build and improve for the future. I am proud that we did our best. Ultimately, this will be for others to judge'. Michael Layton concludes, 'From Willenhall in the Black Country to Delhi and the Punjab, and finally Cyprus - was the journey worth it - of course it was!'

'On an average Saturday, some thirty trains carried police escorts of between two and eight officers. Officers sometimes reached the destination with their uniforms soiled with spittle, and other filth, burnt with cigarette ends, or slashed.'Charting the history of violent acts committed by football hooligans on the British rail network and London Underground, numerous retired police officers offer a frightening, and often humorous, insight into how they battled 'the English disease'. Recalling incidents of random, mindless violence, as well as organised acts carried out by some of the country's top hooligan firms, the authors document the times where nothing but a truncheon and the power of speech stood between order and chaos. Exploring a period of fifty years, retired officers Michael Layton and Alan Pacey pay particular attention to the turbulent and dangerous times faced by the police in the 1970s and 1980s, when hooliganism in the United Kingdom was at its peak, as well as exploring more recent instances of disorder. Tracking the Hooligans is an essential account of the uglier side of the beautiful game, and a fitting tribute to those who gave their time, and sometimes their lives, keeping the public safe.