tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33077394424067225332024-03-08T04:40:04.494-08:00The Thin Blue LineCrime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.comBlogger212125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-53992320877533710722018-01-29T01:44:00.001-08:002018-01-29T01:44:22.770-08:00Reality Check: Is crime up or down?re-posted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41149778<br />
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Whether crime is rising or falling is hugely important. It can affect how much is spent on policing and other related services, even how people vote. But working out what is happening is not an exact science. Reality Check explores the figures and what they mean.</div>
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When we talk about crime rates we usually look at two things: police records and the number of incidents reported in the annual 38,000-person <a class="story-body__link-external" href="http://www.crimesurvey.co.uk/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(17, 103, 168, 0.3); border-bottom-color: rgb(220, 220, 220); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Helmet,Freesans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Crime Survey for England and Wales.</a></div>
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Neither is wrong but the more difficult question is which best represents how much crime is actually being committed.</div>
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We are talking about England and Wales only, because Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate criminal justice systems.</div>
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Scotland has a similar survey on perceptions of crime that runs every two years, however, and in the most recent one, crimes committed against adults were down 34% since 2008-09 and 16% since the previous survey in 2012-13. </div>
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Crimes recorded by the police in Scotland are at their lowest level since 1974.</div>
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Discrepancies in the data</h2>
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The England and Wales survey, which is conducted face-to-face and asks individuals about their experiences of crime, suggests crime fell by 9% in the 12 months to June 2017 compared with the year before. </div>
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In contrast, police-recorded crime went up by 13% in the past year. Violent crime went up by 19% and violence that resulted in injury by 10%.</div>
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Knife crime in London has been rising
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Under-reported crimes</h2>
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The Crime Survey is generally considered a good measure of crime experienced by individuals because it is not affected by changes to how crime is recorded.</div>
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It also includes crimes that have historically been under-reported to the police.</div>
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However, it has some limitations. It does not cover crimes against businesses or people living in communal residences like care homes, prisons or student accommodation. It is also excludes crimes where there is no victim to interview, for example murders and drug offences.</div>
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And there is a time-lag in the survey, so the figures are older than police figures. This means the survey is very good for looking at long-term trends but less good at spotting emerging ones.</div>
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Questions regarding computer-based crimes and fraud were recently added to the survey but we don't have enough comparable data yet to include them in the headline figures. Including those crimes massively inflates the overall figure as they make up almost half of all crimes those surveyed said they had experienced. </div>
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Recording practices</div>
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Police records are a good measure of what's happening to well understood and well reported crimes like burglary. But it's not so good at capturing under-reported offences. And because police-recorded crime is so sensitive to changes in recording practices, it had its designation as a national statistic removed in 2014. </div>
<div class="story-body__inner" property="articleBody" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; color: #404040; font-family: Helmet,Freesans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 18px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
For example, the number of crimes described as "violence against the person" went up when two new harassment offences were added to the category.</div>
<div class="story-body__inner" property="articleBody" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; color: #404040; font-family: Helmet,Freesans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 18px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Focused efforts from police to tackle certain crimes can also lead to higher levels being recorded.</div>
<h2 class="story-body__crosshead" property="articleBody" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(30, 30, 30); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(30, 30, 30); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(30, 30, 30); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(30, 30, 30); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; color: #1e1e1e; font-family: Helmet,Freesans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 24px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 27.99px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 32px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
'Ongoing improvements'</h2>
<div class="story-body__inner" property="articleBody" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; color: #404040; font-family: Helmet,Freesans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 18px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
While some of the recent rise captured by police is down to "ongoing improvements to recording practices", there does appear to have been a genuine rise in violent crimes, however, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says.</div>
<div class="story-body__inner" property="articleBody" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; color: #404040; font-family: Helmet,Freesans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 18px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The statistical body's crime lead, John Flatley, says: "We judge that there have been genuine increases in crime - particularly in some of the low incidence but more harmful categories." </div>
<div class="story-body__inner" property="articleBody" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-image-outset: 0; border-image-repeat: stretch; border-image-slice: 100%; border-image-source: none; border-image-width: 1; border-left-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; color: #404040; font-family: Helmet,Freesans,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 18px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
But, he says, this should be seen in the context of an overall fall in crime over the last decade, adding that the crime survey "remains our best guide to long-term trends for crime as experienced by the population in general". </div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-47988557397458615132015-12-15T01:34:00.001-08:002015-12-15T01:34:30.451-08:00By The Numbers - The Untold Story of Muslim Opinions & Demographics<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pSPvnFDDQHk" width="480"></iframe><br />Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-56221115803791742192015-11-28T07:55:00.000-08:002015-11-28T07:55:06.126-08:00THE DEADLY CONSEQUENCES OF 'GAMING' AND FAILED REGULATION<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
</div>
My thanks go to Dr Rodger Patrick, renowned expert on crime statistics, and the noble <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The
Earl of Lytton for his recent speech to the Committee on Standards in Public Life on 23rd November 2015.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dr Patrick's written evidence to the Home Affairs Committee looking into crime statistics can be viewed here: <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmhaff/67/67vw16.htm">http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmhaff/67/67vw16.htm</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Earl of Lytton's full speech and responses can be seen by clicking this link :-</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201516/ldhansrd/text/151123-gc0001.htm#1511234000235"><span style="color: #007dbc;"><span color="#007dbc">http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201516/ldhansrd/text/151123-gc0001.htm#1511234000235</span></span></a></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The speech follows on from the investigations following the death of Georgia Williams in West
Mercia. Whilst having every sympathy for the family and sharing their view on the IPCC, scapegoating the officers involved is unlikely to have any impact
on the 'gaming' behaviours they have been employing (cuffing a criminal damage
to an RTC and the inappropriate use of non judicial disposals). The problem as
we know is organisational in nature and the scale is no doubt being reflected
in the exposure of such behaviours in domestic homicide reviews and
complaints. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Lord Lytton raised the issue in a debate on the report by the Committee on
Standards in Public Life (reprinted below). His comments encapsulate many views of serving, retired and former police officers and as such it was though worthy sharing with a wider audience via this site.<br />
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<b><em>The Earl of Lytton</em></b><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1511234000249"></a><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></b> </div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Committee on Standards in Public
Life 23rd November 2015 : Lord Lytton’s speech<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Police: Report of the Committee
on Standards in Public Life<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Question for Short Debate</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">4.35 pm<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Asked by <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="151123-gc0001.htm_spmin5"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1511234000235"></a><b>The Earl of
Lytton</b></span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1511234000208"></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proposals they
have to improve police leadership, accountability and ethics in the light of
the report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life <i>Tone from the top.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1511234000100"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="151123-gc0001.htm_spmin6"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1511234000236"></a><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Earl
of Lytton:</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
My
Lords, I am delighted to introduce this short debate on the report of the
Committee on Standards in Public Life, entitled <i>Tone from the Top</i>. My
interest in police accountability is not original. It started with Lord Corbett
of Castle Vale and his researcher, and the fact that I was able to source a PhD
paper from one Dr Roger Patrick, which delved into all sorts of matters on the
reporting of crime. I then <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">raised
the issue before the House in a short debate in March 2013. Subsequently, the
Public Administration Select Committee looked into the matter. Following that,
the Committee on Standards in Public Life made its investigation and report. I
am delighted that the author of that report, the noble Lord, Lord Bew, as
chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, is with us. I
congratulate him on his committee’s report.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="151123-gc0001.htm_para76"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1511234000101"></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I
continue by declaring what I believe is an important matter: the fundamental
importance of policing in this country. It is a vital first service. It must
command the confidence of the public at large, of business and of government. I
pay tribute to the many officers who willingly face danger in the interests of
protecting the public. There remains a high level of public confidence and
support, even though it has taken a bit of a hit over recent years because of a
number of high-level failings and revelations referred to in the noble Lord’s
committee’s report. Stories continue to come out weekly, if not daily.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="151123-gc0001.htm_para77"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1511234000102"></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Responsibility
for checking crime recording is claimed by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of
Constabulary, so it is unsurprising that following the Public Administration
Select Committee’s report, the Committee on Standards in Public Life turned its
attention to the means of accountability set up under the coalition
Government—namely, the police and crime commissioners and the panels that work
with them. The Home Affairs Committee described this as the creation of,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“a system that relies on local
scrutiny and the main check is at the ballot box”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">It also remarked that this comes round only every
few years.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Since
their creation, several factors have come to light. First, it is fair to say
that there has been a bit of a democratic deficit in terms of poor voter
response. That feature has not been improved on in subsequent intermediate
elections for replacement PCCs. Secondly, many of the police and crime
commissioner candidates came from party-political backgrounds. From my own
standpoint—from where I sit in the House—I think that a greater degree of
political neutrality would have been more appropriate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Thirdly,
some PCCs came to their posts with a history of police or allied area
involvement. In some cases it appeared that this might—and in some cases
did—impede their role of holding a chief constable to account. Fourthly, while
PCCs have a sanction against the chief constable, this may not drill down to
the culture of policing in the middle ranks. Example may be from the top, but
leadership deficits pointed to by others may mean that this does not permeate
through the force, leaving some cultural practices effectively unchanged and
unchallenged. Fifthly, PCCs, and indeed their panels, seem to have had a
reluctance to challenge anything remotely associated with what the police might
choose to claim to be operational matters. I note that the CSPL report comments
on the reluctance of one PCP to cross that line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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In
respect of police and crime commissioner performance, the report makes some
significant recommendations, which I shall paraphrase because I know that the
noble Lord, Lord Bew, will want to <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">flesh
some of them out. They fall into the areas of standards, evaluation, sanctions,
disclosure and transparency, objectivity in dealing with complaints and
safeguards in appointment procedures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Although
the intention was that PCCs would better hold the police to account, that was
never the only mechanism. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, the
Independent Police Complaints Commission, the College of Policing, the Home
Office, parliamentary committees and so on all have a role to play, but it
seems to me that none of the issues of “gaming” of crime figures, which I
referred to back in 2013, has gone away. Dr Rodger Patrick—yes, the same
one—tells me that it is continuing. He believes that it is institutional and,
having seen some of his evidence, I have to agree with his interpretation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Even HMIC
seems to admit that police under-recording of crime may be significant, but
then it gave the West Midlands force an improbably high approval rating of 99%
for its recording procedures. However, at the very time that it was carrying
that out audit, circumstances were unfolding which led to the eventual murder
of Jacqueline Oakes in January 2014. Apparently the force knew about Ms Oakes’s
killer and the history of violence and abuse. It seems that the IPCC has now
served notices on 26 serving officers, seven police staff and two officers who
have left the force in connection with this case. This suggests an
institutional issue and a failure to record information—the precise factor that
HMIC was supposed to audit. I am told that, subsequently, the West Midlands PCC
examined 13 domestic homicide reviews from that force and found that in more
than half of them there was a failure by the police to take robust action. So,
even had incident reporting been as good as HMIC suggested, the resultant
action was defective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Middlesex
University reported on West Midlands’s domestic homicide reviews in July 2014.
This found that the process remained less than joined up, with many stakeholders,
different and poorly integrated areas of focus and an absence of holistic
management. Dr Patrick, whom I regard as a great expert on crime recording and
statistics, has pointed out that the HMIC methodology of auditing forces’
performance is weak. Of course, we will probably never know whether these
factors contributed to the death of Ms Oakes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">There is
a line in the sand on the question of oversight of police operations. The
definition of “operations” as a term of art matters and is based on understandings
that go back to the 1920s or earlier. The details of response to an emergency,
the sources of information used to disrupt criminal activity and the
methodologies for apprehending wrongdoers would of course qualify as being
operations. However, there has to be transparency and accountability by the
police. If, as I apprehend, freedom from interference in operations can in
certain circumstances translate in modern terms into a denial of any oversight
rights at all, I think it is time to redefine what is or is not “operational”
in this context.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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In a conversation today with one of the police
force deputy commissioners, other issues came to light, particularly in
connection with youths in custody, where there are few, if any, common
protocols linking the police activity with that of local authority education or
social services departments. Furthermore, it seems <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">that
there are no protocols setting out the respective areas of activity of HMIC and
IPCC and how these interleave. If either had a clear road map of their scope
and activities, such a protocol would be unavoidable. So on one level agencies
defend their turf vigorously; on others, there is unnecessary overlap; and, on
a third, there are some significant gaps which erode confidence and ruin,
degrade and may even cost lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">My point
is this: all the regulators of the police—police and crime commissioners, HMIC,
the IPCC, the College of Policing, the Home Office and so on—are themselves to
a degree embedded with policing, and I wonder whether this does not in some
circumstances interfere with true independence and objectivity in holding to
account those who need to be held to account. For their part, police and crime
commissioners walk a tightrope: they need to work with their chief constable in
a collaborative manner but yet be able to take the ultimate sanction if need
be. But they can only be as good as the performance of other regulators
permits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I finish,
with his consent, with a quote from the speech by the noble Lord, Lord Bew, at
the annual Newsam Memorial Lecture 2015 hosted by the College of Policing. He
said:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It is no good preaching principles and codes in an
organisation if, for example, promotions, pay and other incentives actually
encourage something quite different. A number of investment banks had exemplary
statements of values. But what was actually rewarded in them, right up to their
chief executives, was excessive risk-taking and the pursuit of profit at the
expense of customer service”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1511234000161"></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">So
ongoing indifference, acquiescence, rewarding poor performance, an
administrative Nelson’s eye, if you like, and poor leadership remain. Indeed, <i>Tone
from the Top</i> is a prophetic title. This matters. Confidence in the forces
of law and order and the cohesion of <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">society
are at stake—as, ultimately, is the rule of law. That is why this report is
important for what it says and what it infers, and why it requires government
attention.</span></span></div>
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Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-38232718108656490432014-12-24T03:53:00.000-08:002014-12-24T03:53:34.999-08:00DISGRACEFUL DISRESPECT OF THERESA MAY AND DAVID CAMERONArticle reposted from <a href="http://retiredandangry.wordpress.com/2014/12/24/the-sound-of-silence/">http://retiredandangry.wordpress.com/2014/12/24/the-sound-of-silence/</a> and the original source <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/chris-hobbs/neil-doyle-british-policing_b_6363724.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular">http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/chris-hobbs/neil-doyle-british-policing_b_6363724.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular</a><br />
<br />
Echoing the anger and annoyance of a number of articles at the lack of respect shown by the Home Secretary Theresa May and the Prime Minister David Cameron following the death of Constable Neil Doyle of the Merseyside Constabulary who was tragically killed in Liverpool six days ago. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VjHvJ3tPCGg/VJqjdI-Y-AI/AAAAAAAAC2I/3Thwkqiw5To/s1600/2014-12-21-Policememorial-thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VjHvJ3tPCGg/VJqjdI-Y-AI/AAAAAAAAC2I/3Thwkqiw5To/s1600/2014-12-21-Policememorial-thumb.jpg" height="146" width="400" /></a></div>
May and Cameron are not usually so slow off the mark to show sympathy for the families of fallen officers. The lack of any form of communication from their offices on the subject seems to indicate the contempt with which they now hold the UK Police Service. This is perhaps a truer reflection of what the politicians really think of our boys and girls on the Thin Blue line, regardless of anything they may say to the contrary to serve their own political ends. <br />
<br />
Chris Hobbs (Retired Met) article is reprinted here... <strong>Follow Chris Hobbs on Twitter: </strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/obbsie" target="_blank"><strong>www.twitter.com/obbsie</strong></a><strong> </strong><br />
<br />
With Christmas approaching and a grim New Year in prospect, police officers throughout the UK were plunged into further despair with the news that PC Neil Doyle had died and two of his colleagues had been injured after being attacked following a night out.<br />
<br />
Any death of a serving police officer under any circumstances is deeply felt throughout the service but sorrow became mixed with concern as suggestions began to emerge that the three officers had been attacked because they had been recognised by their assailants as police officers.<br />
<br />
Whether that emerges as the reason for the attack remains to be seen, but this could hardly come at a worse time for police chief officers as morale continues to plunge with the announcements of additional cuts to policing which will worsen still further the plight of officers working on the front line.<br />
<br />
Serving officers would not wish to make what could be described as political capital from the tragic and violent death of a colleague. Yet, within the police service, there has been an undeniable and growing concern that the constant vilification and denigration meted out by politicians and media across the political spectrum and indeed most notably by Home Secretary Theresa May, is having an adverse effect on the behaviour and attitude of those most likely to come into contact with police through criminality or anti social behaviour. <br />
<br />
I wrote much of this post on Saturday 20 December and just hours later we heard the tragic news that two New York police officers, Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, had been brutally assassinated by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, apparently in some form of perverse revenge for the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.<br />
<br />
When I returned home from a night out in the early hours of the morning I found the following tweet from New York governor, George E Pataki which read: "Sickened by these barbaric acts, which sadly are a predictable outcome of divisive anti-cop rhetoric." Governor Pataki then named New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and US Attorney General Eric Holder. <br />
<br />
I replied thus: "We see this anti-cop rhetoric in the UK. Sadly it comes from the very top of government."<br />
<br />
The weekend misery across the police family in both the UK and USA was compounded with the death of Tarpon Springs police officer Charles Kondek, who was shot and later pronounced dead at the Florida Hospital. One man has been arrested. <br />
<br />
Officers in the UK are acutely aware of the very real threat posed to themselves on and off duty by UK jihadist fanatics with one alleged plot to kill police in London resulting in five arrests. Attacks on police officers by jihadists have taken place in Australia, the USA and over the weekend in France. <br />
<br />
On each and every occasion officers have been injured but have managed to shoot dead their attackers. The catastrophic effect of similar attacks on unarmed British police can only be imagined. <br />
<br />
Despite this, single crewing and patrolling remains the default position of most forces and officers are still forbidden to carry discreet protective equipment to and from work, when they feel at their most vulnerable. Discontent with single crewing has been exacerbated by cutbacks which means that in more rural forces 'back up' can be a life threatening distance away. Unarmed UK officers will note that their armed colleagues in New York have now been instructed to patrol in pairs. <br />
<br />
Considering the constant stream of adverse comment it is perhaps remarkable that British police still retain a level of support and trust amongst the public that politicians can only dream of. The public however are not fools and can see for themselves either directly or via the plethora of 'fly on the wall' police documentaries the demands placed on front line officers. <br />
<br />
Being recognised as a police officer, when off duty, by criminal elements and suffering intimidation, abuse, threats and even assault is not an uncommon experience as I can personally testify. Little wonder then that many officers instruct their children not to reveal their police occupations when attending school for fear of intimidation and bullying while others keep their occupation hidden from neighbours.<br />
<br />
Another precarious issue for officers is intervening in incidents when off duty. Every day on numerous occasions, off duty police officers will produce their warrant cards and quietly resolve contentious issues without the need for arrest or indeed the threat of arrest. These incidents will normally be unreported and as such are an unquantifiable factor in keeping the peace on our streets and transport systems.<br />
<br />
Not infrequently however, off duty officers will feel compelled to intervene when violent incidents occur without having the benefit of protective equipment, protective vests, radios or even the chance to go through the time consuming process of dialling 999. Indeed most of the frightening incidents I experienced during my 32-year career were off duty and officers have suffered serious injury or even lost their lives when 'stepping up.'<br />
<br />
It has not gone unnoticed in police circles that although Neil Doyle died in the early hours of Friday morning, there has been no public comment from Home Secretary, Theresa May seventy two hours after the event. Some officers have made it clear that 'crocodile tears" from 'that woman' would not be welcome in any event while others have observed that her chief preoccupation over the weekend was the return home of foreign students who have completed their degrees. <br />
<br />
Perhaps a more damning indictment of the broken relationship between the nation's police and government can be found on the Home Office website where there is, to date, not even the briefest factual mention of PC Doyle's untimely death. There are however two news stories dated 19 and 20 December concerning child abuse and human slavery which clearly demonstrates that the Home Office website is not left in a moribund state over the weekend. <br />
<br />
At this moment in time UK officers have to contend with the fact that the edifice of British policing is rapidly crumbling, eroded by both cutbacks and politically expedient bile. Front line officers are discouraged from exposing serious policing shortcomings on social media yet enough comment is visible to see that UK policing is in serious difficulties and heading for meltdown with the additional cutbacks announced by the government recently. <br />
<br />
The shambles that exists at UK borders and, however the government may spin it, the crisis within the NHS and social services inevitably places extra burdens on the fractured blue line which also has to endure the blatant disinformation of the government spin machine.<br />
<br />
The death of Neil Doyle will place a further dent in police morale yet of course it is still 'business as usual' as far as devastated but committed Merseyside police officers are concerned.<br />
<br />
Police force staff surveys and independent studies by bodies such as the University of the West of England show police morale at its lowest ever ebb. These, however, were carried out before the Islamist threats to police, the recent budget cuts and Neil Doyle's murder. Yet amazingly the government remain in denial content to quote dubious 'improving crime figures' as justification for their emasculation of the British policing.<br />
<br />
At present, to quote a lyric from Gilbert and Sullivan, it would be true to say that not only is a rank and file UK police officer's lot 'not a happy one' but is becoming downright miserable. A further slightly amended line from the film <em>Gone With the Wind</em> sums up to perfection the government and in particular Theresa May's attitude to the police front line; 'Frankly officers, I don't give a damn.' <br />
Her department's prolonged silence through the weekend in the wake of tragedy serves only to illustrate the point.<br />
Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-37104355745422176892014-12-18T09:24:00.002-08:002014-12-18T09:24:45.073-08:00MET COMMISSIONER CALLS FOR RADICAL MERGER OF POLICE FORCES<img height="270" id="ctl00_ctl00_CorePlaceHolder_DisplayPagePlaceHolder_ctl00_NewsCatalog1_ctl00_ctl00_imgPrimaryImage" rel="image_src" src="http://www.publicsectorexecutive.com/write/MediaUploads/Sir_Bernard_Hogan-_How_c._Gareth_Fuller-PA_Wire.jpg" style="border-width: 0px;" width="400" /> <br />
<div class="module_list_item_date">
<span class="date_day">15</span>.<span class="date_month">12</span><span class="date_year">.14</span> </div>
<h2 class="module_detail_title">
<span id="ctl00_ctl00_CorePlaceHolder_DisplayPagePlaceHolder_ctl00_NewsCatalog1_ctl00_ctl00_lblTitle"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Met commissioner calls for radical merger of police forces</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Britain’s most senior police officer has warned that cuts to police and other public services will put public safety at risk unless the next government pushes through ‘radical structural reforms’ to cut back-office costs. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/14/reform-cuts-public-risk-police-emergency-services-austerity"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Writing in the Guardian</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">, Scotland Yard commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe stated that regardless of the general election outcome, “we are all looking at years of more austerity and shrinking budgets”. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And, in a move that clashes with government policy, he calls for the culling of more than 30 forces in England and Wales, to create nine super-forces, based on regional boundaries. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Sir Bernard noted that there are 43 police forces in England and Wales, but stated that criminals do not respect ‘county boundaries’. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“We need to be as flexible and aggressive as they are. We do not need the boundaries that currently mark out the territory of chief constables or police and crime commissioners,” he said. “Fewer forces would help us make the vital transition to digital policing. How many forces do we need? No more than nine, certainly, based on regions.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">His comments come just before the home secretary, Theresa May, is to give evidence in front of the Home Affairs Committee on her role. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Public safety isn’t just a challenge for policing. A range of partners is involved: emergency services, criminal justice, local authorities, the third sector, business and, critically, the public itself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">By 2020 the Met will need to have made </span><a href="http://www.itv.com/news/london/2014-12-09/frontline-police-could-be-cut-as-met-police-face-total-budget-cut-of-1-4bn/" title=""><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">£1.4bn of savings over a decade</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> – about a third of our budget. We have saved hundreds of millions already, but from 2016 it will become a much harder task. Our partners face their own cost pressures, and the big concern is that if we don’t work together, with a shared view of the risks, public safety will suffer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Why? Take CCTV. A factor in </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/24/crime-rate-england-wales-falls-lowest-level-33-years" title=""><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">falling crime rates</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> has been good video coverage of much of London. But most of these cameras are funded by local authorities. As they face more cuts there is active discussion about whether they can afford to keep CCTV going. Or take domestic abuse – a big enforcement challenge for the Met. It’s hard to get people to testify against their partners, and they often withdraw complaints once our officers have arrived and the violence has stopped – for a while. But society’s ability to reduce it goes beyond policing. It’s about a range of agencies – from social services to mental health – being able to intervene early and support families. If we retrench in isolation, the risks to public safety can only increase.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We have to have a shared view of the risks to public safety, from countering terrorism to child protection. We must be open about these risks with the public, politicians and the media, so we can together make informed choices about our priorities. We should share support services where possible, and make them as efficient as the best of the private sector. That means opening up all but core policing functions to competition. For example, why in London do we need three emergency services separately handling 999 calls and making similar deployments? Bring them together and it would be cheaper to run and more effective. With each blue light service responsible to a different ministry, there are obstacles to change. Will the next government be brave enough to bring together public safety services? Yes, it is a risk. But there’s a bigger risk to public safety if we don’t take radical action.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If that calls for courage, what about the structure of policing? In England and Wales there are 43 forces. The smallest has 600 officers, the largest, the Met, 32,000. They are based on 1974 local government boundaries, and in many cases emergency services are now the only county-wide services.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Do criminals respect these county boundaries? No, they don’t. They seek markets with high population densities to sell drugs and steal property. They pass local and national borders with ease. We need to be as flexible and aggressive as they are. We do not need the boundaries that currently mark out the territory of chief constables or police and crime commissioners.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Fewer forces would help us make the vital transition to digital policing. Law enforcement is being disrupted by digital just as much as businesses or government services. Cyber-crime makes the notion of jurisdiction less and less meaningful. In a cashless society of 2020, data will be the new currency. Electronic fraudsters will replace the stocking and shotgun robbers of the past.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We must act fast. Police spend around £1bn a year on information technology, yet there is no real digital strategy. Each force still has its own command and control, intelligence and crime systems. The IT companies are neither challenged nor engaged sufficiently by the joint endeavours and buying power of the police. We need a common infrastructure and to utilise cloud memory rather than serried ranks of hard drives. We need software based on apps rather than process pages. And we need many fewer contracts where the incentive is to save the public money rather than spend it. Get this right and we can have simpler, more effective processes. Bring us together and we can develop a common digital mission: prevent crime, catch offenders, help victims. How many forces do we need? No more than nine, certainly, based on regions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In Scotland they have survived such a radical transition, and their furthest police post is as distant from their HQ as London is from Berwick or Cornwall. Holland has done it too. It can be done without diminishing local accountability. Policing is better for being managed and delivered locally.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And there is more to reform than structures. I am working with some of London’s universities to develop policing for teaching and research. It would help us develop evidence-led, professionalised policing and produce well-qualified recruits ready to apply digital and other skills to law enforcement. A policing faculty that included cyber-security could access a commercial income stream wider than the £12bn presently spent on policing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Whatever we do, however we change, our people will be at the heart of it: public servants motivated by public safety, and our values of professionalism, integrity, courage and compassion. The Office of Constable has a proud and noble tradition, acting without fear or favour. We will not lose these values, but we must adapt to take on the challenge of keeping the public safe and secure.</span><br />
