Just got back from a picket line before heading off to demonstrate, and heard on BBC News 24 that record numbers of civilian police employees failed to show up for work in London, including (if I heard it right) 75% of police staff at the Palace of Westminster (ie Parliament). Scotland Yard are panicking, and cops are being re-deployed hither and thither to make up the short-fall, but if even plod employees aren't "real" cops, if even they're throwing sickies that shows how much support this strike really has. In fact, a recent poll by Populus shows most people support the strikes -

 http://liberalconspiracy.org/2011/06/21/against-strikes-actually-people-support-unions/