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<span style="color: cyan; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Thin Blue Line Comment</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As regular readers will know, we have been beating the fewer forces, regional or national service drum for many years now. We cannot help but wonder why BHH and any of the other new found supporters of mergers did not have the courage and vision to make the proposals earlier. Now he is in the top job, it seems unlikely that his position would be weakened by any mergers that might take place. It is lamentable that Chief Officers will only put forward radical innovative views when the consequences do not threaten the individuals career progression.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">If you were the Chief Constable of a smaller force for example, are you likely to support reducing 43 forces down to 9 or 10, thereby threatening your fiefdom, career and political progression? The answer to this is only yes if you can put the public and the service above your own career aspirations. Unfortunately, the bulk of ACPO ranks have shown themselves to be self-serving and greedy, so the jury is out on whether or not the proposal will receive the majority support. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><strong>FORCE MERGERS</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We have commented in detail in our previous reports that the time has come to seriously consider merging police forces. We have suggested that there could be as few as 10 to correspond with the regional areas. Finally, ACPO are being forced to accept this possibility, with Sir Hugh Orde conceding that the "overwhelming majority" of chiefs want to talk about merging 43 forces into more regional units.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">These chiefs now accept that mergers will save money. T</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">he historic problem is that mergers were politically unacceptable to government, allegedly hard to sell to communities and don't sit easily with the plan for locally-elected commissioners. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">W</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">hen a member of the public calls for a police officer, does he/she look at the officers cap badge or insignia and say "Sorry you can't deal with my problem, you're not from my force area" Of course not, all they care about is that a police officer has turned up to help them. It is no more complicated than that, and any other objection to force mergers is pure obfuscation. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Until now, we would hardly expect Chief Officers to support a strategy that might reduce their number by 75% - after all, "Turkeys don't vote for Christmas". Times have changed though, and mergers must now be given serious consideration going forward. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>EFFECTIVE USE OF RESOURCES</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">* 130,000 police officers </span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">* 60,000 staff - cost £2.7 billion</span><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">* 17,000 PCSO's - 484 million</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">* 17% Increase in ACPO ranks 1997 to 2010***</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">* 16% Increase in SMT ranks 1997 to 2010***</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">* 11% Increase in PC rank 1997 to 2010***</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">* Only 11% of warranted officers available for "Visible Policing"</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">* ACPO and SMT ranks basic salary £230million</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">*** These figures prompt the question: "In view of there being a 17% increase in ACPO and 16% increase in SMT ranks and only an 11% increase in PC ranks, is there not an argument that there are in fact <strong><span style="color: red;">TOO MANY CHIEFS</span></strong> and an ineffective use of the resources of indians?"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Force by force, there is a top heavy ACPO/SMT and Police Staffing level. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Force by force, there is a disproportionate number of specialist or non visible roles.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The policing cuts debate fundamentally comes down to a balancing act between visible and invisible work. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Half a century ago, more than a third of a constabulary's manpower was spent on those foot patrols - nabbing burglars with their swag bags. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">T</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">oday there are forces that dedicate just 11% of constables to patrols because they have expanded forensic units, intelligence teams and largely invisible public protection work like child abuse, domestic violence and sexual offences. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Given the political and community pressure to protect the "front line", most chief constables are planning to cut specialist units, even though they argue they prove their worth. And many chiefs think the pressure to focus on local "visible" crime will grow if the government's pledge to create elected Police and Crime Commissioners goes through.</span> <br /><br /><span style="color: red; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>But surely that's the point of policing? Dealing with what matters to local people?</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The time has come to strip away those roles whose value is doubtful, and there are plenty of them. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The time has come for the rainy day reserves to be used to protect the front line. It's not just raining chaps, it's chucking it down. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The time has come for some tough decisions, the right decisions about how the tax payers money is spent. Locally elected police commissioners may not be popular among ACPO ranks and perhaps we should ask ourselves why. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">C</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">ould it be that a fiscally wise commissioner might actually apply some common sense to the way our money is spent? Whilst this may expose the weaknesses and activities of our Senior Police Officers and their advisors, perhaps the public would welcome the return of the common sense, back to basics, no frills coppering. Perhaps then, we might actually see the good guys start winning and more of the bad guys being caught and dealt with.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><br />
The Government set its heart on 43 Elected Commissioners being appointed to replace the existing police authorities. This was a poorly thought out strategy and the pathetic turn out for voting confirms the public apathy of the subject. As our previous reports have shown, 10 regional forces as opposed to 43 at present, would bring major benefits:-<br />
<ul>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The ACPO and SMT ranks could be reduced by as much as 75% (Basic salary costs are in the region of £230million)</span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">10 regional HR departments (or even 1 central unit) would shave thousands of duplicated police staff roles, save millions and prevent the necessity for front line cuts. (Police staff costs were in the region of £2.6billion in 2009/10). This could be repeated for IT and other departments. </span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">10 regional forces could save millions on an ongoing basis through centralised procurement of uniform, vehicles and other non staffing services. (Forces currently spend £2.7billion per year on non staffing costs). </span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">10 regional forces would enable the more appropriate allocation of the reserve funds in force bank accounts amounting to £1.2billion which is coincidentally the amount forces are being asked to shave off their budget. </span></div>
</li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">10 regional forces would require only 10 Locally Elected Police Commissioners instead of 43. Perhaps someone from the Government would explain why this rationale seems to have been overlooked or ignored? Or perhaps there are local authority jobs that are being protected rather than ensuring front line resources are ring fenced? </span></div>
</li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">The pressures Chief Constables are under to deliver the Government cuts, is we fear, creating a somewhat short sighted approach. Without a more long term perspective that would save many millions or billions more, Chief Officers are forced to be parochial and consider only their own forces and how they will meet the Government demands. This could indeed have disasterous consequences to essential services, unecessarily in our view. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Perhaps this is a consequence of the 5 year administration system that compels a Government to want to be seen to be achieving something within that period, rather than implementing a longer term strategy that would be more effective? </span> </div>
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Many of the cuts and savings could have been more effectively delivered by smarter volume central purchasing arrangements and sharing of resources. HR is an example. Why do 43 forces have 43 HR departments when massive savings could be achieved with one central HR function? <br /><br /> The same principle should be applied for all areas of procurement. Equipment and services sourced centrally would deliver millions in savings. HMIC predicted that £5billion could be saved by better procurement over a ten year period. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A few highlights from our <a href="http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/06/stop-police-cuts-125-million-in-cuts.html"><span style="color: #6699ff;">previous report about the cuts</span></a> are increasingly relevant:- </span><br /><ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Police Force Governance – remove ACPO & PCC's <span style="color: red;">SAVE ??? Millions</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Police Force Mergers – saving predicted by HMIC <span style="color: red;">£2.25billion (over 10 years)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Chief Officer Restructuring – consolidation of ACPO ranks <span style="color: red;">SAVE £11million</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Chief Officer Restructuring – consolidation of SMT ranks <span style="color: red;">SAVE £80million</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Remove Chief Supt & Chief Inspector ranks (alternative to mergers) <span style="color: red;">SAVE £12million</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Increase constable to manager ratio (recruitment cost savings)<span style="color: red;"> SAVE £169million</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Increase sergeant to inspector ratio <span style="color: red;">SAVE £178million</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If ratio of 1 frontline staff to every officer of management rank <span style="color: red;">SAVE £1billion</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Police staff levels halved through mergers <span style="color: red;">SAVE £1.3billion</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Police staff overtime halved by mergers or tighter control <span style="color: red;">SAVE £31million</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Return 25% of office based police officers to frontline (recruitment savings) <span style="color: red;">SAVE £670million</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">25% reduction in police staff support numbers <span style="color: red;">SAVE £500million</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="color: white;">Any one or combination of these measures was always achievable without the decimation witnessed to front line resources. </span><span style="color: white;">Any one of them would return hundreds if not thousands of officers to the front line where they are needed most. </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Yes there will be pain, but far better that than continue to risk the lives and safety of over stretched officers and members of the public who actually deserve a better quality of service. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="color: white;">The first challenge for the new Home Secretary and her team, is to root out those senior officers who have been singing off their own self serving hymn sheets for far too long.</span> </span> </div>
</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;"> </span> Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-27825916861313958002014-12-17T07:29:00.002-08:002014-12-17T07:29:18.401-08:001 in 7 people arrested in Britain last year was FOREIGN<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Figures from Association of Chief Police Officers Criminal Records Office</strong></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong id="ext-gen134">In many cases, the suspects have lengthy criminal records back home </strong></span></li>
<li><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, the police arrested 173,0000 foreign criminals last year</span> </strong></li>
<span><br />Read more: <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2873598/One-seven-people-arrested-Britain-year-FOREIGN-damning-study-reveals.html#ixzz3MAY4mUxX" style="color: #003399;">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2873598/One-seven-people-arrested-Britain-year-FOREIGN-damning-study-reveals.html#ixzz3MAY4mUxX</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Police arrested 173,0000 foreign crime suspects last year – one in every seven people who were apprehended nationwide.</span></div>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The figures from Association of Chief Police Officers Criminal Records Office reveal the extraordinary strain being placed on the justice system by overseas criminals.</span></div>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">In many cases, the suspects have lengthy criminal records back home which should have prevented them from entering the UK – or would allow for them to be deported.</span></div>
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Police arrested 173,0000 foreign criminals last year – one in every seven suspects who were apprehended nationwide</div>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"></span> </div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">But, alarmingly, police are only bothering to carry out checks in only 30 per cent of cases and in some force areas it is as low as six per cent.</span></div>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It means offenders who should have been detained are being bailed or, when they appear before the British courts, are not being sentenced properly because judges do not know about their criminal past.</span></div>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs select committee, said: ‘It is simply unacceptable that people with serious convictions could be allowed to enter the UK in the first place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">‘We need to tighten up our borders and get as much information as possible from our EU partners.’</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The figures, released by ACRO to a BBC Five Live investigation, showed 14 per cent of all arrests in England and Wales last year were foreign nationals. (MUST)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The National Audit Office told the BBC that the failure to carry proper checks is the result of the Home Office not having access to up to date computer and information sharing systems.</span></div>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">In 2006, the Labour Government declined to join up to a Europe-wide information sharing regime, known as the Schengen Information System that would have given access to alerts on known criminals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">It leaves Britain as one of only four countries out of 32 in the European Economic Area that cannot access the data.</span></div>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Under the Schengen arrangement, 2.5million alerts about EU criminals are issued every year.</span></div>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The UK does receive some information under separate data sharing arrangements – but missing out on half, or a disturbing 1.25million.</span></div>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">There is a separate computer system, known as ECRIS, which the UK does have access to – but can only be used when a suspect is already inside the UK’s borders.</span></div>
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Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs select committee, said the revelations were 'simply unacceptable'</div>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">In only three out of every ten cases are officers bothering to use it.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">During October, there were huge differences between the number of checks carried out by individual forces.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">London’s the Met – which is running a specific operation to deport more foreign offenders – did checks in 100 per cent of cases.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">But for Greater Manchester Police the figure was only eight per cent. For Cleveland and the British Transport Police, it was just six per cent.</span></div>
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The NAO said the system for tracking foreign offenders was in chaos.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The Home Office has lost track of 760 of the 4,200 criminals who have been freed back on to our streets, including 58 ‘high harm’ individuals – a category that includes rapists, killers and drug dealers.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Despite a ten-fold increase in case workers, the number of foreign prisoners has gone up by four per cent, to 10,649. Meanwhile, one in six overseas inmates freed from jail has absconded.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
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<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">The row follows a devastating report last week by the Chief Inspector of Immigration which revealed how foreign criminals – including a killer – had been able to obtain British citizenship.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Home Office staff are not bothering to check for criminal records in a person’s homeland which could lead to their application being turned down.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Yesterday, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper claimed that, under Labour, ‘stronger checks’ will be carried out.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Anyone seeking citizenship would have to produce the equivalent of Criminal Records Bureau documentation from their homeland.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">She told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: ‘I think it's shocking that we have had people including serious criminals and killers being given British passports and British citizenship because the Home Office failed to do basic checks.’</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">Conservative backbencher Peter Bone blamed EU rules on free movement for allowing criminals into the UK.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">He said: ‘If someone is coming from the European Union, and we're talking about hundreds of thousands each year, there are no controls. They're not allowed to have controls, the EU won't let you.’</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">ACRO Chief Executive Ian Readhead said that, while criminal record checks had been carried out on only 30 per cent of suspects in 2013/14, progress had since been made.</span></div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
</div>
<div class="mol-para-with-font">
<span style="font-size: 1.2em;">For the single month of October 2014, checks were made in 67 per cent of cases.</span></div>
Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-16447623091648630842014-11-20T01:58:00.002-08:002014-11-20T01:58:53.806-08:00HOW POLITICIANS USE THE POLICE FOR THEIR OWN ENDS<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>The dishonest politician’s guide to handling the police</strong></span> </div>
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<strong>Professor Tim Hope offers a five point plan for governments on how to push up approval ratings by destroying the legitimacy of the police.</strong> </div>
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By: Professor Tim Hope</div>
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Date: <span class="date-display-single" content="2014-11-20T00:00:00+00:00" datatype="xsd:dateTime" property="dc:date">Thursday, 20 November, 2014</span></div>
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<br />
The publication on 18 November 2014 of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary’s final report of an inspection of crime data integrity in police forces in England and report – <a href="https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/news/news-feed/victims-let-down-by-poor-crime-recording/" target="_blank"><em>Crime Recording: making the victim count</em></a> – prompted me to reflect upon how successive governments have corrupted the police for political advantage. Here’s how to go about it:<br />
<h3>
1. Give the impression that you know how to reduce crime (but don’t be too specific)</h3>
Say that the police service is your main means of reducing crime; don’t discourage the police from their cherished belief that they are the 'Thin Blue Line' against disorder, and that the public loves them for it. Feed the police a lot of barmy ideas about how effective in crime fighting they could be (and watch them quietly squirm in the certain knowledge that much of what they do, or you can think of, has no impact on crime whatsoever).<br />
<h3>
2. Pretend that police recorded crime statistics are a true measure of crime and of victims’ needs (but don’t believe this yourself; use your own surveys)</h3>
Reinforce this with performance targets, actual or implicit; these should not be too much of a stretch. Even better, they should merely match your best guess as to how much crime would continue to reduce if nobody did anything (in the eventuality that crime went up instead of down, blame the police for not doing what you said they ought to do).<br />
<h3>
3. Pretend that the police don’t belong to you anymore</h3>
Pretend that they are accountable to the public through directly elected commissioners (but know that these panjandrums can be brushed aside if needs be, since nobody actually voted for them; don’t give them any means of holding their police services to account for their performance; then set them to squabble over the funds you will be doling out – you’ll get a better bargain that way). Nevertheless, keep a tight hold on the purse strings, and on all the data and analytical skills you need to assess police performance.<br />
<h3>
4. Start waving a big stick</h3>
Make the Chiefs’ salaries dependent upon their performance; pay them like CEOs (to inspire the envy of the ranks) but let a few of them go, to keep the rest in line; start hacking-away at the perks of the job that have built-up amongst the rank and file, while squeezing the middle-managers who are trying to run the show; abolish the closed shops that had run the police, including the Old Boys’ Network of Chiefs and ex-Chiefs, and put the Bloke with the Hatchet in charge of the inspections.<br />
<h3>
5. Don’t bother to upgrade the skills of the rank and file police officer</h3>
Establish a College of Policing that doesn’t hand-out degrees to its undergraduates; make sure you maintain a lower level of entry and training qualifications into the police service than are asked by the other safeguarding services with whom the police collaborate on a daily basis (just to reinforce their inferiority complex); and focus on the traditional policing skills (so that you can then emphasise the low-grade nature of the work, and employ cheaper labourers from the private sector).<br />
<h3>
Wait and see what happens</h3>
Once you have implemented all of the above, wait and see if your own measurements of crime go down (don’t let anyone doubt that your measuring instrument is anything other than truly comprehensive and unimpeachable). If crime goes down, take all the credit for the reduction; say that this is what you paid the police to do (if it goes up, blame the police for not doing it).<br />
<br />
Once you’re confident that crime is going down long-term, start wondering out loud why we still need all those police officers (the public think there are lots of them because you’ve trumpeted expanding police numbers in the past). Say that you can’t trust them to do a good job anyway. Start talking about all those crimes and victims that don’t need Bobbies on the Beat (but don’t do much about them).<br />
<br />
Talk about how the police must also share the pain of austerity cuts, look for efficiencies, etc. like everyone else. Actually abolish all those performance targets and red tape because what police officers really want is to be out there on the front line fighting crime (instead of sheltering from the elements inside a warm, comfortable police station with their workmates).<br />
<br />
Sit back and wait for the police to start fiddling the figures to make themselves look better, knowing that they have always done this, ever since there were figures to fiddle. Withdraw the auditing that kept the fiddling in check; say that the police ought to be trusted. If the police have been too enthusiastic in massaging the figures in the way you’d like, so that they give the game away and it becomes apparent that police recorded crime has gone down too rapidly, blame the police for short-changing victims (don’t admit that you’ve always turned a blind eye to this sort of thing in the past).<br />
Rub your hands with glee when the fiddling comes to the surface: now you no longer have to listen to those tedious Chief Constables going on about how much work they need to do, demanding more recruits, and so on, because their evidence is no longer credible (you’ve previously said that policies must be evidenced).<br />
<br />
Selectively shine a torchlight into the affairs of a few police forces in areas where your voters (honest taxpayers) are concentrated; let a few scandals come to light, a few brave whistle-blowers sacrificed (knowing how nastily they treat ‘traitors’, you can then further dramatize the Chiefs’ iniquity at the same time as you leave the whistle-blowers hanging out to dry); let some bemeddled police chiefs face a public grilling (knowing they’ll put their foot in it), and get your parliamentary supporters to bay for blood.<br />
<br />
Finally, you’ve left the police without a leg to stand on, so that you can then blame them for their own failings, safe in the knowledge that your voters in the leafy suburbs won’t notice their absence when you cut their numbers. Watch your approval rating rise for cutting public expenditure.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, let the real victims of society rot; the inner city poor (who don’t vote) can be left to their own devices; do nothing about the hatred and violence festering away; do not exempt the safeguarding services from the cuts; make it difficult for the police to protect the vulnerable or prosecute those who harm them; and then blame the police for dimming the Blue Lamp in the face of the futility of it all.<br />
<br />
Either way, it isn’t YOUR fault, and that’s all that matters….<br />
<br />
For Heaven’s Sake, give us a Royal Commission to sort out this mess!<br />
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- See more at: http://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/resources/dishonest-politician%E2%80%99s-guide-handling-police#sthash.8ODZxndi.dpufCrime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-33975108976595086562014-11-18T02:39:00.000-08:002014-11-18T02:39:01.189-08:00HMIC: IT'S OFFICIAL POLICE HAVE FIDDLED CRIME STATISTICSPolice fail to record one in five of all crimes reported to them, says HMIC report<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6gHUmPeivBE/VGse44f-1TI/AAAAAAAAC1o/9fPwD8qSwvE/s1600/Statistical%2BError.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6gHUmPeivBE/VGse44f-1TI/AAAAAAAAC1o/9fPwD8qSwvE/s1600/Statistical%2BError.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The problem is greatest for victims of violent crime, with a third going
unrecorded. Of sexual offences, 26% are not recorded.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/crime-recording-making-the-victim-count.pdf">An
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary report</a> looked at more than 8,000 reports of
crime in England and Wales.<br />
<br />
The watchdog said the failure to record crime properly was
"indefensible".<br />
<br />
Home Secretary Theresa May described the findings as "utterly unacceptable",
but police representatives said the situation had improved since the
study.<br />
<br />
<span class="cross-head"><strong>'Serious concern'</strong></span> <br />
<br />
The inspection reviewed reports of crime between November 2012 and October
2013 across all 43 forces in England and Wales.<br />
<br />
It found that:<br />
<ul>
<li>Among the sample, 37 rape allegations were not recorded as a crime </li>
<li>For 3,842 reported crimes, offenders were given a caution or a penalty
notice - but inspectors believe 500 of those should have been charged or given a
heavier penalty</li>
<li>3,246 of those offences that were recorded were then deemed to be "no
crimes" - but inspectors believe 20% of those decisions were wrong and a crime
had been committed</li>
<li>The incidents recorded as "no-crimes" including 200 reports of rape and 250
of violent crime</li>
</ul>
The HMIC report can be accessed by clicking the link below:-<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/crime-recording-making-the-victim-count.pdf">http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/crime-recording-making-the-victim-count.pdf</a><br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30081682">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30081682</a></strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>by Danny Shaw, BBC home affairs correspondent</strong><br />
<br />
The under-recording of crime is more than a question of getting the
statistics wrong. <br />
<br />
If an offence isn't officially logged, it may not be investigated. And
without a police inquiry there's no hope of finding the perpetrator and
preventing other crimes. <br />
<br />
Inspectors say there may well be people on the streets now, able to commit
more crimes, who would have been locked up had their original offence been
properly dealt with. <br />
<br />
There are indications that some forces are improving. But there's also a
warning in the report that increasing workload pressures among police - who are
having to do more with considerably less - will "sharpen" the incentive not to
record crimes. <br />
<br />
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<br />
"The position in the case of rape and other sexual offences is a matter of
especially serious concern," said Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom
Winsor.<br />
<br />
"It is particularly important that in cases as serious as rape, these
shortcomings are put right as a matter of the greatest urgency. In some forces,
action is already being taken in this respect."<br />
<br />
He said the police should "immediately institutionalise" the presumption that
the victim is to be believed.<br />
<br />
"If evidence later comes to light which shows that no crime occurred, then
the record should be corrected; that is how the system is supposed to work," he
added.<br />
<br />
<span class="cross-head"><strong>'Lapses in leadership'</strong></span> <br />
<br />
Police are obliged to inform victims about their decisions, but in more than
800 of the cases examined there was no record of the victim having been told.
<br />
<br />
Victims may have been under the impression that their crimes were being
investigated when they were not, the report said.<br />
<br />
It said relatively little firm evidence had been found of undue pressure
being put on officers to manipulate figures.<br />
<br />
<div class="caption full-width">
<img alt="Tom Winsor" height="223" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79091000/jpg/_79091822_79091821.jpg" width="400" /> </div>
<div class="caption full-width">
<span style="width: 624px;">Tom Winsor said the presumption should be that
victims should be believed</span> </div>
<br />
But in a survey, some officers and staff did say performance and other
pressures were distorting their crime-recording decisions, "and when presented
with that picture, a number of forces admitted it".<br />
<br />
Inspectors were told that pressure to hit crime reduction targets imposed by
"middle managers" had the effect of limiting the number of crimes logged.<br />
<br />
The report recommended that standard training established by the College of
Policing be provided by each force.<br />
<br />
<span class="cross-head"><strong>'Pressures from
workload'</strong></span> <br />
<br />
Mrs May said: "It is never acceptable for the police to mis-record crime.
Failing to do so not only lets down victims, but the wider public who expect to
be able to trust the integrity of police recorded crime."<br />
<br />
There had been "utterly unacceptable failings" in the way police forces have
recorded crime but matters were improving, she said.<br />
<br />
Shadow policing minister Jack Dromey said it was time for Mrs May to "get a
grip on this and make urgent changes to the way the police record crime".<br />
<br />
Chief Constable Jeff Farrar, lead for crime recording at the Association of
Chief Police Officers, said: "Pressures from workload and target culture, use of
professional judgment in the interests of victims, lack of understanding of
recording rules or inadequate supervision can all lead to inaccurate crime
recording.<br />
<br />
"There have been allegations of improper practice, such as dishonest
manipulation, in crime recording, however, the biggest and most in-depth
inspection ever conducted by HMIC could not find anyone to come forward with any
firm evidence to support this."<br />
<br />
Ch Supt Irene Curtis, president of the Police Superintendents' Association,
said recorded crime was a measure of demand on police resources rather than
police performance.<br />
<br />
"HMIC's report covers a period of at least 12 months ago and recognises that
considerable improvements have already been made since that period," she
said.<br />
<br />
<span class="cross-head"><strong>Crime numbers</strong></span> <br />
<br />
Earlier this year <a href="http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/publication/crime-recording-a-matter-of-fact-interim-report/">an
interim report by Mr Winsor</a>, covering 13 forces, made a similar conclusion
that a fifth of crimes could be going unrecorded by police.<br />
<br />
An unrecorded crime is classed as one that is reported to the police but not
recorded as an offence.<br />
<br />
Last month, official figures showed the number of rapes reported to and
recorded by police in England and Wales was at its highest ever level.<br />
<br />
The Office for National Statistics said there were 22,116 recorded rapes in
the year to June, a rise of 29% on the year before.<br />
<br />
Separate statistics from the Crime Survey for England and Wales showed
overall crime fell by 16% to 7.1 million cases.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Performance-and-target-pressure-led-to-'inexcusable-crime-recording'_86228.html">http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Performance-and-target-pressure-led-to-'inexcusable-crime-recording'_86228.html</a><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: cyan;">THIN BLUE LINE COMMENT</span></strong><br />
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1.Nu Labour introduced performance targeting in 1997<br /> 2.Before this, the recorded crime & detection rate of the 43 forces had always been as you would expect, some good and some not-so-good.<br /> 3.Performance targeting rewarded Chief Officers with 15% bonus payments on top of their salaries.<br /> 4.Within 3 years (and for the first time in history) all but one of the 43 forces reflected massive decreases in recorded crime and increases in detections.<br /> 5.The dramatic downturn in recorded crime played a major part in the Coalition decision to include policing in the comprehensive spending review plan for cuts to the service that we have witnessed.<br /> 6.Crime rates play a large part of determining the resources required to police a force area. <br /> 7.Manipulated statistics lies at the very heart of what enabled politicians to use policing as a political football. "Crime has fallen dramatically" they said "so now we can deliver more with less".<br /> 9.The Chief Officers who were responsible, constructed, oversaw, turned an blind eye or allowed to continue the pernicious deceitful processes imposed upon the rank and file and the public.<br /> 10.The rank and file officers were compelled to implement policies that compromised their professional integrity.<br /> 11.The Public Affairs Select Committee, driven by the evidence of James Patrick and others revealed that recorded crime had been fiddled mercilessly for years. Chief Officers brought before the committee presented woefully, despicably defending the strategies they had either engineered or endorsed.<br /> 12. The Office of National Statistics withdrew its approval for police recorded crime, throwing official mistrust over the numbers.<br /> 13.Theresa May and others continued to adopt the "crime is falling because of our efforts" mantra. <br /> 14.It is no surprise that HMIC have found there is an "inexcusably poor" level of police recording of crime - with more than 800,000 crimes unrecorded each year.<br /> 15.It is also no surprise that the HMIC could only ever scratch the surface of the consequence of these practices. We would hardly expect there to be a paper trail of guilt ridden evidence leading the inspectors to uncover the whole spiders web mess that has been created. <br /> 16.When pointing the finger of blame for the malaise that exists within the service, yes, Theresa May, Tom Winsor Tony Blair and other notables have been instrumental. <br /> 17. The heaviest mantle of responsibility must lie with the Chief and senior officers, who, from 1997 onward, lacked the courage, vision and moral compass to resist performance targeting and the payment of divisive corruptive incentive bonuses. Only they benefitted. Everyone else, rank and file and the general public were cheated of the police service we deserve. <br /> 18.Chief Officers represent(ed) the service. If there had been more leaders and fewer managers, we might have seen a stronger resistance and rejection of performance targeting resulting in so much corruption and malpractice and decimation of morale. <br />
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Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-60474641276044734612014-11-02T05:44:00.000-08:002014-11-02T05:44:11.460-08:00Theresa May and Front Line Police; An Irreparable Breakdown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The revelation by the Police Federation that the morale of rank and file officers was at its lowest ever level will as no surprise to those struggling to maintain an effective police service in urban and rural areas throughout the UK. The Federation survey mirrored that carried out by the University of the West of England some months ago and indeed by internal police surveys compiled by individual forces.<br />
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Whilst police surveys show much criticism in relation to the leadership of chief officer ranks, the police rank and file collective finger of blame for the inescapable fact that their morale has all but collapsed points only in one direction; namely towards Home Secretary Theresa May. It is no exaggeration to say that as Margaret Thatcher was to the miners and mining communities, Theresa May is to rank and file police officers and their families. <br />
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Police officers expected tough times ahead regardless of which party took power after the 2010 general election; what they did not expect was constant criticism and vilification from the holder of one of the country’s greatest offices of state which culminated in her infamous speech to the Police Federation Conference in May of this year. <br />
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‘Teflon Theresa’ or ‘Cruella,’ as she has become known, listed every single police transgression going back 25 years to the time of Hillsborough. In fact the number of officers ‘responsible’ for such transgressions, and we should remember many remain alleged, probably numbers less than 100 in total. The anger of officers was compounded by the fact that ‘fiddled’ crime figures were listed amongst the series of transgressions. Amazingly later in the same speech she claimed credit for the apparent 20% reduction in crime figures which would have been based on the ‘fiddled’ figures she condemned just minutes earlier.<br />
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There is strong suspicion that Theresa May’s attacks on police are part of an attempt to divert attention from the truly disastrous performances of her own law enforcement creations namely the UK Border Agency and UK Border Force. These dominated headlines earlier this week following yet another damning report, this time from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee.<br />
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The Home Office ineptitude in respect of UK Borders inevitably impacts on the police. Theresa May’s failure to strengthen ‘chocolate teapot’ border controls has resulted in hundreds of jihadists being able to travel back and forth with impunity. Foreign criminals, whether from within Europe or otherwise have also been able to exploit lax controls while drug traffickers are having a field day in that customs trained officers are frequently taken from anti-smuggling duties to ‘stamp passports.’ Cocaine seizures at airports are down by 76% and this again adds to the burden on front line police officers. <br />
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Theresa May’s most recent onslaught on police took place at the Conservative Party conference last month. The main content of her speech concerned terrorism but the first ten minutes consisted of a blistering attack on front line Metropolitan Police officers accusing them, in essence, of racism based on stop and search.<br />
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Despairing Met officers would have hoped that she might have tempered this criticism with a realisation it is not the fault of police that inner city areas suffer from poor schooling, lack of parental role models, poor housing and a woeful lack of job opportunities with 54% of young black males between the ages of 16 and 24 being unemployed. The blame for this sorry state of affairs can only lie at the door of successive, inept governments.<br />
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Surely, they argue, these conditions invariably breed gangs, drug dealing and the violent crime that goes with it. In London this grim cocktail has resulted in the tragic deaths of innocent teenagers who have been murdered as a result of being wrongly identified or for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. <br />
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Whether gang members or not, every murder victim is someone’s son or daughter and front line officers would argue that this is the primary motivation for officers carrying out stop and searches rather than simple racial harassment. The fact that dozens of young men and women would be alive today had their assailants been stopped and searched before encountering their victims appears to have been ignored by Theresa May and should have at least been considered in what remains a contentious issue.<br />
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Now, to add to the woes of an already demoralised service, there is a very real threat to police officers, whether on or off duty, from ISIS or other jihadi terrorists, many of whom would have breezed through border controls to learn their craft abroad or have been indoctrinated within the UK’s justice system or via the internet. <br />
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There is little confidence that Theresa May will take the necessary steps which will help ensure the safety of officers whom she clearly appears to despise. Sadly in the event of an atrocity being committed, one sight that no front line officer wishes to see would be the spectacle of the current Home Secretary ‘crying crocodile tears’ at the funeral of a police officer who has been murdered by terrorists. They will be only too well aware that such a tragedy will have been assisted by government hostility, complacency, cutbacks and sheer incompetence.<br />
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It is indeed a sad indictment of the breakdown in the relationship between police and the Home Secretary that a number of front line officers have instructed that, in the event of them dying in the line of duty, ‘that woman’ be barred from their funeral.<br />
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Follow Chris Hobbs on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/obbsie" rel="nofollow">http://www.twitter.com/obbsie</a>Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-48550831259358368692014-10-27T10:27:00.000-07:002014-10-27T10:28:10.001-07:00UK POLICING - ENOUGH IS ENOUGHReprinted from <a href="http://www.ukcophumour.co.uk/">http://www.ukcophumour.co.uk/</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.ukcophumour.co.uk/the-sad-words-of-a-bobby-who-has-had-enough/" rel="bookmark" title="Permalink to The sad words of a Bobby who has had enough…">The sad words of a Bobby who has had enough…</a> <br />
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I suppose I’m writing this as a kind of therapy to myself. I’m a Cop in a County Constabulary not far from London. We’re a smallish force and quickly getting smaller. <br />
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I’m a mid thirties guy with two small kiddies and a wife. I’m considered reasonably young in service with around three years; joining the job late in life because it took 4 yrs due to First recruitment freeze with the Met in 2008 and as a result of transferring out. I stomached the pay cut, my wife stomached me staying away as did my young boys. The family has stomached me working nights, Xmas, birthdays, rest days, called in short notice for deployment, finishing late, missing school plays, missing wife’s birthday, missing funerals, weddings and get-togethers. <br />
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Despite all of this, I enjoy my job and love working with my brothers and sisters on the thinner than ever blue line; the closet friends you could ever have, the best friends you could ever ask for too. <br />
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I have however, just resigned from the Office of Constable as I feel that the sacrifice that we all make as Officers doesn’t offset the return. <br />
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I’ll explain what I mean. <br />
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These days – due to Winsor – a Probationer Police Constable starts on £21k per annum (luckily I started before this.) This disgusts me, a Probie is exposed to the same risks, dangers, marital and health problems we all are exposed to. A Probie will probably be working harder for a result than any substantive PC who knows the quickest route round most jobs. A Probie will also be under a lot more pressure than a substantive PC because he/she will want to get it right, not let down his/her established shift that they’ve just joined. There’s a chap on my shift who works so hard with under a years service and yet he’s paid less than most regular ‘safer’ jobs. To me it’s wrong, but he’s incredibly proud to be in the Police, as we all are. <br />
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We have just been made aware of another load of cuts mounting to 20% of our budget. My Constabulary has identified the partial amount, from where I don’t know. There is an outstanding deficit of approx £7 million that is yet to be realised and ascertained as to where that will come from. I am told it won’t affect the front line ? Really ? Let’s be honest here, there’s only so much fat you can skim from the top before you ruin the good stuff underneath. You can’t stretch the stretched beyond the limit otherwise it will snap. <br />
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I am told that with the cuts that are made there are an army of Specials and Volunteers to take up posts. Well let me tell these people this, coming from an ex Special: Good luck! What you do is honourable within your spare time, and you should be paid something for sure. But please don’t think for one minute that what you do is anything like a regular Police Constable. The pressures of a workload, cuts, staff shortages, lack of family time, health etc etc will be spared from you. If you go on to eventually join the Job you will soon realise what I mean. Having said that, your time is really appreciated by your regular colleagues and very welcome. <br />
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Despite what the media say about the Police and despite what the Public believe, we are the most amazing group of professionals. Our work ethic, morals, motivation and skills are second to none, we really are a credit to the UK. I wish that this was realised and promoted more. I’m incredibly proud to put on my uniform, pull on my stabby, kit up with my PPE, grab a set of keys and go out to patrol. I love nicking people that need to be nicked and making the problem leave in a set of cuffs. I’m not so keen on Facebook jobs and diary appointments for dogs that have barked too loud or shit on the wrong spot but never the less I am a very proud PC. <br />
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I joined with a view to move up the ranks – a job for life and for amazing experiences. I have had amazing experiences and I’ve had awful, awful ones. <br />
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Why am I going? <br />
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Simply put, there’s no incentive for me to stay. I worry about the cuts to us all, I worry the Goverment isn’t straight with is and does not support us enough. The Government doesn’t understand the role and they don’t understand us. There is no opportunity for promotion any time soon. Our workloads will be increasing with ever more station closures and natural wastage. The Job will become more dangerous due to lack of staff and supporting skilled specialists. To give you an example, we share our helicopter with another 4 or 5 forces now and often there is only one dog unit in the county. This is incredibly frustrating when these are two of the most useful tools on a night shift when there’s a burglary in progress or an escaping dangerous offender. <br />
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The pension, although still fairly decent, I don’t pay into anymore – because I can’t afford to. I need the £300+ a week that it costs me now rather than later. <br />
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My Children miss me, as does my wife (sometimes) and I really miss them all. The sacrifices i make for the job don’t outweigh the fact I miss their development and special moments. It’s just not worth doing. The Job is not designed for a chap/chapess at my stage of life, with my aspirations anymore. Shame really because we add some good life experience to the pot. <br />
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I’m going back to Private Sector. I have luckily got a really good job – Monday to Friday – with some really good benefits and a far better basic wage. <br />
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I’m so sorry that it’s come to this, it’s the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. Leaving a job I love because I know that it’s going to be a long time before any real improvement and at the same time my kiddies are getting older and I’m missing out on more. <br />
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I know I’ve made the right decision but it’s been bloody hard and I’m very sad about it. <br />
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Take care colleagues, stay safe, you’re all brilliant. - <br />
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See more at: <a href="http://www.ukcophumour.co.uk/">http://www.ukcophumour.co.uk/</a><br />
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<strong><span style="color: cyan;">Thin Blue Line Comment</span></strong><br />
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Sadly one of many, undoubtedly committed and loyal officers we're losing because those in power just don't really care. Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-76445445265877189532014-08-19T11:02:00.001-07:002014-08-19T11:02:44.211-07:00REPORTER FAILED TO TELL HIGH COURT HE HACKED THE NIGHTJACK E MAIL ACCOUNT<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Reporter who outed police blogger cautioned</strong></span><br />
<a href="http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Reporter-who-outed-police-blogger-cautioned_85112.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Reporter-who-outed-police-blogger-cautioned_85112.html</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Newspaper claimed it had unmasked 'NightJack' via legal means - but his identity was later found to have been revealed via hacking.</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A former Times journalist who admitted illegally hacking into the email account of pseudonymous police blogger NightJack has been given a police caution.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Patrick Foster hacked into the Yahoo account of the highly acclaimed blogger in 2009 to establish that he was Lancashire detective Richard Horton.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Detective Constable Horton went to the High Court to try and prevent the paper from outing him. At the time lawyers for The Times claimed the officer's identify had been uncovered via legal means, and the newspaper subsequently unmasked the detective - leading his force to take disciplinary action against him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In 2012 Foster was arrested at his home.</span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Police caution</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In a statement released via Twitter, he said: "The past two years of this unnecessarily heavy-handed police investigation have been a nightmare. I have been unemployable, but have had to bear the cost of substantial legal fees. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"I have co-operated with the seemingly never-ending investigation at all times. In order to bring this regrettable episode to an end I have accepted the offer of a police caution for committing a technical breach of the Computer Misuse Act 1990.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"I cannot say how likely it is that I would have been charged, had I rejected the caution. In 2009, when I committed this technical breach, I was acting on the understanding, common across Fleet Street and amongst journalists and lawyers, that I would be able to rely on a public interest defence. That understanding was wrong."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Operation Tuleta</span></h3>
<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Gregor McGill, a senior lawyer at the Crown Prosecution Service, said, “In April 2014 the CPS received a file as part of Operation Tuleta. The file concerned allegations against two individuals of perverting the course of justice and perjury, and an additional allegation of unauthorised access to computer material against the second individual.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"In relation to the allegations of perjury and perverting the course of justice, it has been decided that no further action should be taken, as there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“Any decision by the CPS does not imply any finding concerning guilt or criminal conduct; the CPS makes decisions only according to the test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors and it is applied in all decisions on whether or not to prosecute.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“In relation to the allegation of unauthorised computer access, that individual has been cautioned for an offence contrary to Section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1989.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“The evidence was considered carefully in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors and the DPP’s guidelines on the public interest in cases affecting the media.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“In accepting a caution an individual accepts responsibility for the offending set out.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia;"><strong>Thin Blue Line Comment:-</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the first and most visited police blogs was authored
by a Lancashire Detective, Richard Horton, who in 2008 started blogging under
the pseudonym "Nightjack". Recognition for his writings came in the
form of the Orwell Prize in February 2009. Richard is the first to admit that
some of his posts had taken on a harshly political edge. Winning the award
threw him into the spotlight and he lost his cloak of anonymity when the Times
newspaper traced him and sent photographers around to his house. The result was
that he felt pressured by his force to close the blog and cease his writings. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pc Stuart Davidson served as an officer in Staffordshire
police and his "Coppersblog" site was among the first to expose the
problems that had beset UK policing. Blogging as PC David Copperfield, his true
identity was discovered by his force and as a result, he felt compelled (or was
pushed) to close down the blog and is now a serving police officer in Canada. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In a sad indictment of modern policing, one of the
best-known anonymous police bloggers Inspector Gadget quit writing after seven
years of sharing an officer's eye view of the world of policing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This country's police were once the envy of the world; now
they struggle to retain the confidence of their own people and have long since
lost the support and confidence of the British public. Weighed down by
political correctness, burdensome targets, excessive paperwork, non-core police
activity and incessant government tinkering, fewer officers than ever are seen
on the streets. Everyone knows that policing needs a root and branch overhaul –
not the structural reform so beloved of the Labour government, but a cultural
rejuvenation that restores to trained professionals the freedom to take their
own decisions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">These were the subjects that Gadget, Copperfield &
Nightjack focused on. The job they and we loved so much has been eroded so
dramatically, it no longer bears any resemblance of the police service that was
once so deserving of the world’s respect. Gadget implored the outside world to
recognise what was happening to the service in the hope that someone,
somewhere, somehow would listen and take steps to returning the service to a world
of common sense and justice. He wrote about the malaise affecting the British
Justice system, the ridiculous and strangling bureaucracy that pervades in the
job to this day, the mindless target driven culture among Chief and senior
officers that obstructs frontline and response officers from doing their job
moist effectively, the endless fudging of crime statistics and the political
interference in the everyday operational duties. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Those close to the Gadget say he grew frustrated at the cuts
to the police service and felt he was unable to enact any change through his
writing. It is not known whether he was directly warned off by senior officers
in his force but he quit at a time when those officers who were tweeting under
pseudonyms say they were being intimidated off social media by their bosses.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">"I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend
to the death your right to say it." François-Marie Arouet a.k.a.Voltaire</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whilst we have not always agreed with everything Inspector
Gadget wrote, he made some very relevant, important points. If he was shut down
because of paranoia in the upper echelons of policing, this must be seen as a
backward step in the honest reforms so badly needed for UK policing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: yellow;">"All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in
the world is for enough good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke (British
Statesman and Philosopher 1729-1797)"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">To Quote From Gadget :- My message to the government is
this; ignore all the vested interests and the claptrap. Give us some old school
traditional police front line leadership and we will deliver where others have
failed. Although you might not be able to count it in the same way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If the leadership of the police cannot bring itself to
accept, openly and honestly, that reforms are needed at all levels within the
service, then once again, we the British public will be hoodwinked and conned
into believing that all in the police garden is rosy, which it clearly is not. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Never has true Leadership been required in the service more
than right now. Lord Dear (former Chief Constable of the West Midlands and
perhaps one of the last real Leaders in the service) said it so well in his
recent Times article. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What the job desperately needs now is Leaders NOT managers.
The service doesn't seem to know the difference. Sadly, Leadership is not the
only element lacking at the top. Public confidence and that of the troops will
never fully return until there is distinct evidence that the Chief Officer
standards and qualities are beyond reproach. Over as many months, 18 Chiefs and
SMT ranks either disciplined, arrested, or dismissed for unprofessional and
even criminal conduct is an indictment of how so many clearly feel they are
above the law they are meant to uphold.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">How do you instil moral compass values in a hierarchy that
doesn't seem to know the difference between crooked and straight?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">All Nightjack, Copperfield and Gadget wanted was their
beloved police force back to the way it used to be and the public to be the
major beneficiaries. Patrick Foster and his ill advised strategy to
"out" Nightjack, inadvertently silenced 000's of officers who may
have come forward to confirm what we all know is ailing the service. To make matters worse, when Richard Hortons appeal against disclosure case was hear before Justice Eady, no mention was made about how Foster had hacked the e mail account to identify Nightjack. Had this information been disclosed, the outcome for police bloggers may well have been more favourable. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Former PC
James Patrick was the first whistle blower to go public shedding any anonymity,
exposing the rot in police recorded crime that resulted in PRC losing it's ONS
badge of respectability. The met hounded him mercilessly until eventually, he too was
forced to leave the job he loved. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whatever has become of our wonderful service, where some no
mark reporter can cause such an avalanche of travesties? The service has always
had its issues, but at least the bloggers and whistle blowers act with the best
of intentions, to restore the service to its rightfully respected position in
society.</span>Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-53352572144892893332014-08-15T02:38:00.001-07:002014-08-16T06:23:00.827-07:00CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS? POLICE LEADERSHIP<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The ACPO Ostrich</em></strong></td></tr>
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Reprinted from the Police Oracle <br />
<a href="http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Police-leadership-'crisis'-claims-dismissed_85076.html">http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Police-leadership-'crisis'-claims-dismissed_85076.html</a><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Police leadership 'crisis' claims dismissed</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: large;"></span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Media and politicians have created a perception of a worsening situation, say commentators.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Public concerns of a perceived "crisis" in police leadership are emerging as the media spotlight focuses on the numbers of chief constables under investigation, it has been claimed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Analysts have suggested that press and broadcasters have put the issue firmly on the radar of the public - even though nothing has yet been proven against any individual.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Academic Dr Tim Brain said he feared the altered nature of the role of chief constable - which now makes them far more personally accountable - and the increased pressures of the role are resulting in some gifted candidates to avoid applying for top jobs.</span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ongoing investigations</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As reported on PoliceOracle.com, two chiefs are currently suspended pending the outcome of probes against them while three others under scrutiny remain on duty.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The latest concerns were raised as local MPs ratcheted up the pressure for Sir Peter Fahy to be suspended after the GMP chief became the latest to find himself under investigation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The watchdog served the senior officer with a criminal gross misconduct notice over matters relating to an alleged poorly-handled investigation into a suspected sex offender.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Two serving officers and a retired officer are being investigated as part of the same investigation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But GMP Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd has declined to suspend Sir Peter, highlighting that there was currently "no case for asking the chief to stand down".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">He has also called for the IPCC to conduct its investigation quickly and thoroughly.</span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">'No crisis'</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">While accepting that a number of chief constables were under investigatio, Dr Brain - a former chief constable of Gloucestershire - did not believe there was a crisis of leadership.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Dr Brain added: "However, it is true that there is now a crisis of perception out there - and this has been created by a combination of media hype and political momentum.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Although we know that there are chief constables under investigation, we do not know many details - and we have not been told of any outcomes. It is easy to make an allegation."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Dr Brain said that - in some cases - the allegations against the individuals were made against them while they had been chief constables.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In addition, with IPCC resources stretched, Dr Brain highlighted that officers who were suspended were now faced with months of uncertainty - and careers are suffering as a result.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The academic said that anecdotal evidence suggested some chief officers were shunning top jobs, with recent recruitment exercises attracting few candidates.</span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">New skills</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Dr Brain said: "The skills required by a chief constable are now a combination of corporate management - with partnerships and collaboration - while taking on more personal responsibility.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"There is increased scrutiny and greater accountability on the individual - the relationship that they have with PCCs is also very personal and different from that of the police authority."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Meanwhile Sir Hugh Orde, President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, also denied suggestions in the media that there was a crisis in senior leadership.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sir Hugh added: “Chief constables are required to make difficult, complex decisions daily, often under extreme pressure. Making these decisions involves balancing risk and acting on the information available with the intention of protecting the public.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“The five chief constables under investigation are all very different cases. It would be wrong to suggest that they are evidence of a crisis in police leadership. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"These cases demonstrate that our system is effective at investigating complaints and transparently holding police to account."</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>THIN BLUE LINE COMMENT</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">ACPO as an organization and as a collective of those most senior in the service, has been on the ropes for too long, both financially and in terms of its integrity as a so called professional body. The rank and file have lost all confidence in them. The public and media mistrust them. Accusations of scurrilous disloyal conduct have been too many and too visible to ignore. The Coalition merely tolerated them. The Conservative Shadow cabinet under David Camerons direction accused ACPO of giving “political cover to the Labour Government repeatedly and consistently” and engaging in “gratuitous photocalls” with Gordon Brown and other ministers. It went on to say it “showed almost no criticism of the current Government”. <br /><br />ACPO IS COMPRISED OF CHIEF AND SENIOR OFFICERS WHO HAVE BEEN SELF SERVING, DECEITFUL, SECRETIVE AND DISLOYAL TO THE ROOT AND BRANCH OFFICERS THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO LEAD WITH HONOUR. THIS BOYS CLUB IS DUE TO BE DISBANDED SO THAT CHIEF OFFICERS CAN RETURN TO WHAT THEY ARE PAID FOR, WHAT THE PUBLIC EXPECTS OF THEM, TO LEAD THEIR OFFICERS AT FORCE LEVEL, FROM THE FRONT, WITH HONESTY, RESPECT, INTEGRITY AND LOYALTY, QUALITIES THAT HAVE BEEN SADLY LACKING.<br /><br /> If ACPO had been allowed to continue, despite their weak protestations to the contrary, the "Us and Them" culture would pervade and decimate the service. Many times this has been evidenced in the private sector, where powerful Governing bodies have been able to "divide and conquer" opposing views from organisations. The police service is no different. Whilst ACPO played the political game, (yet all the time insisting they want to rid the service of politicisation), every Government used the division between the ranks as a lever to extract what THEY want from the situation. Only when the division no longer exists and the service is once again united, will it regain its strength and bargaining power. <br /><br /> It is totally right that the combined experience of police leadership should be utilised to add value and optimise the service provided to the public and the rank and file. However, any ACPO MkII must look to proactively avoid the horrendous historical mistakes of the past.<br /><br /> Anyone that declares the leadership is not in crisis is guilty of the ostrich mentality typical of Chief Officers of recent years. Bury their heads, pretend it isn't happening and DENY, DENY, DENY!<br /><br /> Lord Dear, former West Midlands Chief Constable had it right with his letter to the Times. To quote "Not so long ago misconduct by a senior police officer was rare and newsworthy. Not Now. <br /><br /> Too many top-rank officers are in trouble in the courts and serious doubts are being cast about the trustworthiness of the service at all levels – the death of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 disturbances, Plebgate, phone-hacking, Hillsborough, the apparent politicisation of the Police Federation and so on. Certainly the police can point to falling crime rates and great success in preventing further terrorist attacks since 7/7, but their response too often appears to be disconnected from what the public expect. <br /><br /> The basic problem is leadership. The service has created, trained and promoted to its top ranks managers, rather than leaders. The roots of this go deep, certainly to a decision taken at the Police Staff College in the early 1990s to drop the focus on leadership on the grounds that it was “divisive and elitist” and concentrate instead on management. The police, like much of the public sector, remain preoccupied with the management ethic, ignoring the words of Viscount Slim p a noted leader in both the army and the commercial world – that “managers are necessary, leaders are essential”. <br /><br />Hardly surprising that Sir Hugh Orde vociferously defended the ACPO ranks, turkeys don't vote for Christmas and they have too much at stake personally, with gold plated pensions, whopping salaries with all the frills and their glorious fiefdoms to protect. <br /><br /> Is the leadership in crisis? Ask the public and the rank and file who were unanimously critical of their leaders in recent surveys. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>And Oracle Readers added:-</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Maverick22</strong><br />Sir Hugh added: “Chief constables are required to make difficult, complex decisions daily, often under extreme pressure. Making these decisions involves balancing risk and acting on the information available with the intention of protecting the public, WHILE SITTING AT A DESK, while the lads and lasses(particularly firearms officers)have to make similar decisions out on the streets, on the hoof, they don't have solicitors and advisors with them when they make those decisions. Could Fahy please tell us which great complex decision he had to make recently, whilst under great pressure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Paul</strong> <br />5 out of 43 under investigation that is about 12% if 12% of constables were under investigation it would be a crisis.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>DC999</strong><br />I was wondering how long it would be before some media spin appeared. Here it is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Anglisc</strong><br />Well, I have to be honest. When ACPO are getting served papers at the rate they are, I see it as a crisis. In know the fed had a vote of no confidence in ACPO a while ago. If the same percentage of officers were getting papers, I have no doubts ACPO would view this as a crisis. The difference being a PC wouldn't get the PCC speaking out in their support or asking for a proportionate investigation. The PC would be left to fend for themselves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Anonymous</strong> <br />When I was an officer the more senior the officer in the witness box (Sergeant/Inspector), the stronger the case. Thankfully you don't see too many ACPO officers in the witness box!!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Anonymous</strong> <br />The recent increase of ACPO officers under investigation is just symptomatic of the people now filling these posts. They are too close to Politicians, Media and Personalities and care too much about QPM's and knighthoods. They are nothing like the old Chief's who steered clear of the 'P's'......Press, Politians, Politicians.....and now PCC's</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Anonymous</strong> <br />Ask yourself if everyone above the rank of inspector didn't come to work for a month would the front line, where the workers are, even notice?<br /> The answer is NO.<br /> The job gets done regardless of these ranks.<br /> Now ask if PC's Sgt's and Inspectors didn't come to work for one day what would happen?<br /> Think we all know.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><strong>FROM LINKED IN POLICE GROUPS:-</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><img height="61" id="hero-image-img" src="https://media.licdn.com/media/p/3/005/036/1c5/20d1d97.png" width="200" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<a class="commenter" href="https://www.linkedin.com/groups?viewMemberFeed=&gid=3272907&memberID=126377857" title="See this member's activity"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">David PAGE</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="commenter-headline">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">User Group Expander (Part-time contract) at University of Warwick</span></div>
<div class="commenter-headline">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span> </div>
<div class="comment-body">
<span class="text"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Steve,<br /><br /> I share your concern, if not dismay with the current police leadership. Personally I would not give them the title leaders.<br /><br /> How can the profession have a senior ACPO officer subect to an investigation in a serious miscarriage of justice case get a promotion and then another - whilst CPS ponder if a prosecution is warranted? Would this happen to an officer outside the ranks of ACPO?<br /><br /> The recent news that a small, significant number of ACPO are being investigated; with two chief constables suspended, is "another nail in the coffin".<br /><br /> Part of the problem with the leadership of the police service is that the Home Office, ACPO and a few others have created a mould for leadership which produces managers first. Men and women who do not inspire those they command. Who often use various forms of bullying and spite against those who disagree with them. As for their attitude towards "whistle blowers" just look at PC James Patrick, now ex-MPS.<br /><br /> I do not doubt they have hard decisions to make, although whether those are daily operational decisions is a moot point.<br /><br /> Anyway what does the public think? YouGov polling gives a clue. have look at: </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fyougov%2Eco%2Euk%2Fnews%2F2013%2F10%2F21%2Ftrust-police-steady-despite-scandals%2F&urlhash=pd6w&_t=tracking_disc" rel="nofollow" target="blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://yougov.co.uk/news/2013/10/21/trust-police-steady-despite-scandals/</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> Polling found in October 2013 the % who trust the following to tell the truth: <br /> Local police officers 66% <br /> Senior police officers 48%<br /><br /> So yes there is a crisis. Just don't expect any answers to come from ACPO. Nor the politicians, who scored even lower in the polling. </span></span></div>
<br />Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-54242260708714019752014-07-29T00:59:00.001-07:002014-07-29T00:59:32.094-07:00Police Reform — Theresa May Statement heard in House of Lords<a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2014-07-22a.1071.0">http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2014-07-22a.1071.0</a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Pretender to the throne?</em></strong></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/peer/?m=100908" title="See more information about Lord Taylor of Holbeach"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Lord Taylor of
Holbeach</span></b></a> </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">(Conservative)</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">My Lords, with the leave of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_I"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">House I</span></b></a> will now
repeat a Statement on police reform that was given earlier today in the <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/glossary/?gl=192" title="The House of Commons is one of the houses of parliament. Here, elected MPs..."><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">House of Commons</span></b></a>
by my <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/glossary/?gl=172" title="When speaking in the House of Commons, an MP will refer to another MP of..."><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">right honourable
friend</span></b></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_May"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Theresa May</span></b></a>,
the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Secretary"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Home Secretary</span></b></a>.
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Statement"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">The Statement</span></b></a>
is as follows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“With permission, Mr <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/glossary/?gl=21" title="The Speaker is an MP who has been elected to act as Chairman during debates..."><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Speaker</span></b></a>,
I would like to make a statement about our ongoing work to ensure the highest
standards of integrity in the police. I have always been clear that I believe
the vast <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/glossary/?gl=37" title="The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government..."><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">majority</span></b></a>
of police officers in this country do their job honestly, and with integrity.
They fight crime in our villages, towns and cities. They deal with dangerous
criminals, strive to protect the vulnerable, keep our streets safe and have
shown that they can cut crime even as we cut spending. Under this Government,
crime is down by more than 10% since the election, proving that it is possible
to do more with less. But as I have said before, the good work of the majority
threatens to be damaged by a continuing series of events and revelations
relating to police conduct.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">That is why, over the last 18 months, the Government have been
implementing a series of changes to improve standards of police integrity. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_Policing"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">College of
Policing</span></b></a> has published a new code of ethics, which makes clear
the high standards of behaviour that are expected from all police officers. A
national list of police officers’ pay and rewards, gifts and hospitality is now
published online, and their final list of business interests will be published
for the first time later this summer. A national register of officers struck
off from the police has been produced and made available to vetting and
anti-corruption officers in police forces. The Government will legislate later
this year to ensure that officers cannot resign or retire to avoid dismissal in
misconduct hearings. We have beefed up the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Police_Complaints_Commission"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Independent
Police Complaints Commission</span></b></a> so that, in future, it can take on
all serious and sensitive cases involving the police. In addition to these
specific measures, many of our other police reforms—the creation of the College
of Policing; direct entry into the senior ranks; the election of police and
crime commissioners; the changes to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_Majesty"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Her Majesty</span></b></a>’s
Inspectorate of Constabulary—will make a positive difference when it comes to
police integrity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Since I began the Government’s programme of work to improve public
confidence in the police, further events and revelations have reinforced the
need for reform. We have had reports on the misuse of stop and search, and the
poor police response to <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/glossary/?gl=140" title="violence occurring within the family"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">domestic violence</span></b></a>. We
have had the findings of the Ellison review, which examined allegations of
corruption during the initial deeply flawed investigation of the murder of<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Lawrence"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Stephen Lawrence</span></b></a>.
We have had <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_David_Normington"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Sir David
Normington</span></b></a>’s review into the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_Federation"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Police
Federation</span></b></a>, which recommended change ‘from top to bottom’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The measures we have introduced are vital, but we cannot stop there, so
I want to tell the House about my plans for further change. I want to open up
policing to the brightest and best recruits. The Government have already
introduced direct entry to open up the senior ranks of the police and bring in
people with new perspectives and expertise. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_London"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">In London</span></b></a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Police"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Metropolitan
Police</span></b></a> received 595 applications for between five and 10
direct-entry superintendent posts. Some 26% of the applicants were from a black
or minority ethnic background, compared with 8.6% of traditional recruits, and
27% were female. In addition, using seed funding that I announced at the Police
Federation conference in May, the Metropolitan Police is setting up “Police
Now”, the policing equivalent of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teach_First"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Teach First</span></b></a>, which
will attract the brightest graduates into policing. However, I want to go
further. The College of Policing will undertake a fundamental review of police
leadership. The review will look at: how we can go further and faster with
direct entry; how we can encourage officers to gain experience outside policing
before returning later in life; and how we can open up the senior ranks to
candidates from different backgrounds. The review will start immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In addition to these reforms, I also want to ensure that the systems and
processes that deal with misconduct by police officers are robust. That means,
where there are cases of wrongdoing, they must be dealt with effectively, and,
where necessary, appropriate disciplinary action must be taken. In March I
announced I would be creating a new offence of police corruption through the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Justice_and_Courts_Bill"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Criminal Justice
and Courts Bill</span></b></a>, but this alone is not enough. The police
disciplinary system is complex. It has developed organically rather than been
structured to fit its purpose. It lacks transparency for the public, it is
bureaucratic and it lacks independence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 10.5pt 0pt 13.5pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">So today I can tell the House that we will be reviewing the whole police
disciplinary system from beginning to end. This review will be chaired by
Major-General Clive Chapman, an experienced, independent and respected former
Army officer, and I want it to draw on best practice from the private and
public sectors. I have asked Major-General Chapman to look for ways to ensure
that the disciplinary system is clearer, more independent and public focused. I
intend to consult publicly on the policies that emerge from the review later
this year. In addition to the review, I want to make some specific changes to
the police disciplinary system. In particular, I want to hold disciplinary
hearings in public to improve transparency and justice. I will launch a public
consultation on these proposals later this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 10.5pt 0pt 13.5pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In my Statement on the Ellison review on 6 March, I said I would return
to the House with proposals to strengthen protections for police
whistleblowers. Police officers and police staff need to know that they can
come forward in complete confidence to report wrongdoing by their colleagues.
So the Government will create a single national policy for police forces on
whistleblowing to replace the current patchwork approach. This will set out the
best principles and practices on whistleblowing, and ensure consistency of
approach<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">across all forces. Following the publication of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMIC"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">HMIC</span></b></a>’s integrity
inspection, I am prepared to consider putting the whistleblowers’ code on a
statutory basis. We will also require forces to publish more information on the
number of conduct issues raised by officers and the action taken as a result.
From 2015 onwards, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Office"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Home Office</span></b></a>
will collect and publish data about conduct and complaints brought by police
officers and police staff about their colleagues. But I still want to go
further, so in the autumn I will launch a public consultation on police
whistleblowing. The consultation will look at a range of new proposals to
protect police whistleblowers. For example, I want to consider how we can
introduce sealed investigations—which prevent both the force and suspects
learning that an investigation is taking place—into serious misconduct and
corruption by police officers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 10.5pt 0pt 13.5pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I also want to take an in-depth look at the police complaints system.
Last year, I announced reforms to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPCC"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">IPCC</span></b></a> to ensure that
all serious and sensitive cases are dealt with by the IPCC. This included the
transfer of resources from the police to the IPCC and measures to ensure that
the IPCC has the right capacity to deal with demand. As I told the College of
Policing conference in October, this work is on track and the IPCC will begin
to take on additional cases this year. But now is the time to build on those
reforms. Public satisfaction surveys on the handling of complaints show that
satisfaction levels remain consistently low. According to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_Survey_for_England_and_Wales"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Crime Survey for
England and Wales</span></b></a>, less than a quarter of those who complain to
the police are satisfied with the outcome of their complaint. The overall
number of complaints being handled independently is still far too low. This
year, a review undertaken by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Glass"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Deborah Glass</span></b></a>, the
former deputy chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, found that
94% of cases referred to the IPCC in 2012 were referred back to be dealt with
by the police.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Police and crime commissioners are locally developing new and innovative
approaches to police complaints. In Thames Valley, Anthony Stansfeld has
announced a complaints, integrity and ethics committee to provide scrutiny on
how the force handles complaints. In Greater Manchester, Tony Lloyd has
appointed an independent complaints ombudsman to resolve complaints before they
become part of the complaints system. We need the police complaints system to
keep up with the changes we have seen in police structures, to reflect the
changes made locally by PCCs and chief constables, and to meet public expectations.
So today I will launch a review of the entire police complaints system,
including the role, powers and funding of the IPCC and the local role played by
police and crime commissioners. The review will look at the complaints system
from end to end, examining the process every step of the way and for all
complaints from the most minor to the most serious. The review will commence
immediately and conclude in the autumn this year. It will include a public
consultation on proposals for a system that is more independent of the police,
easier for the public to follow, more focused on resolving complaints locally,
and has a simpler system of appeals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The measures that I have announced today will ensure that we are able to
examine the entire approach to cases of misconduct, improper behaviour and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">corruption. But in working to ensure the highest standards of police
integrity, I want to leave no stone unturned. This year, I commissioned Her
Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to carry out a review of anti-corruption
capability in police forces. HMIC is also carrying out an inspection of police
integrity as part of its planned programme of inspections for 2014-2015. In
addition, I have agreed with the chief inspector that HMIC’s new programme of
annual inspections of all police forces, which will begin later this year, will
look not only at a force’s effectiveness and efficiency but at its legitimacy
in the eyes of the public. Every annual inspection will therefore include an
examination as to whether each force’s officers and staff act with integrity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Together these measures represent a substantial overhaul of the systems
that hold police officers to account. They will build on our radical programme
of police reform and they will help to ensure that police honesty and integrity
are protected, and that corruption and misconduct are rooted out. That is what
the public and the many thousands of decent, dedicated and hardworking police
officers of this country deserve. I commend this Statement to the House”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">My Lords, that concludes the Statement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
And some interesting responses...<br />
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; display: none; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hide: all;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hide: all;"><a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/alert/?pid=10546"><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Email me when
Baroness Smith of Basildon speaks</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; display: none; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hide: all;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hide: all;"><a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/peer/?m=101041#votingrecord"><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">View voting
record</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; display: none; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hide: all;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hide: all;"><a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/peer/?m=101041#hansard"><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Most recent
appearances</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hide: all;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hide: all;"><a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/peer/?m=101041#numbers"><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Numerology</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; display: none; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hide: all;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hide: all;"><a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/peer/?m=101041"><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Full profile ...</span></a></span></b><span style="color: #111111; display: none; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hide: all;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/peer/?m=101041" title="See more information about Baroness Smith of Basildon"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Baroness Smith
of Basildon</span></b></a> </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">(Labour)</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">My Lords, I am grateful to the <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/glossary/?gl=35" title="Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of..."><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Minister</span></b></a>
for repeating the Statement. Most of us at some point in our lives have contact
with the police: as witnesses—not as victims, we hope—reporting a crime; and in
their community role, which at its best is excellent and at its worst is
minimal. At its best the British police are rightly held in national and
international high regard. They are praised by communities and they encourage
and justify public confidence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">However, we have also seen evidence of policing going wrong, when its
integrity cannot be relied on and public confidence is not justified. Issues
such as the Hillsborough disaster and the investigation into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Lawrence"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Stephen Lawrence</span></b></a>’s
murder—and the appalling police actions following those shocking events—make it
clear that a new framework is needed. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPCC"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">IPCC</span></b></a> has too often
done too little too late.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">From talking to police officers, it is clear that they themselves feel
the criticism of their profession more acutely than anyone else, because all
the professionalism and integrity on which they pride themselves is undermined
by the actions of a minority. We have already initiated a review of ensuring
stronger actions on standards in policing. The noble Lord, Lord Stevens, led
the independent commission that made a number of recommendations: a new
stronger police standards authority, replacing the IPCC and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMIC"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">HMIC</span></b></a> with the power to
initiate investigations; chartered registration for all police; ability to
strike officers from the register; and high professional and ethical standards
for all officers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I had hoped that we would have seen some of those issues incorporated in
today’s Statement and an indication that some action is taking place. Instead
we are going to have a review of the police disciplinary system and a public
consultation on disciplinary hearings; as well as the existing Ellison review
we are going to have<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">another consultation on whistleblowing; we have got a review on police
leadership; and we have a review on the police complaints system, including a
review of the IPCC and the role of the police and crime commissioners. Just to
confirm in case I have got it wrong, I count that as three reviews and four
consultations. I am not necessarily against these reviews in areas in which we
want to see progress, but so many reviews and consultations are a poor excuse
for little or delayed action. How many reviews do the Government need to tell
them that the IPCC is not working and that a piecemeal, sticking plaster
approach to reform is not what is needed?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Statement"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">The Statement</span></b></a>
begs far more questions than it gives answers. We shall come to some of them
today but I hope that at some point we can have a longer debate on this issue.
I am sorry that I find the Statement disappointing. It does not give me
confidence that the Government will tackle the failures in the system with any
sense of urgency or understand the scale of reform that is needed. So many
reviews seem to indicate that the plan is to kick reform into the long grass
well beyond the next election. The public and the police deserve better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Yesterday in the Moses Room we debated the Government’s proposals
relating to the <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/glossary/?gl=45" title="A by-election occurs when a seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant..."><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">by-election</span></b></a>
following the tragic and untimely death of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Jones"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Bob Jones</span></b></a>, the police
and crime commissioner in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Midlands"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">West Midlands</span></b></a>. Despite
some worthy candidates and officeholders, there is little interest in and
support for the role of the PCCs, with humiliating turnouts—just 14% across the
country—in the 2012 elections. The cost of those elections, and the by-election
in August, would have paid for hundreds of police officers at a time when every
police force is facing swingeing cuts. One has to ask whether this is value for
money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I am sure the noble Lord has spoken to police officers, as I have. They
have told me that the thin blue line is getting thinner and thinner. They feel
they are unable to do their job as they want to and should be able to. The
reforms that we and they expect seem no nearer with so many reviews and
consultations. Those delays hit their morale, especially when they see
convictions falling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 10.5pt 0pt 13.5pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">For example, in my home county of Essex, the investigation into the
Colchester murders is drawing officers away from other parts of the country.
They are having to leave the policing and investigations in their areas to
undertake mutual assistance in Essex to ensure that they can effectively
investigate these dreadful murders and police the area in Colchester. I have
been told that this has meant that some officers have been on permanent 12-hour
shifts for three weeks. That has taken its toll.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I do not know whether the Minister has seen the sickness figures for
Essex but, in 2009-10, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_Police"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Essex Police</span></b></a>
lost 27,654 days to sickness. In the last year to April 2014, with fewer
officers in Essex Police, that has risen to a staggering 41,251 days. Is the
Minister as shocked and as worried as I am that the sickness levels in the
Essex Police—and I have no reason to expect that Essex is different to anywhere
else—have risen so dramatically since this Government have been in office?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 10.5pt 0pt 13.5pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">We are right to expect the highest standards from the police, but does
the Minister agree that the police also have a right to expect the highest
standards from the Government in tackling police reform issues more quickly and
in making effective use of resources?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>AND FROM THE RESPECTED LORD DEAR ....</strong></span> <br />
<br />
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/peer/?m=100939" title="See more information about Lord Dear"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Lord Dear</span></b></a> </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">(Crossbench)</span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">My Lords, I welcome the Statement. I endorse its subject matter and I am
delighted to see leadership mentioned. It does not get a bold headline but it
is in there and Members of your Lordships’ House will know that I have pressed
that subject before. The fact that leadership needs ventilation by attachment
to outside bodies is well taken. I have two questions for the <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/glossary/?gl=35" title="Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of..."><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Minister</span></b></a>:
one on leadership and one on another matter. Does he agree that, with
good-quality, robust, visible leadership, all the issues of probity, </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">ethics, due process, professionalism and so on are almost superfluous
because they would flow naturally from it? Without good quality leadership, any
of the things I have enumerated would struggle to succeed. Leadership,
therefore, needs not only to be endorsed, as it is in the report, but lifted to
the top of the list, together with a proper career path for those who are
recruited into the service with those attributes. Will leadership be one of a
number of issues or is it going to be one of the prime issues that will lead
the rest through?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; margin: 0cm 10.5pt 0pt 13.5pt;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Secondly, if leadership is a key to the door, this is surely a door with
at least two locks. We have talked about the first metaphorically. The second
key to the door is the structure of the police service. There is nothing in the
list we have heard today on structure. There is a balance to be struck which
is, sadly, out of kilter at the moment. Wherever I go in the police service or
whenever I talk to the many people who are outside the service but interested
in it, the question is always why we do not have a national force or a regional
force; there are too many forces. I take no view on that other than it needs
addressing. I am a great believer in loyalty to cap-badge and locality but the
fact that we have the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Crime_Agency"><b><span style="color: #2680c6; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">National Crime
Agency</span></b></a> at one end and police and crime commissioners at the
other means there is a great gulf in the middle. So my question to the Minister
is: will there additionally be an in-depth review, perhaps along the lines of
what has been mentioned in the Stevens report, of the whole structure of the
British police service, in which leadership and everything else can flourish?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Well said Lord Dear. As we have said many times from these pages, it is the poor overall Leadership quality within the service that lies at the root of the problems with British policing. </em></span></strong></div>
Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-74005661033602403272014-07-17T02:46:00.002-07:002014-07-17T02:46:42.814-07:00ACPO Mk1 - R.I.P. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pdksWeXPzuI/U8eWyHoyXxI/AAAAAAAACyQ/pX53tc1XKok/s1600/Arrogant+ACPO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pdksWeXPzuI/U8eWyHoyXxI/AAAAAAAACyQ/pX53tc1XKok/s1600/Arrogant+ACPO.jpg" height="316" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The best leaders inspire by example. When that is not an option, brute intimidation works pretty well too"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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So, it has finally come to pass, that ACPO will be no more...</div>
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<a href="http://www.policeoracle.com/news/ACPO-replacement:-Chiefs-vote-in-favour_84628.html">http://www.policeoracle.com/news/ACPO-replacement:-Chiefs-vote-in-favour_84628.html</a></div>
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Readers of these pages will know that we have not been the greatest fans of the ACPO boys club. </div>
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The Police Oracle this morning reports:-</div>
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The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) will be scrapped and replaced with a new co-ordinating body following a ballot of senior officers.<br />
<br />
In a statement following a three-week ballot of its membership, the Association said chief officers voted overwhelmingly in favour of the change following a review by General Sir Nick Parker.<br />
<br />
The new body will be hosted in – but remain independent of – a lead police force.<br />
<br />
An ACPO statement confirmed that just under 65 per cent of chief officers voted in the ballot. An implementation group is now addressing key issues such as developing an operating model, the process for electing a leader, future funding and a new name.<br />
<br />
Progress over the change will be discussed at Chief Constables’ Council on July 17-18 and the Association will continue to provide national leadership until the new body is formed.<br />
<br />
The statement added: “The coordinating body will help police cut crime and keep the public safe, by joining up the operational response to the most serious and strategic threats.<br />
<br />
“Focusing on operational delivery and developing national approaches on issues such as finance, technology and human resources, it will work closely with the College of Policing, which is responsible for developing professional standards.”<br />
<br />
The statement added that ACPO’s “core role” of co-ordinating operational policing and agreeing national approaches would be transferred into the new organisation.<br />
<br />
The functions of the body will include co-ordination of national operations, delivery of counter terrorist policing and mobilising a national police response across borders.<br />
<br />
It will also ensure operational delivery of standards and policy, working with the College of Policing on developing joint national approaches on areas such as criminal justice and human resources.<br />
<br />
ACPO President Sir Hugh Orde said: “This is a very positive step and is to be welcomed.<br />
<br />
“The Police Service needs its leaders to have a strong coordinating body to help ensure forces work together in the most efficient way possible to keep safe the citizens we serve.<br />
<br />
“The change from our current arrangements to those which have been voted in by police leaders will ensure that the expertise of our chief officers is couched in a body which provides not only the best service for our forces but the best service and value for the public.”<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: yellow;">THIN BLUE LINE COMMENT</span></strong><br />
<br />
The demise of ACPO will not be enough to start the restoration of confidence in the leadership as a group. There must be a definite change in culture if any successor organisation is not to be tainted with the same flaws. <br />
<br />
As we approach the end of the ACPO MkI era we should remind ourselves of the challenges that will face ACPO MkII. <br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>ACPO is a self-serving Lobby Group<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many of Labour’s policing laws that remain a legacy were
effectively written by ACPO and designed to serve the interests of ACPO’s elite
against the interests of the taxpayer. The Criminal Justice and Police Act
(2001) is a prime example: under this legislation, ACPO staff—and remember ACPO
is a private company—became entitled to expensive gold-plated civil service
pension.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Their lobbying also extended to powergrabs: the Police and
Justice Act (2006) mandates ACPO Ltd must be consulted prior to changes in
certain police powers. The codes regarding PACE may only be modified with ACPO
consultation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">ACPO has millions in cash at the bank and has an income of
approximately £10 million per year. It has various commercial activities: it
accredits burglar alarms, sells (and promotes) its own accreditation service
for the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme and makes a profit each year in
excess of £300,000 by holding an annual conference.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">ACPO also has a sizeable property empire but refuses to say
how large it is. It is known that a small subdivision of ACPO—the Terrorism
& Allied Matters Committee—spent £1.3 million on luxury apartments for its
members.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>ACPO is highly political</strong> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Police officers are forbidden by law from joining a
political party and diligently avoid accusations of political bias. The same
cannot be said of Chief Police Officers and ACPO.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In an interview on Radio 4′s Today, the President of ACPO,
Sir Hugh Orde, threatened to resign if Conservative Plans for elected Chief
Constables became law.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In 2007, then-President of ACPO Ken Jones spoke out in
support of the Government plans–opposed by the Conservatives–to increase
precharge detention beyond 28 days.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This lead to the Conservatives writing in a private election
note of ACPO giving “political cover to the Labour Government repeatedly and
consistently” and engaging in “gratuitous photocalls” with Gordon Brown and
other ministers. It goes on to say it “shows almost no criticism of the current
Government”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>ACPO is a Secretive Private Company<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">ACPO president Sir Hugh Orde has acknowledged that its role
as a private company was “uncomfortable” and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of
Constabulary, the police watchdog, has said its ‘status as a private limited
company ‘cannot continue’.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Despite receiving much public funding, responsible for
senior appointments in quangos and helping the state draft legislation, ACPO is
immune to Freedom of Information laws and is not bound by the usual rules of
the civil service, despite receiving many of its perks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">ACPO using the Home Office and the media to deflect
attention away from their own nefarious conduct, submitted a secret document to
the Home Secretary suggesting, among forty-nine recommendations, that the pay
and conditions of the federated ranks be dramatically slashed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">ACPO that conveniently didn’t tell the Police Federation
that they had submitted the document, leaving no opportunity to consult with
the rank and file representative body. It was ACPO that met with the Police
Federation and the Superintendents’ Association, pleading for unity to resist
the Government’s plans for elected commissioners to replace police authorities
– after they had submitted their plans. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">ACPO showed arrogant disregard for the welfare and views of
the policing frontline, that they are out to protect their own individual
interests before anyone else, including the front line officers and the general
public they are supposed to serve. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">ACPO have apparently stated that they believed incentive
bonuses to show reduced crime and increased detections to be divisive.
Intriguing that the now disgraced police recorded crime statistics have not led
to any officer handing back the bonuses paid out on the back of fiddled crime
figures.(Despite the fact that many senior officers took bonuses without
complaint for many years anyway!). If anyone should know the definition of the
word 'devisive" it is those ACPO officers who have participated in this scurrilous,
deceitful, secretive act of outright betrayal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As a group, ACPO have shown that they cannot be trusted to
stand alone as the authoritive voice of British policing. Any organisation that
fails to listen to the views of its root and branch staff, those who experience
the real problems and use their initiative to overcome them, is destined to
lose the confidence of their 'customer', in this case the British public. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Senior Officers and the rank and file must be reconciled as
one service. It must not be acceptable that the Federation hear about important
decisions from leaked documents or other sources. They must be a visible part
of the process, not merely an afterthought. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This will take a monumental shift of culture from the Chief
Officers, to accept that this is an essential element in achieving reforms that
will last. If they fail to do this, this Government and the next will spend its
administration umpiring the contrary view of ACPO and the frontline.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">ACPO as an organization has been on the ropes for too long,
both financially and in terms of its integrity as a so called professional
body. The rank and file have lost all confidence in them. The public and media
mistrust them. Accusations of scurrilous disloyal conduct have been too many
and too visible to ignore. The Coalition merely tolerated them. The
Conservative Shadow cabinet under David Camerons direction accused ACPO of
giving “political cover to the Labour Government repeatedly and consistently”
and engaging in “gratuitous photocalls” with Gordon Brown and other ministers.
It went on to say it “showed almost no criticism of the current Government”.</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><span style="color: yellow;">ACPO HAVE BEEN SELF SERVING, DECEITFUL, SECRETIVE AND
DISLOYAL TO THE ROOT AND BRANCH OFFICERS THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO LEAD WITH HONOUR.
IT IS HIGH TIME THIS BOYS CLUB WAS DISBANDED SO THAT CHIEF OFFICERS CAN RETURN
TO WHAT THEY ARE PAID FOR, WHAT THE PUBLIC EXPECTS OF THEM, TO LEAD THEIR
OFFICERS AT FORCE LEVEL, FROM THE FRONT, WITH HONESTY, RESPECT, INTEGRITY AND
LOYALTY, QUALITIES THAT HAVE BEEN SADLY LACKING.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If ACPO had been allowed to continue, despite their weak
protestations to the contrary, the "Us and Them" culture would
pervade and decimate the service. Many times this has been evidenced in the
private sector, where powerful Governing bodies have been able to "divide
and conquer" opposing views from organisations. The police service is no
different. Whilst ACPO played the political game, (yet all the time insisting
they want to rid the service of politicisation), every Government used the division
between the ranks as a lever to extract what THEY want from the situation. Only
when the division no longer exists and the service is once again united, will
it regain its strength and bargaining power.</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is totally right that the combined experience of police
leadership should be utilised to add value and optimise the service provided to
the public and the rank and file. However, any ACPO MkII must look to
proactively avoid the horrendous historical mistakes of the past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Will they resist the temptation to make those mistakes
again? We won't hold our breath.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some of our most popular ACPO articles:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/12/come-in-acpo-your-time-is-up.html"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: Calibri;">http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/12/come-in-acpo-your-time-is-up.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: yellow;">
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: yellow;">
</span><a href="http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/11/top-cop-pay-bonus-scandal-chiefs-still.html"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: Calibri;">http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/11/top-cop-pay-bonus-scandal-chiefs-still.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: yellow;">
<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: yellow;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/09/should-federation-have-parity-with-acpo.html"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: Calibri;">http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/09/should-federation-have-parity-with-acpo.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: yellow;">
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: yellow;">
</span><a href="http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/08/case-against-acpo.html"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: Calibri;">http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/08/case-against-acpo.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: yellow;">
<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: yellow;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/08/disgraceful-acpo-betray-frontline.html"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: Calibri;">http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/08/disgraceful-acpo-betray-frontline.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: yellow;">
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: yellow;">
</span><a href="http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/06/20-things-you-wont-hear-at-acpo-this.html"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: Calibri;">http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/06/20-things-you-wont-hear-at-acpo-this.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: yellow;">
<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: yellow;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<a href="http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/05/too-many-chiefs-part-3-full-report.html"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: Calibri;">http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/05/too-many-chiefs-part-3-full-report.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: yellow;">
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: yellow;">
</span><a href="http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/04/criminal-justice-uk-police-part-2.html"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: Calibri;">http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/04/criminal-justice-uk-police-part-2.html</span></a><span style="color: yellow; font-family: Calibri;">
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: yellow;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/02/chief-police-officers-and-home-office.html"><span style="color: yellow;">http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2010/02/chief-police-officers-and-home-office.html</span></a></span><br />
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Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-77753258211422320642014-07-02T02:01:00.004-07:002014-07-02T02:01:39.178-07:00Bob Jones, Police and crime commissioner for the West Midlands dies<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uOsfCfbUkcw/U7PJv_w9nqI/AAAAAAAACxA/DxssTiGDoX8/s1600/Bob+Jones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uOsfCfbUkcw/U7PJv_w9nqI/AAAAAAAACxA/DxssTiGDoX8/s1600/Bob+Jones.jpg" height="242" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tributes pour in for elected official for West Midlands Police, who passed away in his sleep.<br />
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Courtesy of <a href="http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Police-and-crime-commissioner-dies_84205.html">http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Police-and-crime-commissioner-dies_84205.html</a><br />
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The police and crime commissioner (PCC) for West Midlands Police died in his sleep last night (June 30), it has been confirmed.<br />
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PCC Bob Jones (59 and pictured) passed away at his home in Wolverhampton, his office said in a statement.<br />
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Deputy PCC Yvonne Mosquito said: "This is a huge loss to the West Midlands and to policing. Bob was a dear friend and a deeply committed public servant. All our thoughts are with Bob's wife Sarah and his family at this sad time."<br />
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West Midlands Police Chief Constable Chris Sims added: "Bob was a brilliant police and crime commissioner who brought great knowledge and empathy to the role.<br />
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"It was a pleasure to work with Bob over so many years. His public life was dedicated to always trying to get the best out of the Police Service which he did with vigour."<br />
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Under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act, the legislation underpinning police and crime commissioners, a by-election for the post should be held in the next 35 days.<br />
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Mr Jones, who was elected as PCC in November 2012, started his distinguished career in public service as a Labour councillor for Blakenhall in Wolverhampton in 1980 after completing a degree in public administration.<br />
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He became a member of the force's police authority in 1986 through to its demise ahead of the PCC elections in 2012. He was chairman of the authority from 1995-2000 and was chairman of the Association of Police Authorities from 2005-2009.<br />
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He was also a member of several law enforcement organisations including the National Policing Board and the National Criminal Justice Squad. He was also chairman of the Employer Side of the Police Staff Council.<br />
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He was made CBE in 2010 for services to policing.<br />
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Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "Bob was a very kind and intelligent man who cared deeply about the communities he represented. He served with great distinction as police and crime commissioner for the West Midlands, and before that leading West Midlands Police Authority, always championing neighbourhood policing and victims' rights. I have benefited from his advice and wisdom over the years and he was rightly awarded a CBE.<br />
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"He will be badly missed in the Labour Party and in the West Midlands as a caring public servant and a friend."Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-53835166800852790322014-06-18T02:31:00.000-07:002014-06-18T02:31:14.316-07:00Whistleblowing In The Police - James Patrick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/V2hE1WHlXD4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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PoliceOracle.com speaks to former Met officer James Patrick about what he feels needs to be done to promote transparency.<br />
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Former Metropolitan Police officer James Patrick has suggested that more needs to be done to beef up whistleblowing protocols in forces – and that the current state-of-play is unacceptable.<br />
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In an exclusive video interview with this website, the whistleblower highlighted what he believes are the deficiencies in the system and explains why he believes action is needed quickly.<br />
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The ex-officer – who has now resigned – made headlines with claims his force abused crime recording rules to manipulate the figures, having already blogged his concerns over the path of police reform.<br />
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In this interview with Police Oracle Editor Cliff Caswell, Mr Patrick also voices his concerns at the ongoing target cultures in forces – and why he believes they are unhelpful going forward.<br />
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<span style="color: orange; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>"All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke (British Statesman and Philosopher 1729-1797)</em></span><br />
Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-30813347659879299682014-06-16T00:32:00.000-07:002014-06-16T00:32:20.840-07:00DISHONEST POLICE OFFICERS TO FACE JAIL UNDER NEW CORRUPTION PROPOSALS. WHY NOT POLITICIANS THEN?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Criminal+Justice/2014/Jun/12/Corrupt-officers-to-be-jailed-for-14-years_83409.html">http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Criminal+Justice/2014/Jun/12/Corrupt-officers-to-be-jailed-for-14-years_83409.html</a></div>
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Dishonest officers could be jailed for 14 years under new proposals unveiled by the Home Office.</div>
Details surrounding the new offence of police corruption, which are being introduced following the Ellison Review into the Stephen Lawrence murder investigation, have been revealed.<br />
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If passed through Parliament successfully, the new law will cover cases in which a police officer acts improperly to try to obtain an advantage for themselves or someone else – or if they cause detriment to someone else.<br />
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It could also be used when an officer “fails to act” for a corrupt purpose. An example of this is if they know a suspect did not commit a particular crime but hide that knowledge because they have a relationship with the guilty party.<br />
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And it will apply when an officer threatens to do something, or not do something, for an improper purpose.<br />
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It will carry a maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment.<br />
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Policing Minister Damian Green (pictured) said: "The public expect the police to act at all times with honesty and integrity. That is why this government is introducing a range of measures to improve the integrity and transparency of the police.<br />
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"Where police officers fall short of the high standards we expect of them, it is right that the full force of the criminal law is available to punish and deter acts of corruption by police officers.<br />
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"We believe the best way to do this is to create a new offence of police corruption, solely applicable to police officers, to sit alongside the existing offence of misconduct in public office.<br />
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"Corrupt behaviour in the police should be deterred and punished so we can maintain their standing in the eyes of the public and underline the important work done by the overwhelming number of officers across the country."<br />
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The law would be used in addition to the existing offence of misconduct in public office and is being brought forward as an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill.<br />
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It will apply to all ranks and special constables in England and Wales, British Transport Police officers, Ministry of Defence police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and National Crime Agency officers who have the powers and privileges of a constable.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: yellow;">THIN BLUE LINE COMMENT</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="color: yellow;">There are two points of view we would consider.</span></strong><br />
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1. The new law will cover cases in which a police officer acts improperly to try to obtain an advantage for themselves or someone else – or if they cause detriment to someone else. <span style="color: yellow;">Chief Officers who orchestrated, condoned or merely overlooked the disgraceful manipulation of police recorded crime are guilty of this offence, so this would mean prison for a large number of senior UK cops. THEY benefitted from extortionate bonus payments, political and career advancement to the obvious detriment of the taxpayer. Case proven m'lud.</span> <br />
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It could also be used when an officer “fails to act” for a corrupt purpose. An example of this is if they know a suspect did not commit a <span style="color: yellow;">particular crime but hide that knowledge because they have a relationship with the guilty party. Knowing the figures were being fiddled, and it many cases causing them to be fiddled, Chief Officers failed to act by stopping the practice, for a corrupt reason, their own financial and career gain.</span> <br />
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2. <span style="color: yellow;">Lets make this an offence for all in Public office not just the Police. Politicians, judges, lawyers and many more are corrupt and many of those can do more damage to a country than the bobby on the beat. Corruption in a Public Office only seems to be used against the police - We didn't see any of the 'honourable' MPs charged with that offence when they took our money - even a previous Home Secretary was involved and that person is a 'Right Honourable'! </span><br />
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<span style="color: yellow;">The public also expect politicians to act with honesty and integrity and we know full well that there is more corruption in political circles than in any other theatre of work. Yet what sentences have we seen for the corrupt (perjury) thieving(expenses) politicians. At worst a few months in jail then out with a tag because they are suffering from ill health !!!! We need a complete overhaul in Westminster first, to root out the criminals therein. Then start with others !!</span> <br />
Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-58475927875063437952014-06-10T05:41:00.001-07:002014-06-10T05:41:52.992-07:00Theresa May Visited by the Ghost of Conservative Past - The Iron lady - Margaret Thatcher<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With thanks to the "Retired and Angry" blog for this one. Reposted from <a href="http://retiredandangry.wordpress.com/2014/06/10/guest-blog-from-chris-hobbs/">http://retiredandangry.wordpress.com/2014/06/10/guest-blog-from-chris-hobbs/</a></div>
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<b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;">Scene. The Home Secretary’s Office in an almost parallel universe that is running about one month behind ours. </span></span></span></b><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">The holder of one of the UK’s great offices of state is sitting at her desk typing on her computer. There is a knock at the door.</span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: blue;"></span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Enter.</span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="background-color: black; color: yellow; font-size: large;">Jeremy, a youthful looking civil servant enters.</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Ah Jeremy. I’m working on my speech to the Police Federation tomorrow. I’ve just drafted the nice bits.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy:</strong> Nice bits???</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Yes, you know. Naming dead officers, talking about bravery.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy:</strong> Oh good Home Secretary. You are going to offer an olive branch. The boys and girls have been through a rough time lately<i>….. <span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(Voice tails off as he receives an icy stare from the Home Secretary)</span></span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> No Jeremy. After that I want to kick them in the balls, grab a few headlines, teach those plods who’s boss. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy:</strong> But police morale Home Secretary. It’s on the floor already.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Jeremy, I want a list of every plod transgression that’s hit the headlines over the last few months from Hillsborough to Plebgate and throw in smearing the Lawrence family and oh yes, stop and search is always a good stick to beat them with. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy:</strong> But Home Secretary</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> No arguments Jeremy. Ah rigged police crime figures. Add those to the list.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy:</strong> Excuse me Home Secretary, you’ve already included the fact that crime is down in your speech and that’s surely based on those rigged crime figures.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Jeremy, Jeremy. I’ll just keep them a few paragraphs apart. The British public will never notice and every newspaper has got it in for the old bill so they won’t bother printing anything. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy:</strong> But….</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> No buts Jeremy. Tell me what’s the name of that latest lot we’ve just got up and running, you know that organisation that’s even more secretive than MI5. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy:</strong> Oh yes Home Secretary. The National Crime Agency who were set up to be more effective that the Serious Organised Crime Agency who were set up to be more effective than the National Criminal Intelligence Service. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> I want them to obtain the full identities of all those behind those troublesome police blogs. If they’re serving officers get them sacked and if they’re retired, shut them down and get their pensions stopped. There’s no point in emasculating the federation if that lot continue their sedition.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy:</strong> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;"><i>(puzzled)</i> </span></span>Sedition? Forgive me Home Secretary, haven’t we got other problems. You must have seen that report I left on your desk which shows cocaine and heroin seizures at ports are down by 76%. Customs officers are complaining that they are kept on passport controls stamping passports.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Now now Jeremy, there’s no such thing as customs officers. They are all now one effective, efficient and flexible UK Border Force in nice uniforms that make them look more like police officers than police officers. And I have the perfect statement ready if this gets out.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy:</strong> Yes Home Secretary.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;">Home Secretary: We simply say that seizures are down because our border controls have become so effective that the drugs networks have given up. Oh Jeremy, can you get me another bottle of water. I don’t want to drink any of that stuff which comes out of the taps that’s contaminated with cocaine.</span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Jeremy leaves returning with a bottle of Evian.</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Anyway Jeremy, you know the maxim of government. If your department is in trouble create a separate firestorm that attracts everyone’s attention and diverts them from other er….little difficulties. So an attack on the Police Federation followed up perhaps by a spat with a Cabinet rival …..</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy:</strong> Isn’t that what General Galtieri did with the Falklands; <i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(mutters)</span></span> </i>that worked well.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Pardon Jeremy.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy:</strong> That must have been hell Home Secretary, the war that is.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Quite so. But such strong leadership from a great leader; the one and only Iron Lady. <span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;"><i>(Looks wistfully at a photo of Margaret Thatcher that </i><i>adorns her desk)</i>.</span></span> None of this hug a husky or I’m greener than you rubbish. Strong leadership Jeremy, to stop this UKIP nonsense.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy:</strong> But Home Secretary, Mrs Thatcher loved the police. She used to make the DPG officers tea and invite them in for a chat. She got very upset whenever a police officer died in the line of duty.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Even great leaders have faults Jeremy. She thought the miners were the enemy but little did she know it was the police.</span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">The Home Secretary goes back to her computer while Jeremy shakes his head sadly and leaves.</span></span> </span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">After spending five minutes typing, she leans back in her chair and rehearses some of her speech;</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary<span style="color: blue;">:</span></strong><i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: yellow;">(loudly)</span></span> </span></i>That’s why, if there is anybody in this hall who doubts that our model of policing is at risk, if there is anybody who underestimates the damage recent events and revelations have done to the relationship between the public and the police, if anybody here questions the need for the police to change, I am here to tell you that it’s time to face up to reality<i>. <span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(pauses, yawns, leans back in her chair, shuts her eyes and dozes off)</span></span></i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary;</strong> <i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">Snores, snorts and opens her eyes staring at the blank wall opposite her which is becoming shrouded in mist.</span></span></i></span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;">Emerging through the wall into the mist is a translucent, wispy ghostly image of what appears to be a female. As the figure floats across the room towards the Home Secretary’s desk, the form becomes clearer and the image can be seen sporting a royal blue outfit and hat and carrying a large </span><span style="color: yellow;">handbag.</span></span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong><i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(gasps</span><span style="color: yellow;">)</span></span> </i>Margaret. Margaret Thatcher. How wonderful.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T</strong>:<span style="color: yellow;"> <i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(sharply)</span></span><span style="color: yellow;"></span></i></span><span style="color: yellow;"> </span>Prime Minister to you. I’ve always said just like the US Presidents we former Prime Ministers should retain our titles. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Yes Prime Minister. </span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Another shadowy figure smartly dressed in a three piece pinstripe suit emerges from the mist and stands just behind Mrs Thatcher. It becomes clear that he is distinguished educated man.</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Who’s this Marg….er Prime Minister?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T</strong>; This is Lord Edmund-Davies who, back in 1978, under a Labour yes Labour government reviewed police pay and conditions which we all, yes all, Labour and Conservative, accepted. You have just trashed that beyond all recognition. <i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(Turns to the distinguished figure)</span></span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T</strong>: Thank you Herbert. You can go back to writing the History of Wales now and I look forward to reading it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Edmund-Davies;</strong> My pleasure Prime Minister. <i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(Turns away and then turns back)</span></span></i> Just try and talk some sense into this Muppet. </span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Distinguished figure turns and vanishes into the mist.</span></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T</strong>: So Home Secretary, you’ve managed to turn an entire police force against my Conservative party and in four years have completely destroyed their morale.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Well, the corruption, the deaths in police custody, the racism, the mistakes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T:</strong> <i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(icily).</span></span></i> Do you know how many 999 calls police deal with a year. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> No Prime Minister. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T:</strong> More than four million and of those one million are real, nasty emergencies. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> I didn’t realise. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T:</strong> So isn’t it inevitable Home Secretary that amongst those one million calls there are going be a few cock ups, excuse the phrase, and very occasionally will not be dealt with well by those few poor performing police officers or even by good officers rushing from call to call who make mistakes because of the pressure they’re under. .</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Well yes.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T</strong>; And do you accept that most of those one million calls are dealt with capably and professionally. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Yes Prime Minister but I’m only trying to improve….</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T:</strong> If you were, you’d be offering a lot more carrot and much less stick. There are those who are saying you are trying to emulate me. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>(Leans across table and puts her face menacingly within inches of the Home Secretary’s now pale features)</i>.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T;</strong> Love me or hate me, and I can see why people may hate me, there will only ever be one me. Do you understand?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Yes Prime Minister.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T:</strong> Look at this <i><span style="color: yellow;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(stands</span><span style="color: yellow;"> away from the desk and points to the blank wall as a picture slowly emerges)</span></span></span><span style="color: yellow;">.</span></i> This is London four years from now.</span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">Picture forms of Parliament Square. A riot is in progress. Police are being pelted with missiles and petrol bombs as they struggle to keep the rioters out of the square. The picture changes to the House of Commons which shows Parliament is in session. The scene reverts back to outside and police lines are broken. Police retreat to the railings outside Parliament as rioters swarm into the square.</span></span> </span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T:</strong> Just look at what happens now.</span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Police lines now have their backs against the railings and they desperately use their shields to fend off a hail of missiles. Groups of rioters armed with staves repeatedly rush the police line, deliver a series of blows and retreat. Numerous officers are going down injured are being helped towards Westminster Bridge where lines of police carriers and ambulances are waiting. The scene switches to the House of Commons chamber where the Home Secretary can be seen talking to the house. It is not clear what post she holds but she is on the front bench.</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> What am I? Have I made it?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T:</strong> Watch carefully.</span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">The scene is back outside and the shot closes in on two police officers crouching behind their shields. Their conversation can just about be heard.</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>PC 1:</strong> I’m beginning to think I’d rather be doing something else Reginald. We are even less popular than Millwall supporters as far as that lot<span style="color: yellow;"><i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(points</span><span style="color: yellow;"> behind him to Parliament with non shield holding hand)</span></span><span style="color: yellow;"> </span></i></span><span style="color: yellow;">are concerned.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>PC 2:</strong> I couldn’t agree more Rodney. I was quite happy as manager of the Gravesend Branch of Tesco’s but they told me I’d be a Chief Superintendent in two years if I transferred.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>PC 1:</strong> If we were defending something worth defending then I wouldn’t <i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(pauses as concrete slab hits his shield)</span></span></i> mind but defending this corrupt shower who all hate us <span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;"><i>(voice tails off)</i>.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>PC 1:</strong> Reginald, there’s looting in Brixton and the EDL are marching in that direction. If we stay here we’ll have to baton charge and then we’ll all be accused by that lot in there of police brutality.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>PC 2:</strong> Rodney, lets bugger off and look after Brixton. Pass the word along.</span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Camera pans out and the message can be seen being passed from officer to officer to both the right and left of the police lines. Officers begin moving slowly behind their shields to their right towards Westminster Bridge. A couple of Chief Superintendents make a half hearted attempt to stop them. The scene again focuses on the two police officers.</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i></i><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong></strong></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>PC 1.</strong> Hey up. Listen to that. <span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(<i>PC2 leans towards his Radio)</i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Police Radio;</strong> <i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(in a voice displaying a distinct lack of enthusiasm)</span></span></i> All units from GT. Remain where you are. Repeat all units outside Parliament remain where you are. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>PC1;</strong> That’s old Jason who use to work with us. He’s as pissed off as we all are.</span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Scene pans out to show police still moving towards Westminster Bridge then zooms in on the two officers.</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>PC1;</strong> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(</span></span><i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">ear inclined to radio)</span></span> </i>Wait for it, wait for it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Police Radio:</strong> All units from Gold Commander. All units from Gold Commander. You are to remain exactly where you are. Repeat you are to remain exactly where you are. This is a direct order. You vill oops sorry, will obey this order,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>PC2:</strong> Who’s that?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>PC1:</strong> That’s Flashman, the Commissioner’s hatchet man. You know, the Assistant Commissioner who goes around shouting, swearing and sacking Borough Chief Superintendents who don’t bring their crime figures down.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>PC2:</strong> Which is why everyone lower down the ladder is still fiddling them. Am I not correct Rodney?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>PC1:</strong> You are Reginald. At least this’ll put paid to his chances of a knighthood. </span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">As the officers withdraw, the missiles stop and the mob begins cheering. Hundreds of police congregate on Westminster Bridge and form up behind their carriers. The carriers reverse and slowly cross Westminster Bridge protecting the officers retreating behind them.</span></span> </span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> My God. They’re deserting us. They can’t. We’re their leaders. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T:</strong> They obviously have a greater regard for the people of London than for politicians who have rubbished them for years. The worm has turned after you shot their morale to pieces. </span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Back outside Parliament the rioters are swarming over the fence while others are battering their way through the doors. The view switches to the House of Commons chamber. The Home Secretary is still speaking but stops as shouting can be heard from outside the chamber. Suddenly behind the speaker’s chair masked youths appear pushing their way inside the chamber before pausing as if to take in their surroundings. For a moment everything seems frozen in time as MP’s stare in horror at the mob. Suddenly there is a roar from the rioters who swarm into the chamber. The Home Secretary can be seen screaming and placing her hands across her face as if to shut out the sight of the rioters rushing towards her.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">The scene fades.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">At her desk the Home Secretary awakes with a start as Jeremy enters.</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy;</strong> Home Secretary are you OK? You’ve gone very pale.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary;</strong> <i><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(in a trembling voice)</span></span></i> I’m fine Jeremy.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy;</strong> I have that list of transgressions Home Secretary.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> No need for that now Jeremy. Tell me is there a police officer on duty outside today?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy;</strong> I believe there is a DPG officer stationed outside.</span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="background-color: black; color: yellow; font-size: large;">Home Secretary walks across to the window, opens it and leans out shouting.</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> Officer, officer. Yes you. Would you like to pop up here for a cup of tea? </span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Jeremy watches as the Home Secretary turns away from the window and returns to her desk now looking a little pink.</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy:</strong> Home Secretary?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> He told me to piss off.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Jeremy:</strong> Ah</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;">Home Secretary: No matter. Leave me now Jeremy. It’s time to rewrite my speech. </span></span><br />
<b><i><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Scene: The Police Federation Conference</span>.</span></span></i></b><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">The Home Secretary makes her way on to the stage to a smattering of half hearted applause. She begins:</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> I stand before you knowing how easy it would be and indeed what a cheap shot it would be, to denigrate you all by listing all the blips that have been alleged and in many cases just alleged, over the last few months. But I know that is just a very tiny fraction of the truly outstanding work that is carried out by you and your colleagues on a daily basis. I am truly proud that every day you and your colleagues undertake thousands of daunting tasks on behalf of your public and are rarely found wanting. </span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">There is murmur of surprise from the delegates who can be seen looking at each other somewhat bewildered. Older officers remove their hearing aids and tap them vigorously.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Fifteen minutes later:</span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">The speech is drawing to a close and the atmosphere has lightened to the despair of the various TV news producers.</span></span> </span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Home Secretary:</strong> And I promise you this. I want to sit down with you all, with all the rank and file. I want to listen and I want to learn. I want to hear the truth from the sharp end, from the front line. If anyone attempts to impede me from hearing the truth from you then believe me the consequences will be grave. I will set up mechanisms in consultation with yourselves to ensure the protection of sharp end officers from those who may not wish to hear the truth or who may wish to cover up poor operational decisions or wrongdoing. On this you have my word.</span></span><br />
<i><span style="color: blue; font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Pauses.</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;">Finally may I, on behalf of the British public pay tribute to you and your colleagues who do such a magnificent job with professionalism, restraint, kindness and compassion. I salute you all.</span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">She steps to the front of the rostrum and begins applauding the delegates. There is a stunned silence and then a roar of approval as the delegates leap to their feet and begin cheering her to the echo.</span></span> </span></span></i><br />
<b><i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;">Scene: The Pearly Gates.</span></span></span></i></b><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">Mrs Thatcher stands just outside looking down at the scenes at the Federation conference. Husband Denis waits just inside the gates a few yards away from St Peter.</span></span> </span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Denis:</strong> Everything alright old girl?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs Thatcher:</strong> <i><span style="color: yellow;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(turns around)</span></span> </span></i>It seems to be Denis, thank goodness.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Denis:</strong> Excellent. Fancy a nice cup of tea. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs Thatcher</strong><i><strong>:</strong> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(entering the gates with a smile and a nod to St Peter)</span></span></i><span style="color: yellow;">.</span> I think a snifter or two after that Denis don’t you. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Denis:</strong> Oh rather.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs Thatcher:</strong> Sadly the job may well be a lot harder in the other universe Denis. I’m afraid that woman has already made that speech. Even I might not be able to fix that. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Denis:</strong> Damn that bloody woman. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Mrs T:</strong> My goodness Denis, I made some awful mistakes but destroying the police is just beyond belief<i>. <span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow;">(pauses for thought)</span></span></i> If she doesn’t change, I’ll make sure that she’s got as much chance of passing through these Pearly Gates as the Argies had of holding on to the Falklands. </span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Slips her arm through Denis’s and the two walk off towards a spectacular sunset.</span></span> </span></i>Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-57812166169958432252014-05-21T23:57:00.000-07:002014-05-21T23:57:24.432-07:00HMIC INSPECTIONs RE : INTEGRITY OF CRIME DATA : A LOST OPPORTUNITY? <br />
Re posted from <a href="http://policeconomics.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/smoking-gun-or-a-pulled-punch/">http://policeconomics.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/smoking-gun-or-a-pulled-punch/</a><br />
<br />
The recent HMIC crime data integrity report <a href="http://www.hmic.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/crime-data-integrity-interim-report.pdf"><span style="color: #0da4d3;">‘Crime Recording – A Matter of Fact’</span></a> has left me both surprised and disappointed in equal measure. This was clearly an irresistible opportunity for HMIC to finally hold ACPO to account for their mismanagement (fiddling) of the crime figures and yet, for whatever reason, they have chosen not to do so.<br />
<br />
As the first non-Police Chief HMI, and with no ACPO baggage in tow, Tom Winsor was ideally placed to take a view on the ’cause’ rather than the ‘effect’ of these dishonest practices and yet he has shied away from doing so. I can only speculate what his reasons might be;<br />
<br />
The current schism between ACPO/Home Office/HMIC is plain for everyone to see and he may be ‘just following orders’ which seems a shame as (unpopular as he may be regarding police reform) I actually thought that he had the necessary character to take them on. Perhaps I was wrong?<br />
<br />
If he had indeed put the ‘smoking gun’ in the hand of ACPO he would have also inadvertently blamed the Police & Crime Commissioners too. They have now been in office since November 2012 and that is too long to excuse themselves by saying that this was simply a problem they have inherited. Some of them (with a few notable exceptions) are now part of the problem rather than part of the solution, however, as key players involved in the police reform programme, they might be fireproof in the eyes of the Home Office. Given where some of them an there acolytes might end up, being fireproof might be a very useful quality indeed!<br />
<br />
Those with a more generous interpretation might advance the argument that the evidence to place the smoking gun in the hand of ACPO has not actually been found. I would raise 2 counter-arguments to this:<br />
<br />
(1) those in HMIC looking for an e-mail that gives a direct order from an ACPO officer to their force to fiddle the figures are searching in vain. The instructions to cheat are far more subtle and nuanced than this. They take place on a one-to-one basis with DCI’s etc in corridors, or with Chief Superintendents (embryonic ACPO officers) during staff appraisals and are couched in terms of ‘expectations’ not orders.<br />
<br />
(2) for many years ACPO officers have baulked against NCRS and HOCR suggesting that officers should ‘use their professional judgement’ rather than applying a strict standard. On this occasion I think HMIC should apply that exact same advice to their findings regarding crime data quality. HMIC should consider the ‘sum of the parts’ rather than looking for a big set of obvious fingerprints on the murder weapon. Nobody has ever actually seen a Black Hole – but we are certain they exist because of the behaviour of the things that surround it.<br />
<br />
HMIC have examined statistically significant samples of data and have produced results at a force-level, however, the very obviously missing piece of the jigsaw is ‘<em>what has caused this to happen ?</em>‘<br />
Does HMIC honestly believe that reporting officers across England & Wales all came to the same conclusion, i.e. that they should fiddle the crime figures to artificially enhance the performance of their force in the eyes of the Home Office and public. Alternatively, is it much more likely that ACPO officers who until very recently benefited from performance related pay, influenced their senior command teams to cheat on their behalf, thinly disguised as giving officers ‘responsibility to use personal judgement’ ??<br />
<br />
In summary; a huge opportunity has been missed – the like of which may not be seen again for many years. The focus groups (where attendees were selected by their own forces) are unlikely to provide any real insight, and internal force whistleblowing systems are about as reliable as an ACPO promise. Until there is a demonstrably independent conduit of information from officers direct to HMIC they will remain in the dark – and a little bit of me now begins to wonder if they actually prefer it that way.<br />
<br />
Thin Blue Line Comment:-<br />
<br />
Totally agree with your observations. I too was left disappointed by the contents of the report. <br />
It leaves me sceptical about the true level of desire to find a remedy and solution to the problem. <br />
<br />
ACPO : Other than the rare individuals prepared to concede that the numbers have been well and truly fudged, the consensus seems to be to keep heads down and the furore will eventually die down. With fiefdoms, pensions and careers at stake, it’s unlikely that they will come forward as a group and cough to fiddling, cheating, lying, obfuscating and denying. <br />
<br />
POLITICIANS : Other than Bernard Jenkins and a few others, the majority do not want to lose the PR opportunity that the decreasing crime mantra offers. Labour will conveniently forget they were the orchestrators of the mass corruption of statistics with the introduction of performance targets in the public sector. They will capitalise on the inevitable increase in crime, blaming the incumbents for their inability to control the problem. The Coalition will say they’ve unearthed the problem in their tenure and are taking steps to put it right. However, I can’t see them retreating on the decision to include policing in the Comprehensive Spending Review, it’s too much of an opportunity to show how efficiently they are dealing with the deficit inherited from Labour. I also suspect that HMIC and ACPO are being “directed” to deliver the results that suit the political end games rather than the public good. <br />
<br />
HMIC : Like you, I’d hoped the alleged independence of Tom Winsor might bring the truth to the surface. Without knowing the bottom line facts of crime levels, how can police commissioners and Chief officers possibly gauge with any accuracy the level of police resource required to meet the need? Again, political influence combined with a lack of obvious alternatives to ACPO may be a factor. <br />
<br />
PCC’s : They may well have the power to hire and fire, but when push comes to shove, they will protect their own interests first. How many would be truly committed to exposing the truth about crime on their patch and risk being the shot messenger?<br />
<br />
The fact remains that we know crime has been fiddled mercilessly and ruthlessly with a perniciously corruptive strategy. <br />
<br />
Imagine you are the CEO of a national company with 43 branches Realistically, you would think that the 43 branches would perform differently. Some would be extremely successful, performing well. Also rans might just be ticking along, but there would also be a bunch of branches that under perform. <br />
<br />
Prior to the last Labour Government, this was the case with the 43 police forces. Some were effective at controlling crime levels and increasing detections. Others ticked along while a number had clearly lost control of crime on their patch. Tony Blair and his Home Office ministers introduced performance targeting, which rewarded Chief Officers and their higher level command teams with bonus payments to reflect reduced crime and increased detections. Chief Officers, many with £150k plus packages were paid as much as 15% on top to report reduced crime. Hey presto! Within a few short years ALL 43 FORCES suddenly reported massive reductions in crime and increases in detections. Was this all achieved through more effective policing methods or by embracing the culture of “Gaming”? Knowing the facts I know what I believe. <br />
<br />
It is not difficult to track the promotional movements of the ACPO ranks, spreading their corruptive disease with every transfer to a new force. <br />
<br />
Bernard Jenkin stood up in the House of Commons on 10th April and criticised the ACPO leadership when launching the PASC crime stats report on fiddled figures – Watch the recording of the Parliament meeting on crime statistics by clicking the link below. In this meeting Bernard Jenkin, Chairman of the Parliamentary Administration Select Committee, discusses the findings on police crime statistics and the report “Caught Red Handed”. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=15227&st=11:58:50" rel="nofollow">http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=15227&st=11:58:50</a><br />
<br />
The HMIC inspections were an ideal opportunity to expose the rot and thus far they have failed dismally. A root and branch investigation is what is required, with complete amnesty offered to officers prepared to expose the wrong doings and wrong doers. <br />
<br />
Of all the criticisms facing UK Policing plc, the fudging of crime statistics is the most damaging to the service and public confidence. If we cannot restore trust in the police in this most important of areas, the service will be blighted with a reputation for dishonesty and corruption. <br />
<br />
“All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.”<br />Edmund Burke (British Statesman and Philosopher 1729-1797<br />
<br />
It seems that too many individuals and organisations are quite content to do nothing.<br /> Kind regards<br />
Steve Bennett<br /> Retired West Midlands DC<br /> Thin Blue Line UKCrime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-36735086302207554742014-05-21T04:12:00.000-07:002014-05-21T04:12:30.118-07:00BERNARD JENKIN ADDRESSES THE HOUSE ON CRIME STATISTICS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HoxjnYKqkyw/U3yJxym_EtI/AAAAAAAACvo/0St4PIr_mAc/s1600/Commons-Portcullis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HoxjnYKqkyw/U3yJxym_EtI/AAAAAAAACvo/0St4PIr_mAc/s1600/Commons-Portcullis.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><span style="color: white;">Bernard Jenkin criticised the ACPO
leadership when launching the PASC crime stats report on fiddled figures - Watch the recording of the Parliament meeting on crime statistics below. In this meeting Bernard Jenkin, Chairman of the Parliamentary Administration Select Committee, discusses the findings on police crime statistics and the report "Caught Red Handed".</span> </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 16.8pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=15227&st=11:58:50"><u><span style="color: #2585b2;">http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=15227&st=11:58:50</span></u></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Police Recorded Crime Statistics</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<a class="anchor noCont" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="hd_o4"></a><a class="anchor noCont" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000010"> </a><a class="anchor noCont" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000010"> </a>Public Administration Select Committee</h3>
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o250"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000360"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew28"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001096"> </a><b>Mr Speaker:</b> We now come to the Select Committee statement. The Chairman of the Public Administration Select Committee will speak on his subject for up to 10 minutes, during which no interventions may be taken. At the conclusion of his statement, I—or the occupant of the Chair, whoever it is—will call Members to put questions on the subject of the statement and call Mr Jenkin to respond to these in turn. Members can expect to be called only once. Interventions should be questions, and they should be brief. Members on the Front Bench may of course take part in the questioning. I call the Chair of the Public Administration Select Committee, Mr Bernard Jenkin.<br />
<a class="anchor noCont" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ordayhd_2"></a><a class="anchor noCont" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_ordayhd0"> </a><a class="anchor noCont" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000800"> </a><br />
<h5 align="left">
11.58 am <a class="anchor-column noCont" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="column_442"></a><b>10 Apr 2014</b></h5>
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o251"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000361"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew29"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001097"> </a><b><b>Mr Bernard Jenkin</b> (Harwich and North Essex) (Con):</b> I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for this opportunity to launch the Public Administration Select Committee’s report entitled “Caught red-handed: Why we can’t count on Police Recorded Crime statistics”. <i>The Daily Telegraph</i> has already described our report as “devastating”. That is because this is not just about inaccurate numbers; it is about the long crisis of values and ethics at the heart of our police force.<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="stpa_o54"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_para0"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000362"> </a>Crime statistics are central to our understanding of the nature and prevalence of crime in England and Wales. They provide crucial information for the police, without which they would have no way of knowing how to deploy their manpower and resources. We found strong evidence that the police under-record crime, particularly sexual crimes such as rape, in many police areas. Lax supervision of recorded crime data means that the police are failing in their core role of protecting the public and preventing crime. The main reason for this mis-recording is the continued prevalence of numerical targets. They create perverse incentives to mis-record crime, so a police officer is presented with a conflict: does he or she record “attempted burglary”, as was originally reported, or subsequently downgrade it to “criminal damage” in order to achieve the burglary target? That creates conflict between the achievement of targets and core policing values. We deprecate the use of targets in the strongest possible terms. But most police forces are still in denial about the damage that targets cause both to data integrity and to standards of behaviour.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="stpa_o55"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_para1"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000363"> </a>The Home Office must accept responsibility for the quality of police recorded crime statistics and do more to discourage the use of targets. As a result of PASC’s inquiry, the UK Statistics Authority has already stripped police recorded crime data of the quality kitemark, “National Statistics”. The Home Office, the Office for National Statistics and the UK Statistics Authority have all been far too passive in addressing this problem, even though they have all known about it for years. Leadership by targets is a flawed leadership model, and that is what really must be addressed, because poor data integrity reflects the poor quality of leadership within the police. What does the institutional dishonesty about police recorded crime say about their compliance with the core values of policing, which are meant to include accountability, honesty and integrity?<br />
<b></b><br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="stpa_o56"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_para2"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000364"> </a>That comes on top of all the other controversies that have raised questions about the values and ethics of the police and their leadership: Hillsborough; Stephen Lawrence; the attempt to hide the cause of Ian Tomlinson’s death in the G20 protests; Plebgate; Operation Elveden, about the police accepting payments from journalists to leak unauthorised information; just last month, four police officers under investigation for allegedly getting a burglar to confess to 500 crimes he apparently did not commit; and many other instances.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="stpa_o57"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_para3"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000365"> </a>I yield to no one in my admiration and respect for so many police officers. They put their lives at risk in the line of duty while they serve our communities. We see them around this Palace, ready to throw themselves between us and the terrorists if the need arises. Yet these same officers are deeply cynical about the quality of their leadership and its honesty and integrity.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="stpa_o58"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_para4"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000366"> </a>That is why we recommend that the Committee on Standards in Public Life conduct a wide-ranging inquiry into the police’s compliance with the new code of ethics and, in particular, into the role of leadership in promoting and sustaining those values.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="stpa_o59"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_para5"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000367"> </a>The most depressing part of our inquiry is the way in which the Metropolitan police have treated my constituent, PC James Patrick, who was our key witness. He says he has been forced to resign from the Metropolitan police. Acting as a whistleblower, he tried to highlight serious concerns about police recorded crime and the target culture. We record the fact that we are indebted to PC Patrick for his courage in speaking out, in fulfilment of his duty to the highest standards of public service despite intense pressure to the contrary.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="stpa_o60"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_para6"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000368"> </a>I am pleased that the Minister for Crime Prevention has now written to me—he is on the Front Bench at the moment—to say that the Home Office is looking at a range of what he calls radical proposals to strengthen the protection of whistleblowers within the police. But this has all come too late for PC Patrick. By a quirk of the rules, police offices are denied what is called “interim relief” in constructive dismissal cases, so he will cease to be paid from 6 June while he awaits his tribunal, which will not be until August or September.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="stpa_o61"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_para7"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000369"> </a>We are calling for Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to investigate the Metropolitan police service in respect of the treatment of PC Patrick. We do not believe that the Metropolitan police service has treated him fairly or with respect and care.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o252"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000370"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew30"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001098"> </a><b><b>Jack Dromey</b> (Birmingham, Erdington) (Lab):</b> I have a brief question, but first may I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Mr Jenkin) and PASC for a forensic report which charts a long-standing and deep-seated problem? Sir Andrew Dilnot said in evidence to the Committee that the more accurate crime statistics become, the more likely they are to show that crime is rising. Now that we have the Committee’s verdict that we can no longer rely on crime statistics, does the hon. Gentleman agree that it would be most unwise, until such time as the system has been changed in the way the Committee recommended, for Ministers to rely on the crime statistics to assert that crime is falling?<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o253"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000371"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew31"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001099"> </a><b>Mr Jenkin:</b> I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his compliments, but I am not sure that that is quite what Sir Andrew said. What the Office for National <br />
Statistics has said is that crime may not be falling quite as fast as police recorded crime suggests, but the crime survey for England and Wales, which is a survey not a recording system, does corroborate the fact that crime is falling. That is the figure the Labour party relied on when in government and it is the figure the Government of any party are entitled to rely upon.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="stpa_o62"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_para8"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000372"> </a>On the substantive point that we need to improve the auditing of police recorded crime statistics in order to make them a more reliable source of data, the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o254"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000373"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spmin0"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001100"> </a><b>The Minister for Crime Prevention (Norman Baker):</b> May I, on behalf of the Home Office, thank my hon. Friend and his Committee for the serious work they have done? We will, of course, give a proper response in due course to his recommendations. Would he accept that some, but not all, of the issues he has raised are, fortunately, slightly historical in nature? We have taken action to discourage central targets. We have also taken action to ensure that the independent Office for National Statistics is responsible for crime statistics, and we asked Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary last June to carry out an audit of the quality of crime recording. So we are taking action at the Home Office.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o255"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000374"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew32"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001101"> </a><b>Mr Jenkin:</b> I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that. Yes, this is historical, but I am afraid that makes all the more damning the fact that police recorded crime is still being misrecorded in this country. Yes, the Home Office has handed this over to the ONS and the UK Statistics Authority, and the Home Office has ceased to set its own targets, but the Committee does recommend that the Home Office, which collects the data and gives them to the ONS, has an obligation to ensure that those data are recorded correctly. We lament the fact that HMIC has not been doing regular audits. Where a regular audit was done in the Kent police there was an immediate increase in police recorded crime.<br />
<br />
We probably need to look forward to increases in certain categories of crime, as that would confirm that such crimes are now being recorded correctly. That should be regarded as a good thing, so long as we can corroborate that with the crime survey in England and Wales still showing a fall in crime.<br />
<br />
The Home Office has overall accountability to this House for the quality of police recorded crime statistics. So the Home Office, along with the Crime Statistics Advisory Committee, the UK Statistics Authority and the ONS, has a responsibility to ensure that the police recording of crime is improved, and overall the Home Office is accountable to this House for ensuring that the police recording of crime is of better quality than it is now.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o256"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000375"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew33"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001102"> </a><b><b>Mr Andy Slaughter</b> (Hammersmith) (Lab):</b> I commend the hon. Gentleman and the Committee on their work. I have long since stopped trusting police statistics; propaganda banners in the centre of Hammersmith tell me that my constituents are safer because there are 42 extra police, but when I go to the Mayor of London’s website I am told that there are 158 fewer police and police community support officers than there were at the time of the last general election. What his Committee said about how this situation “erodes public trust in the police and…the…confidence of frontline police officers” is absolutely right. However, we do need accurate statistics, as well as to address the ethics points he talked about, so what can be done to ensure that we have accurate statistics in the future?<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o257"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000377"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew34"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001103"> </a><b></b><br />
<b>Mr Jenkin:</b> There are three steps to take to ensure more accurate crime statistics. One is regular audit. The second is to abandon targets. Many police and crime commissioners have abandoned targets altogether, because they recognise that they have a distorting effect on behaviour and attitudes. The third is that the police themselves need to emphasise the core policing values of accountability, honesty and integrity so that police officers at desks recording crimes recognise that, above everything else, recording the crimes effectively is a microcosm of the honesty, integrity and accountability that they must carry throughout their entire policing profession. It is these values that have been subverted by the target culture. That is the responsibility of both parties over a long period—it is not a partisan point. Our key witness told me that the Metropolitan police is still full of target junkies. It will take a long time to change the culture of leadership throughout our police forces in England and Wales—this also applies to Scotland, although we have not inquired into Scotland—but it has to be done.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o258"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000378"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew35"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001104"> </a><b><b>Dr Julian Lewis</b> (New Forest East) (Con):</b> It is never easy to be a whistleblower, but I cannot imagine a much tougher environment to be a whistleblower in than the police service. What practical measures of protection does the Committee recommend to safeguard the interests of people such as my hon. Friend’s brave constituent PC Patrick in the future?<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o259"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000379"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew36"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001105"> </a><b>Mr Jenkin:</b> We recommend immunity from disciplinary proceedings while a whistleblowing process is under way. That is standard practice in the financial services industry, nuclear industry, aviation sector, transport sector and many other industries, and it should be so in the police as well. I am pleased to say that, in a letter sent to me by my hon. Friend the Minister, a number of possible options have been included. They are:<br />
<a class="anchor noCont" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_brev1"></a><a class="anchor noCont" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000773"> </a><br />
<div class="tabletext">
“Anonymity for the whistleblower from the point at which the allegation is made…”sealed” investigations so that, for a set period, no-one under investigation knows that it is happening …immunity from disciplinary/misconduct proceedings… financial incentives for whistleblowers, for example a share of recovered criminal assets from the case…protection against vexatious or malicious allegations.”</div>
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="stpa_o64"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_para10"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000380"> </a>All those options would have made life very different for my constituent.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o260"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000381"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew37"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001106"> </a><b><b>Kelvin Hopkins</b> (Luton North) (Lab):</b> As a member of the Select Committee, I was pleased to have taken part in the work on this first-class report. I congratulate the Chairman on his strong leadership in bringing forward the report and on his statement today. The issue of no-crime rates for rapes and sexual offences is a most serious matter. Although I fully support the recommendation for research, is the matter not so serious that the Government should act now to seek to ensure that all rapists are brought to justice and that women and indeed some men can feel safe from such attacks in future?<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o261"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000382"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew38"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001107"> </a><b></b><br />
<b>Mr Jenkin:</b> I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his work on the PASC and for his question. I refer to chart 3 on page 17 of the report, which shows a remarkable divergence in the average no-crime rate reported for rape incidents. It is important to understand that no constabulary sets a target for rape. That lesson has been learnt, but the culture of downgrading rapes to lesser offences is embedded in the culture of the police. Generations of police officers have learnt that it is a good thing to downgrade the importance of crimes to make the figures look better. The result is a 20% variation across forces in how often they downgrade a rape to a lesser offence. That shows that there must be a very wide divergence of practice across police forces, and it demonstrates why an investigation into this question is necessary, particularly for such a serious offence. I expect the same applies to many other offences, such as domestic violence and violence against women and some of the less fashionable offences that we have difficulty talking about.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o262"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000383"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew39"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001108"> </a><b><b>Mr Philip Hollobone</b> (Kettering) (Con):</b> I declare an interest as a special constable with the British Transport police. In my brief career with the police, I have never come across any instance where a police officer has knowingly downgraded a crime. Nevertheless, I strongly commend the Chairman for his hard-hitting report, which pulls no punches and which is clearly an example of how Select Committees in this place should report and not be frightened of dealing with these difficult issues in a forthright way. So serious are the conclusions in the report that, if I were the Home Secretary, the matter would be right at the top of my in-tray. What indications has the Chairman been given by the Home Office about when the Home Secretary will come to the House to respond to the conclusions in his report? The conclusions are so serious that I believe they should be discussed at Cabinet level, and this House should be informed promptly of what the Government will do to ensure the integrity of the recording of crimes by our police forces, which is a hugely important issue for all our constituents.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o263"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000384"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew40"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001109"> </a><b>Mr Jenkin:</b> I am most grateful to my hon. Friend for his question. Sadly, I must tell him that there is not a single police officer on the streets or around the Palace who has expressed the least surprise about what we were told in evidence by PC Patrick and many other witnesses. They all knew that this was going on, and everybody has known that this has been going on in many police forces, possibly most police forces, for very many years. The fact that my hon. Friend has not been exposed to it is intriguing; I will say no more than that. Let me reassure him that I am immensely reassured that my hon. Friend the Minister is in the House today and has indeed participated in these proceedings. I have already had a meeting with the Home Secretary at which we have had a preliminary discussion about the report. My hon. Friend is tempting me to apply for a fuller debate on the report so that Ministers can give a fuller response. Perhaps that can happen after the Government have responded in full to our report.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o264"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000385"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew41"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001110"> </a><b><b>Paul Flynn</b> (Newport West) (Lab):</b> Is not the most egregious example of the waste and futility of target setting what happened in the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime? In seeking to set three targets for reducing crime, reducing costs and improving morale, it decided to have targets of 20%, 20% and 20% in what was an obvious way of headline chasing. Is the Chairman shocked by what we heard in evidence to his Committee and to the Home Affairs Committee? Although the Met has men and women of integrity in it who are entirely free of any corruption and are entirely honourable, the surprise is that, going back to the murder of Daniel Morgan 27 years ago, there are elements in the Met that are institutionally corrupt.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o265"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000386"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew42"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001111"> </a><b>Mr Jenkin:</b> Our recommendation is that MOPAC should abandon targets. If it has slogans, they should be aspirations, not targets. The hon. Gentleman, who is on the Committee and for whose work I am grateful, is right that there are aspects of this that raise very serious questions about the ethics and values of the leadership of the police, particularly the Metropolitan police.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o266"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000387"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew43"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001112"> </a><b><b>Mr Andrew Turner</b> (Isle of Wight) (Con):</b> I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the work that he has done on this matter. May I draw Members’ attention to paragraph 39 which says that“misrecording of sexual offences is deplorable, but especially so if this has been brought about by means of improperly persuading or pressurising victims into withdrawing or downgrading their report.”<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="stpa_o65"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_para11"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000388"> </a>That particularly affects children.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o267"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000389"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew44"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001113"> </a><b>Mr Jenkin:</b> I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o268"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000390"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew45"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001114"> </a><b><b>Lindsay Roy</b> (Glenrothes) (Lab):</b> As a member of the PASC, may I, too, congratulate the Chair of the Select Committee on his effective leadership and tenacity in this inquiry? Will he explain to the House why the flaws in the recording system were not picked up through external inspection?<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o269"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000391"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew46"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001115"> </a><b>Mr Jenkin:</b> In our evidence, we heard that there was not enough internal or external inspection. When Kent police were specially audited a year or two ago, it turned out that there was substantial manipulation of crime statistics. Whether it was advertent or inadvertent, it was happening. The result has been a much cleaner bill of health for Kent. Regular audit and inspection is one of the things that must happen, and HMIC must make that a priority every year.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o270"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000392"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew47"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001116"> </a><b><b>Sir Edward Leigh</b> (Gainsborough) (Con):</b> In Lincolnshire during this Parliament, we have had an absurd spat between the chief constable and the police and crime commissioner, which resulted in the chief constable being suspended for a time—not for anything operational, just some rubbish about political correctness. Meanwhile, while all this money and time wasting is going on I, speaking personally as an ordinary member of the public, have been a victim of crime twice in Lincolnshire and I have to say that the response of the police was completely underwhelming, with no follow-up and nobody caught. People are increasingly fed up with members of police forces, particularly at the top, who pay themselves quite well and seem to be enmeshed in empire building, political correctness and form filling. What we and the public want to get back to—this is why this report is so good—and what I want my hon. Friend to comment on, is old-fashioned community policing, with the police in our communities, the old bobby on the beat, walking around, knowing everyone, talking to people and not just sitting in their headquarters having these absurd spats—<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o271"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000393"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew48"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001117"> </a><b>Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle):</b> Order. I am sure that there must have been a question somewhere in that great rant, and I am sure that Mr Jenkin will be able to pick out an answer.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o272"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000394"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew49"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001118"> </a><b>Mr Jenkin:</b> I am interested to note that Lincolnshire is one of the outliers in the table of the average no-crime rate for reported rape incidents that shows the downgrading of rape. As I look at the table, I cannot remember instantly whether that means it is very good or very bad—<i>[</i><i>Interruption.</i><i>]</i> My hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) says that I should turn it upside down. The hankering after practical policing based on common sense outlined by my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) suggests that the police would be well advised to lead according to common-sense values and the values in the ethics code. If they do the right thing on the day according to those values, their leadership should back them.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o273"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000395"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew50"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001119"> </a><b>Mr Deputy Speaker:</b> Last but certainly not least, I call Tim Loughton.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o274"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000396"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew51"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001120"> </a><b><b>Tim Loughton</b> (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Con):</b> I, too, commend my hon. Friend and the PASC for this forthright and uncomfortable report. Is he aware that the figures are being distorted further by the police’s increasingly arbitrary use of police information notices? When an individual perceives that harassment has taken place, often devoid of a common-sense test of whether a complaint has substance or is vexatious, according to Sussex police, at least, there is no need for them to follow their own guidance as it is only guidance. Even more worryingly, complaints about comments made in this House by hon. Members can be registered as a hate incident by police despite our parliamentary privilege.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o275"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000397"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew52"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001121"> </a><b>Mr Jenkin:</b> The case that ended up in court as a result of the incident concerning my hon. Friend—<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o276"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000398"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew53"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001122"> </a><b>Tim Loughton:</b> Not in court.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="st_o277"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000399"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_spnew54"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073001123"> </a><b>Mr Jenkin:</b> It did not finish up in court—that was the point, wasn’t it? It was privileged. I thought the incident was bizarre and showed an extraordinary lack of understanding of where the police sit in the constitutional framework of this country. It seemed to me to lack common sense and I agree with my hon. Friend.<br />
<br />
<a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="stpa_o66"></a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="140410-0002.htm_para12"> </a><a class="anchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="14041073000400"> </a>I should say for the record that Cleveland, Surrey and Lincolnshire had a far higher no-crime rate than the national average when it comes to reported rapes. My hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough should be asking his police why they record rape and then downgrade it so much more often than the vast majority of constabularies.Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-53569076419967122912014-05-21T02:44:00.003-07:002014-05-21T02:44:40.411-07:00POLICE RECORDED CRIME - THIN BLUE LINE SUBMISSION TO THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION SELECT COMMITTEE ENQUIRY INTO CRIME STATISTICS
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Submission to the Public Administration Select Committee Enquiry into Police Recorded Crime
by: Steve Bennett on behalf of the Thin Blue Line<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Focusing on<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">
</b>exposing the manipulation of recorded crime and police detections.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"All
that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good
men to do nothing." </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Edmund
Burke (British Statesman and Philosopher 1729-1797<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: grey; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: background1; mso-themeshade: 128;">Summary<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Working on the
assumption that the majority of submissions will focus on the technical accuracy
or flaws of police recorded crime, this submission will look more at the
consequences of “Gaming”, “Cooking the crime books” or “Good Housekeeping” than
the minutiae of the data. The views expressed here are not merely those of the
author, but also of many officers who have contributed to his site and others
like it over recent years, severely critical of procedures and crime recording
processes that compromise their professional integrity and cheat the public out
of the public service they truly deserve. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From
many years of actual police experience followed by extensive research and
evidence gathering for the website and numerous in depth analytical reports,
the author concludes that police recorded crime has deteriorated into a
fallacious and perniciously constructed public deception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">Knowing
or at least suspecting that the books of crime had been cooked over the years,
the Coalition Government chose to use the fallacious crime statistics as a key
motivator for including policing in the comprehensive spending review that led
to the massive cuts in police resources and frontline officer numbers. </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">The
police are meant to protect life and property, prevent and detect crime. That
is their function, to protect us from the criminal fraternity. This is what the
majority of committed police officers want and joined the job to do. Reducing head
counts based on fiddled crime statistics ignores this issue completely and
endangers the lives and threatens the safety of us all. </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">Politicians
believe what is in their interests to believe and disregard the rest. Many
Chief Officers, either by constructing the corrupt and fraudulent recording
systems, or at the very least by condoning or adopting a conveniently myopic
attitude to their use, display a lack of genuine interest or concern for the
public whose votes and taxes keep them in office. They are only interested in
spinning the numbers out to represent what they want the public to believe. </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">Prior
to New Labour introducing financial incentives for Chiefs, the 43 forces,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as we might expect, performed differently. Chief
Officers were paid 15% bonuses to reflect crime reductions and within a few
short years, ALL 43 forces reported consistent drops in crime, using various practises
detailed on the Thin Blue Line blog.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> P</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">ernicious,
deceitful manipulation of recorded crime over a 20 year period, where many Chief
Officers knowingly accepted performance bonuses related to fudged numbers is
corrupt.</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">The
lack of any support system for officers daring to whistle-blow on the subject
serves to perpetuate the problem. In fact, Officers that have done so have been
castigated, with careers blocked or even ended as a result. </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">The
honour and distinction of achieving a high rank in public service has been
replaced with greed, with a convenient blindness to the immorality of their
actions. </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">The
police will never regain our trust until they get decent leadership and smash
the so-called ‘canteen culture’ that pervades the service. The decent officers,
the majority, deserve much better than they have got, and so does the British
public.</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";">Res ipsa loquitor</span></b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif";"> - Let the facts speak for
themselves </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: grey; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: background1; mso-themeshade: 128;">RESPONSES:-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Are
crimes being recorded by the police when they should be? Are crimes being
categorised correctly?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.1<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">No to both parts. The crime game
has become a devious means of pretending to win the war against crime, which
happens to be fatally flawed by the fact that it allows the victims of crime to
be cheated of justice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.2<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Well known tactics are employed such
as ‘cuffing’ (simply not recording or recording in alternative non-crime
recorded registers) and ‘skewing’ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or concentrating
resources on areas subject to performance indicators, investing less in the
investigation of the more difficult and resource intensive areas of police
activity. (cannabis warnings, public fear, alarm or distress detections
threatening texts etc are good examples). A common example employed by senior
officers involves the re-deployment of officers to more affluent neighbourhoods
where crime is easier to investigate and detect. For years, the game has been
played by police up and down the country without any public spectators. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.3<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The object is to cheat the system
for recording crime so that for all official purposes – and especially for the
purpose of public statements – the force can boast that fewer offences are
being committed on its patch. The main tactic in this part of the game is known
to police officers all over the country as “cuffing” – because the crimes
disappear up the cuff off the policeman’s sleeve.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.4<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Police officers, working under
intense pressure to deliver the figures which their senior officers demand,
cuff with diligence and imagination. They set up “alternative recording
systems”. On the surface, they appeared quite innocent, simply records of minor
damage, vehicle interference and domestic violence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.5<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A householder contacts police to
report that someone has tried to break into his home, there are jemmy marks
around his back door. According to the Home Office counting rules, that is an
attempted burglary, a crime which needs to be recorded. But according to the
rules of the crime game, that was merely minor damage costing less than £20 to
repair, not a crime at all for the purpose of official statistics. The
householder goes home faithfully believing that the forces of law and order
were now on his side. The police cuff him and forget him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.6<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Similarly, the motorist who finds
that someone has tried to break into his car is smuggled out of the records as
a case of “vehicle interference” – not a notifiable offence. It is the same with
those who tell police that they have suffered theft of a mobile phone, handbag,
wallets or giro cheque. Unless there is clear evidence of a thief at work, the
crime is recorded as lost property. The wife battered by her husband might think
she is the victim of a crime, but, unless she insists on a prosecution she,
too, ends up in the alternative records.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.7<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The author is the creator of a
product provides replacement vehicles to many hundreds of victims of car theft.
Daily experience has shown that crime numbers are rarely provided. Incident
numbers are issued that are supposed to convert to crime numbers when the
offence of Theft is complete – i.e. not recovered. Subsequent enquiries reveal
that the vast majority do NOT covert to crime numbers and therefore reflect a
greater than actual reduction on vehicle theft.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.8<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Many forces from our
investigation adopt a crime-recording policy, designed to have the effect of
artificially reducing recorded crime to a more politically acceptable level. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.9<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In private, police officers from
many different forces will talk about cuffing as a routine fact of working
life. In public, only a few have the courage, for fear of the damage that
whistle blowing may have on their career.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Spanish practices pervade which are uncomfortable for everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, if a thief goes down a street at
night, stealing from every car he sees, officers record the first theft and lose
the others on the back of the sheet. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.10<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">From the introduction of performance
indicators to measure the success of police, cuffing took off. The number of
crimes that have been recorded nationally has fallen steadily since 1993. The
true picture – uncorrupted by cuffing – is simply not known. What is clear is
that much, if not all, of the applause has been undeserved. And tens of
thousands of crime victims have been cheated of police attention.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">What
are the factors which can influence police mis-recording of crime?</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.1<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">Performance
targeting.</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> Despite the efforts of the Home
Secretary to remove all targets, it is a fact that ALL forces continue to
measure their performance by the numbers of crimes recorded. Linking this to
financial incentives for chief and senior command officers for reducing crime
perverts the process and encourages malpractice. Chief Officers can con the
politicians and their respective Police & Crime Commissioners all they like
that crime continues to fall no matter how few officers are available to deal
with it. ACPO and the Chief Officers have shown themselves to be totally
self-serving and shamelessly uncaring about the front line consequences of
their strategies. But why should they care? They get paid handsomely for
showing how wonderfully effective they are, what incentive is there for them to
play the honesty card?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.2<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Cuts to the police service were
authorised largely as a result of the many years of declining recorded crime.
The statistics are crooked and distorted beyond belief. Many thousands of
officer numbers slashed. Fewer officers remain to protect life and property, to
prevent and detect crime. Yet the Chief Officers that are responsible for
fudging the statistics remain in post, happily drawing their salary without
conscience that they are the authors of the misfortunes dumped on the rank and
file.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.3<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Whilst this is allowed to continue,
the tax payer is being cheated out of the service he and she deserves and the
front line officers are expected to toe the line, play the game and submit to
behaviour that compromises their professional integrity. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.4<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Chief Officers must be held to
account. Whether they have constructed the systems that fiddle the numbers,
condoned the actions or merely turned a blind eye to the practices, it is ONLY
THEY who have benefitted from this distortion and manipulation. It is ONLY THEY
who received exorbitant bonus payments down the years (payments that make the
MP Expenses Scandal appear small stuff by comparison), to reflect crime
reductions and detection increases. It is ONLY THEY who advanced their careers
and political ambitions on the back of this disgraceful deception. It is the
public who are being conned, the rank and file who have lost faith in their
superiors.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">2</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">.5<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> <strong>
</strong></span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><strong>Imagine
you are the CEO of a national company with 43 branches.</strong> </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Realistically, you would expect a variance in
performance from that the 43 branches. Prior to the last Labour Government,
this was the case with the 43 police forces. Some were effective at controlling
crime levels, others ticked along while a number had clearly lost control of
crime on their patch. New labour introduced performance targeting, which
rewarded Chief Officers and their higher level command teams with bonus
payments to reflect reduced crime. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.6<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Chief Officers, many with £150k
plus packages were paid as much as 15% on top to report reduced crime. Within a
few short years ALL 43 FORCES reported massive reductions in crime. Was this
all achieved through more effective policing methods or by embracing the
culture of "Gaming" as described above? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.7<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Frontline officers are told how
to police. A root and branch exposure of this crime of the century, perpetrated
by the most senior police officers is required. Chief Officers will of course
refute any such allegations, protecting their career and pension. However there
is plenty of front line officer evidence available that confirms that the statistics
are not to be trusted, though expecting officers to name and shame their
seniors to expose the problem may prove to be more difficult. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.8<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Is it realistic to believe that a
disparate 44 force police service could so unanimously (98% of the service in
2013) and consistently reduce crime year after year, without there being some
form of gaming activity?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s7QkE3egvII/U3xwe172QvI/AAAAAAAACvQ/IoEqgi4F7r4/s1600/Recorded+Crime+2003+to+2013+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s7QkE3egvII/U3xwe172QvI/AAAAAAAACvQ/IoEqgi4F7r4/s1600/Recorded+Crime+2003+to+2013+table.jpg" height="289" width="320" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jLrUBriwAj0/U3xwwNwY6TI/AAAAAAAACvY/vFsarsz8n0c/s1600/Recorded+Crime+2003+to+2013+Graph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jLrUBriwAj0/U3xwwNwY6TI/AAAAAAAACvY/vFsarsz8n0c/s1600/Recorded+Crime+2003+to+2013+Graph.jpg" height="190" width="320" /></a></div>
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<h2 style="margin: 0.83em 0cm 0.83em 28.8pt; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; text-align: left;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Are
the right checks in place to ensure that the systems for recording crime
function effectively and accurately? <o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.1<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Simply, no. In 2008, Michael
Chatterton was commissioned by the Joint Central Committee of the Police
Federation of England & Wales to report on the resilience of the CID. The
report “losing the detectives” involved interviewing many operational
detectives and police staff. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.2<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">He discovered an excessively
rigid and bureaucratic approach to targets and performance management resulting
in a pernicious and perverse effect on police operations. He heard of the diverting
of police priorities from serious crime to chasing minor offences; giving the
public a false sense of security that crime is being reduced with increasing
effectiveness by the police and undermining the discretion necessary for the
impartial discharge of the office of constable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.3<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">To quote Chatterton “There is no
change in Government and senior police management policy which is at once more
urgent and important than this”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.4<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Direct quotes from frontline
officers provide the response to the question posed above:- “I quite often get
jobs put on my desk describing what has happened and asking ‘should this really
be recorded?’ I have to tell them there is a victim who has complained of a
crime, it needs to be recorded. The fact that the victims don’t want to tell you
what’s happened, you know, this doesn’t really matter, it’s a reported crime
[sarcastically]. But there’s a couple of kids that have had a sort of a pushing
game in the playground, you know, and it’s now an assault. The police service
is criminalising people. A so-called crime’s been reported so you have to crime
it in accordance with the National Crime Recording Standards. You can’t get rid
of it. There’s an offender so the way you resolve it is by cautioning him
because the senior management don’t want an undetected violent crime”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.5<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Say I have my bosses saying
‘look we have got too many robberies what can you do about it?’ So you start
looking at these reports of robbery and suddenly they become a theft with an
assault, not a robbery. There is pressure to reclassify crimes to fit
statistics”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.6<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“The point is the further you go
down to the floor level where the officers aren’t quite as polished maybe or
don’t have the fine judgement for when it’s going beyond integrity for
recording purposes and that’s where I think the danger is because all this
pressure is going all the way down you know”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.7<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“The numbers game is by far the
most depressing part of this job. I feel physically sick when reading
snivelling emails from once respected DCIs on the beg encouraging unethical
practices. It so totally dominates to the utter detriment of policing. All
those involved at a senior level are corrupt self serving sxxxxxxx”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">3</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">.8<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Our force published a 21% Drop
in Public Order offences , didn't disclose that all minor offences were recorded
as Drunk and disorderly offences and not even counted as crimes ! Last year we
were told to crime all drunk offences as public order ! Why do we do that ?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.9<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">There are literally hundreds of
similar example comments from frontline officers across the country. It may be
tempting to consider that this is one big conspiracy theory however they can’t
ALL be exaggerating the practice of manipulating crime statistics. </span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.10<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Whilst the ghost of performance
targeting is allowed to remain in the service, any revisions to the system will
be worthless. Remove the incentives to fudge the figures and the integrity of
the majority will prevail in recording crime as it occurs, without fear of the
consequences of crime rising. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Has
enough been done to ensure the integrity of crime data? What more should be
done?</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></strong> </div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.1<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Again, no. In July 2000, HM Inspector of
Constabulary reported that in eleven forces which his staff had checked, just
about a quarter (24%) of all reported crimes had been mis-recorded, either
through genuine confusion or deliberate concealment. At the end of that year,
the politicians celebrated a fall in the crime recorded by police nationally of
122,344 offences. But if HMI’s snapshot were reproduced across the country,
then in that same year, police forces concealed or mis-recorded 1,635,424
offences – more than 13 times as big as the claimed fall. In other words, for
years, the police statistics have been not just slightly misleading but wholly
worthless as a statement of what is really happening.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.2<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The trouble with crime is that it’s illegal.
Which means it’s secret. Which means that all the king’s forces and all the
king’s men and women at every level of every criminal justice agency in the
country don’t really know what’s happening.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.3<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In recent years, just about all of them have
thrown their hats and helmets in the air to celebrate a steady fall in crime.
The Home Office said it was all down to its crime prevention work. The police
said it was their new intelligence-led approach. The academics said it was
rising consumption, falling inequality, more alarms, fewer adolescent males or
a fall in unemployment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.4<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But what if it never happened? What if all
that research (and all of the political point-scoring which it inspired) is
misleading? What if the truth is that crime didn’t fall at all – that it was
only the statistics that fell?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.5<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Police figures are deeply flawed and unreliable
in any event, because they deal only with the crime which they record. The
weakness is twofold. First, many millions of crimes each year are never
reported to them at all: victims of assaults and sex attacks (particularly
children) are often too fearful; the stores who are the victims of shoplifting
often discover the offence only in their stock-taking and then prefer not to
advertise their vulnerability; and a mass of victims of minor crime simply do
not bother to contact a system which offers them only a faint prospect of
justice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.6<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">But, much more important, even if crime is
reported, it is frequently not recorded because the police have a long and skilful
history of fiddling the figures. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.7<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Crime screening is yet another area of
concern. Whilst not suggested that all screened crimes disappear from the
records, a HMIC Inspection to see what actually happens to them is needed.
Police are failing to investigate about 850,000 crimes a year properly, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>because officers believe they are unlikely to
be solved. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.8<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Up to 90% of some types of offences are being
“screened out” as unsuitable for detailed investigation in a move to save
resources. More than half the police forces in England and Wales who responded
to freedom of information requests said they operated a screening policy. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.9<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Metropolitan police abandoned
investigations into more than 362,300 crimes in 2011-12, representing 44% of
all offences. Bedfordshire police screened out 39% of crimes, Warwickshire 37%
of offences and Northamptonshire 33% of crimes.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.10<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The question is asked and must be
answered. “just how many of these non-investigated matters are cuffed from the
records?” </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.11<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">As per the last question, until
the incentive and desire to manipulate is removed, any preventative measures
and changes to the system will be overcome by those with sufficient motive.
Remove the possibility of any financial, political or career incentive. The rot
must be eliminated before the healing can begin. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.12<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Prior to performance targeting,
recorded crime manipulation was far less prevalent. The recording process
relied upon the efficiency of officers recording matters accurately, without
any incentive or pressure to do otherwise. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.13<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The HMIC thematic Inspections due
in 2014 with crime recording as its focus must ne ruthless in uncovering the
truth and courageous enough to reveal it. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">To
what extent can policy-makers have confidence in the statistics which result
from the recording of crime by police forces?</span></strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></strong> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">5.1. I struggle to see how policy makers can have any confidence in
statistics that are manipulated. Garbage In = Garbage Out. In business, if a
company bases its resources and activity upon fallacious figures it wouldn’t be
trading for very long. Determining policy based on falsified figures results in
poor managerial decisions and misdirected use of valuable resources. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Should
recorded crime statistics be classified as National Statistics?</span></strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></strong> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></strong><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">6.1 On the basis of all that has been said before, crime statistics in their
present form lack the necessary data integrity, accuracy and probity to be
worthy of being classified<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as National
Statistics. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It is vital to measure crime
accurately if we are to be able to tackle it effectively” </span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">David
Blunkett (July 2001).</span></b></div>
Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-40802725077252472532014-05-01T01:56:00.000-07:002014-05-01T01:56:35.765-07:00Interim HMIC report on crime data integrity identifies serious concerns about the crime-recording process<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wcC2bcMf5e8/U2IEMv09cfI/AAAAAAAACus/Q8yOVaXQKOU/s1600/HMIC_rgb_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wcC2bcMf5e8/U2IEMv09cfI/AAAAAAAACus/Q8yOVaXQKOU/s1600/HMIC_rgb_logo.jpg" height="116" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
An interim report on crime data integrity by HMIC has identified serious concerns about the crime-recording process. HMIC has found weak or absent management and supervision of crime-recording, significant under-recording of crime, serious sexual offences not being recorded, and some offenders having been issued with out-of-court disposals when their offending history could not justify it.<br />
HMIC’s inspection of crime data integrity intends to identify to what extent police-recorded crime information can be trusted. The interim report, published today, is based on inspections carried out in 13 police forces, and sets out the emerging themes so far. This inspection – which looks at how the Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR) and National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) are applied – has identified serious concerns in the emerging picture. HMIC has found:<br />
<ul>
<li>Weak or absent management and supervision of crime-recording.</li>
<li>Significant under-recording of crime.</li>
<li>Serious sexual offences not being recorded – HMIC identified 14 rapes not recorded.</li>
<li>A lack of victim focus by the police when making crime-recording decisions.</li>
<li>Some offenders having been issued with out-of-court disposals when their offending history could not justify it, and in some cases they should have been prosecuted.</li>
</ul>
HMIC highlights that if the findings for the first set of forces are representative across all forces and all crime types, this implies that 20 percent of crimes may be going unrecorded. Some forces have of course performed better than others.<br />
The report sets out a number of reasons for these concerns, such as poor knowledge of the recording rules, inadequate or absent training in how to use them, poor supervision or management of police officers and the pressure of workload – where police officers have been managed in such a way as to overload them with cases.<br />
The inspection has also identified strengths which are common to all of the forces visited so far:<br />
<ul>
<li>When crime reports are recorded, the classification of the offence which is recorded is correct on almost every occasion.</li>
<li>By listening to calls made to the police, HMIC is finding that victims of crime receive a professional service with call-takers being polite, helpful and showing empathy to the needs of the victim during initial contact with the police.</li>
</ul>
As well as the emerging themes from the first 13 forces, today’s interim report sets out HMIC’s full methodology for this inspection, which has been developed in consultation with other organisations.<br />
It must be emphasised that this is an interim report, and covers 13 of the 43 Home Office police forces. The report emphasises that the only statistically significant finding is the national one, and that will be available in the final report in October 2014. This report contains emerging themes, not final conclusions.<br />
The forces inspected so far are:<br />
<ul>
<li>Cheshire Constabulary</li>
<li>City of London Police</li>
<li>Devon and Cornwall Police</li>
<li>Essex Police</li>
<li>Gloucestershire Constabulary</li>
<li>Greater Manchester Police</li>
<li>Gwent Police</li>
<li>Hertfordshire Constabulary</li>
<li>Metropolitan Police Service</li>
<li>Norfolk Constabulary</li>
<li>North Wales Police</li>
<li>North Yorkshire Police</li>
<li>South Yorkshire Police</li>
</ul>
HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Tom Winsor, said:<br />
<br />
“The accuracy and integrity of police-recorded crime data are vital to public trust in the police. The HOCR and NCRS are not optional – every police officer should be able to understand and properly apply them, and every police force should adhere to them.<br />
<br />
“The consequences of under-recording of crime are serious, and may mean victims and the community are failed because crimes are not investigated, the levels of crime will be wrongly under-stated, and police chiefs will lack the information they need to make sound decisions on the deployment of their resources.<br />
<br />
“Although this is an interim report, and we have identified common strengths, we are seriously concerned at the picture which is emerging – particularly about the significant under-recording of crime, and serious sexual offences not being recorded. <br />
<br />
“This is an inspection of the integrity of police-recorded crime data – not an inspection or inquiry into the integrity of the police. HMIC will inspect the remaining forces in England and Wales to provide a full picture of crime data integrity, with the final report published in October 2014.”<br />
<br />
Get the report:-<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.hmic.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/crime-data-integrity-interim-report.pdf">http://www.hmic.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/crime-data-integrity-interim-report.pdf</a><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Police not recording a fifth of crimes, watchdog report suggests</span></strong><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27226110">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27226110</a><br />
<br />
<div class="introduction" id="story_continues_1">
A fifth of crimes in England and
Wales could be going unrecorded by police, according to a report.</div>
<br />
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said 14 alleged rapes were
among the offences that had not been recorded by officers.<br />
<br />
One report of rape was not recorded because of "workload pressure", the
inspection of 13 forces found.<br />
<br />
Home Secretary Theresa May said the report exposed "unacceptable failings" by
the police.<br />
<br />
HMIC is conducting an inspection into the way all 43 forces in England and
Wales record crime data.<br />
<br />
<div class="story-feature narrow">
If its initial findings were repeated across England and
Wales, it could mean 20% of all crimes were going unrecorded, it said.</div>
<div class="story-feature narrow">
</div>
<span class="cross-head"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong>'Unethical behaviour'</strong></span></span> <br />
<br />
Mrs May said it was "quite possible" the HMIC study could lead to an increase
in recorded crime.<br />
<br />
An unrecorded crime is classed as one that is reported to the police, but not
recorded as an offence.<br />
<br />
The failure rate was too high, HMIC found.<br />
<br />
"We believe that it is weak or absent management, poor knowledge on the part
of those making the crime recording decisions with the crime recording rules,
weak or absent training or workload pressures," said Chief Inspector of
Constabulary Tom Winsor.<br />
<br />
"But because the failure rate is as high as it is... it is impossible to rule
out discreditable or unethical behaviour."<br />
<br />
<div id="story_continues_3">
Out of a sample of 3,102 incidents, HMIC found 2,551
crimes should have been recorded but 523 were not. This included reported sexual
offences, violent crimes, robbery and burglary.</div>
<br />
Describing "workload pressure" being cited as the basis for not recording a
report of rape, the report said: "In this example, it was considered that
recording the crime would entail too much work, as the officer made a judgment
that the circumstances of the complaint made it unlikely that the case would be
prosecuted."<br />
<br />
Met officer James Patrick said he was forced to resign from the force after
raising concerns similar to those in the report.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sgUkSZMNsGs/U2IF1srFfmI/AAAAAAAACu0/01bB6TtCpLw/s1600/James+Patrick2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sgUkSZMNsGs/U2IF1srFfmI/AAAAAAAACu0/01bB6TtCpLw/s1600/James+Patrick2.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whistle-blower James Patrick is about to leave the Met </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
"I started discussing this on a blog way back in 2012 and I feel like telling
the truth has resulted in a negative impact," he told BBC Radio 4's Today
programme.<br />
<br />
The watchdog also found some offenders were being wrongly given out-of-court
disposals, including cautions and fixed penalty notices. In one in 10 cases, the
measure could not be justified because of the individual's offending history, it
said.<br />
<br />
Adam Pemberton, of the Victim Support charity, said unrecorded crimes were
"completely unacceptable".<br />
<br />
"This is about much more than inaccurate statistics or poor number-crunching
- each mistake represents a victim losing their chance to get justice and to
access support services."<br />
<span class="cross-head">Crime stats 'could
rise'</span>
<br />
Mrs May said: "HMIC's interim report exposes unacceptable failings by the
police.<br />
<br />
"It is quite possible, once HMIC has completed its work on recorded crime
statistics and made recommendations on how the police need to improve, that we
will see an increase in recorded crime.<br />
<br />
"If that increase is driven by improved accuracy in the recording of crime or
more victims reporting crime to the police, we should welcome it.<br />
<br />
"Such an increase would not mean that crime itself is rising."<br />
<br />
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "Though only an interim report, the
Inspectorate's findings are extremely serious."<br />
<br />
Although HMIC has only inspected 13 of 43 forces so far, this covers 60% of
crimes, because two of the largest - the Metropolitan Police and Great
Manchester Police - have already been done, HMIC said.<br />
<br />
The other forces already inspected are Cheshire, City of London, Devon and
Cornwall, Essex, Gloucestershire, Gwent, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, North Wales,
North Yorkshire and South Yorkshire.<br />
<br />
<strong>Mrs May</strong><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>We have been telling you that police recorded crime has been manipulated & fiddled since 2009</li>
<li>Other sites and officers have been telling you the same</li>
<li>James Patrick and others gave evidence on this to the PACT committee back in November 2013</li>
<li>I (Steve Bennett - Retired WMP) supplied written evidence to the PACT committee </li>
<li>The Home Office knew of this prior to and since the coalition took office</li>
<li>Despite this, the Coalition included policing in the CSR. </li>
<li>000's of officer numbers have been cut</li>
<li>Chief & Senior police officers were paid massive bonuses to create, oversee or otherwise condone processes that have corrupted crime numbers. None of these bonuses have been repaid.</li>
<li>These bonuses in their quantum massively outweigh the amounts found to have been mis-claimed by the MP Expenses scandal</li>
<li>ACPO rank officers & senior command management have perpetrated and orchestrated this disgraceful pernicious deception, whilst the rank and file were forced to implement these corrupt practices, impugning and compromising their professional integrity </li>
<li>THIS is the biggest contributor to the fall in police confidence and officer morale</li>
<li>What, if anything will you do to ensure James Patrick is treated fairly through his departure from the met?</li>
<li>What, if anything, will you do to bring the ACPO & Senior management officers responsible for this scandal to account? </li>
<li>Will you now accept that crime has not fallen, it was a gross error to reduce officer numbers and that recruitment will funded to enable the British tax payer to have the police presence it needs to combat the true crime levels? </li>
<li>What will you do to stop the vilification and victimisation of whistle blowers in the police?</li>
<li>Will you now look at police detections with the same scrutiny as they are fiddled just as perversely as recorded crime?</li>
<li>Will you stand up with integrity and honesty and admit that the proud boasts of falling crime over recent years was fallacious political spin?</li>
<li>You commissioned the Office of National Statistics to thoroughly investigate the integrity of police recorded crime. "Gaming" or the fiddling of figures received a one line reference in that report with no recommendations for any remedy. Will you accept that this was a complete waste of time? </li>
<li>Will you accept that British Crime Survey, based on a comparatively tiny sample of less than 40,000 interviewees is a weak indicator of crime?</li>
<li>WHAT if anything will you do to restore public confidence and officer morale now? </li>
</ol>
We won't hold our breath that you will take any real positive action. Forgive the cynicism of a retired police officer, but from previous broken political promises and the disgraceful treatment of the British police officers, all we have come to expect is the more rhetoric and the usual political spin.<br />
<br />
Steve Bennett<br />
Retired West Midlands Police Officer<br />
Thin Blue Line UK <br />
<br />
Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-38710090618461311532014-04-24T17:16:00.000-07:002014-04-24T17:16:31.972-07:00PC JAMES PATRICK - LATEST DISGRACEFUL TREATMENT AT THE HANDS OF THE METROPOLITAN POLICE <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
PC James Patrick, the police whistle blower who exposed the manipulation of crime figures faces being put on a public register of disgraced officers, Channel 4 News can reveal.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.channel4.com/news/metropolitan-police" target="_blank">Metropolitan Police</a> have accused James Patrick of gross misconduct because he appeared on a television and a radio programme to talk about senior officers' treatment of him without getting their permission first.<br />
<br />
Should he be found guilty, he would be placed on the College of Policing's new "struck off list", which the body plans to make public.<br />
<br />
According to both PC Patrick and his local MP Bernard Jenkin, who is also chair of the parliamentary committee that held the <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-administration-select-committee/inquiries/parliament-2010/crime-statistics/" target="_blank">inquiry into crime figures</a>, the move by the Met is an effort to blacken the whistleblower's name.<br />
<br />
"What is the point? It seems massively vindictive," said PC Patrick.<br />
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Mr Jenkin agreed with PC Patrick's analysis that the force's allegations – which come less than three weeks before he is due to leave – represent an effort to place a dismissal for gross misconduct on his record.<br />
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"Speaking purely as his MP, I think he has been treated very unfairly," he said.<br />
<h2>
'Intimidation'<br /><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;"></span></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;"><em>The public administration select committee chair added: "The police do not seem to have acknowledged the seriousness of what they sought to suppress and what he exposed. This is an indication of the police leadership in denial.</em></span></h2>
"They should have welcomed him back as someone who was vindicated and who could have helped them put right the issues he raised. They said they would meet with him, but they never have.<br />
"I am sad about it because whistle blowers are, by definition, difficult people; otherwise they would be easier to intimidate. All the way through, the Met Police have tried to intimidate James Patrick for raising legitimate concerns. But they have lost and cannot acknowledge that they have lost."<br />
<br />
The news comes two weeks after <strong>Channel 4 News</strong> revealed that PC Patrick was being forced to go without pay while fighting his employer at tribunal after the Met successfully argued that police officers did not qualify for the same financial compensation available to other people.<br />
<br />
A document seen by <strong>Channel 4 News</strong> shows that PC Patrick was accused of gross misconduct on Monday after appearances on BBC programmes on 9 and 10 April.<br />
<br />
In March, he announced he was to resign from the force, saying he had been left no choice because of senior officers' treatment of him after he raised his concerns.<br />
<br />
He is due to leave on 9 May but, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9865738/Police-officers-can-no-longer-dodge-justice-by-quitting-early-Theresa-May-says.html" target="_blank">under measures introduced by Home Secretary Theresa May in February last year</a> that were designed to stop officers retiring and resigning to avoid misconduct proceedings, Mr Patrick would still face the gross misconduct allegations and could be dismissed retrospectively.<br />
<br />
<strong>What is the point? It seems massively vindictive</strong><em>Police whistleblower James Patrick</em><br />
<em></em><br />
The College of Policing said that its "struck off list", on which PC Patrick would be placed if found guilty, is currently only available to police forces. But the body said it plans to make it public, subject to legal deliberations.<br />
<br />
A Met Police document sets out the allegations against PC Patrick. He is accused of having appeared on the BBC programme The One Show "without the appropriate authority". It also sets out an accusation that he gave in an interview to BBC Radio 5 "also in breach of the MPS Media Policy and direct instructions".<br />
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PC Patrick says that the One Show appearance was recorded before a letter warning him not to go ahead with it was sent to him.<br />
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As a result of his evidence to the select committee, both the Met commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe and the police watchdog HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) head Tom Winsor were forced to admit that police crime figures were being manipulated. In response, the UK Statistics Authority <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/15/police-crime-figures-status-claims-fiddling" target="_blank">removed the crime figures' gold standard "National Statistics" status</a>.<br />
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<u><span style="color: #0066cc;"><span class="p-name customisable-highlight" data-scribe="element:name">James Patrick</span> <span class="p-nickname" data-scribe="element:screen_name" dir="ltr">@<b>J_amesp</b></span> </span></u> <a class="follow-button profile" data-scribe="component:followbutton" href="https://twitter.com/J_amesp" role="button" title="Follow James Patrick on Twitter"><i class="ic-button-bird"></i>Follow</a> <br />
<div class="content e-entry-content" data-scribe="component:tweet">
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Open Letter to Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe <a class="link customisable" data-expanded-url="http://wp.me/p3jIOU-23" data-scribe="element:url" dir="ltr" href="http://wp.me/p3jIOU-23" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="http://wp.me/p3jIOU-23"><span class="tco-hidden">http://</span><span class="tco-display">wp.me/p3jIOU-23</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmpubadm/760/76010.htm" target="_blank">The MPs also demanded</a> that HMIC open an investigation into the Met's treatment of PC Patrick, whom the Met tried to silence on at least three occasions, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/13/metropolitan-police-whistleblower-crime-figures" target="_blank">it was revealed earlier this month</a>.<br />
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A spokesman for the Met Police said: "Can confirm PC James Patrick is being investigated for potential misconduct following allegations he failed to seek the appropriate authority prior to undertaking two media interviews in April 2014 as required by the MPS Media Policy. PC Patrick has been informed of this investigation.<br />
<br />
"PC Patrick remains a serving police officer and is therefore held to the same standards as any other officer."<br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;"><em>Over on James Patrick's site, he published an open letter to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe which is reprinted below:-</em></span></strong><br />
<br />
23rd April 2014<br />
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe<br /> (Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis)<br />
<u>N.B. This is an open letter</u><br />
<u></u><br />
Sir,<br />
<br />
Following our impromptu conversation on LBC the other morning, (I called in after being alerted to the fact you were discussing me, while I was cuddling my children over breakfast), I am following up in writing as I said I probably would.<br />
<br />
I thank you for your offer to consider meeting with me, which I said I would welcome, and arrangements for which I shall leave to you – my calendar is becoming largely clear very soon.<br />
<br />
I hope, as you said in reply to my first question on LBC, that you are genuinely committed to changing the way that the MPS deals with whistle blowers in the future, and perhaps this letter – if read to the end – may further some understanding.<br />
<br />
Having now listened back to the comments regarding my case earlier in your appearance, I feel it’s best that some facts are clarified – I appreciate that you are juggling a lot of shreds of information, so may have made the mistakes honestly.<br />
<br />
1) You stated that, to paraphrase, what happened in the time before the PASC wasn’t whistleblowing. This is, in part, currently a matter before the Tribunal, and the one which I refused to discuss with you on air. Perhaps you should talk about this further with Legal Services, to clarify it for future reference: there appears to be some breakdown in communication. I also know, because I served the Directorate of Professional Standards with the papers in November last year, that the MPS is fully aware of the history of my whistleblowing since 2009, which is not a matter before the Tribunal (other than as background). Again, perhaps, a conversation on that may assist. In the alternative, my written submissions to the Public Administration Select Committee give an outline of the history which you may find helpful, as may the last pages of the document entitled ‘The London Policing Model’ which I sent to you first in December 2011, and then again (at your request) after I contacted you regarding it in October 2013.<br />
<br />
2) You stated that, in response to my PASC evidence in November 2013, you had called in Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to vet the crime data. Was this not part of the inspection programme agreed and ordered by Parliament in or around June 2013? And wasn’t the Mayor’s Office audit commissioned even earlier in the year by the Deputy Mayor? If that is the case, perhaps a clearer use of wording may avoid any future confusion for people less closely following the topic. In any case, I have met with the CIHMIC and expressed my concerns in person – I personally found him very impressive and open minded. I also note that you are under the impression that I was contacted after writing to you, (I was offering to meet after your appearance at the PASC, during which you stated an internal inquiry would contact me in due course). I was, in March, offered a ‘debrief’, the reason I gave a long notice period. I have this morning been informed that this will take place on the 30th of April, which I have accepted, but: a debrief is not the same as an inquiry, or the treatment of someone who reports wrongdoing in line with MPS policy, as you well know.<br />
<br />
3) You stated, emphatically some might say, that I had not been hounded from my job: this is currently a matter before the Tribunal, and one which I refused to discuss on air. Perhaps, again, you should talk this through with Legal Services.<br />
<br />
4) You stated that the MPS did not ‘look’ at my Gross Misconduct case, in fact referring it outside and having it externally chaired. I found this statement quite shocking. I first asked for the matter to be externally referred in 2012 and again in 2013 but this was declined; the DPS then opposed an application for the hearing panel to be externally constituted, due to a risk of bias, in November 2013. Thankfully my submission prevailed despite the representations of the MPS to keep things ‘in house’. I was notified in February 2014 that, following an external review, the case had been downgraded to Misconduct, then found that the DPS had appointed an MPS Inspector to chair the meeting. Once again the already decided bias issue had to be raised and then, and only then, a Chief Inspector from the City of London Police was appointed. I am not sure whether you were poorly briefed, but the statement made was outrageously misleading.<br />
<br />
5) Along with the Press Office, you have stated that I have received a final written warning. Again things are not so clear cut. Firstly, the decision has been immediately appealed on the grounds of lack of evidence and perverse reasoning (to keep it short-hand), and the arrangements for this appeal, I can only assume, are being properly dealt with. Secondly, and most gravely: I have not received a final written warning. As the DPS are well aware, the regulations require service of the written notices within five days. The meeting took place on the 2nd of April 2014 and I put the DPS on written notice, on the 18th of April, that they have failed to comply with the regulations by not serving these notices. This is clearly unacceptable and also makes the statement “received a written warning”, at best, spurious.<br />
<br />
Regrettably, I must raise one further issue, which has landed on me yesterday.<br />
<br />
Having agreed to an earlier departure date than the 6th of June, namely the 9th of May, with payment in lieu of the remaining notice, I have today been sent a notice stating that I am being investigated for ‘Gross Misconduct’ on the following grounds:<br />
<br />
<em>“On 9th April 2014 you breached the MPS Media Policy and direct instructions provided to you by appearing on the BBC programme ‘The One Show’ without the appropriate authority.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em></em><em>You also participated in a radio interview with BBC Radio 5 on the 10th April 2014 without the appropriate authority also in breach of the MPS Media Policy and direct instructions”.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
I have not found a hard copy of a letter from Temporary Detective Superintendent Simon Laurence stating that the policy existed and should be complied with, dated the 7th of April. Several others were however among a stack sent to my home address by recorded delivery and found on about the 16th of April, after I had been at my sister’s since the 9th, with my family. <br />
<br />
It appears the letter in question was sent by email but, on the 7th of April, I was fully focused, as I am sure you can imagine, on preparing to act for myself at the initial Tribunal hearing the following day (Tuesday the 8th).<br />
<br />
I can’t find any written acknowledgement of receipt, by me to the Met, regarding emails sent to me (by the Met), until the 11th of April. If it helps, I sent five emails on the 7th of April, four of which were to the same person, and none of whom have anything to do with the Met; additionally there are no emails to the Met at all on the 7th, 8th or 9th. On the 10th I emailed regarding welfare at 07.11, that being it until lunchtime the next day.<br />
<br />
In any case, the One Show was pre-recorded at the end of the week before this letter appears to have been sent. As regards Radio 5, it was pre-recorded on the 10th of April and the interview was broadcast on Friday the 11th of April 2014, after the conclusion of which I did receive a copy of a letter by email, stating the matter had been referred to the DPS. I tweeted about a threat of further discipline at 12.32 on the 11th April – as I normally do with any significant developments.<br />
<br />
I replied to the Met by email at that time stating:<br />
<em>“I look forward to being pursued with further malice and vigour”</em><br />
<em></em><br />
This is becoming a little bit like the detention scene in <em>The Breakfast Club.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
I won’t ask you about the freedom of expression, about what it safeguards, nor about the other freedoms enshrined in law – mine have only just ceased to be restricted; nor will I ask you to look up legislation, like Section 43J of the Employment Rights Act 1996. All I would ask is: who in the Met would authorise me to speak out about my side of the story? (That’s rhetorical, by the way).<br />
<br />
A reasonable person might well ask questions about the motivation of this new action. Another reasonable person might simply see it is as vindictive. Another might see that you could make a finding in my absence, after I’ve left, and have me added to the College of Policing struck off list – a permanent tarnish for all future employment.<br />
<br />
Someone like my wife, who has been on the receiving end of the Met for a long time now, might burst into tears and be scared witless of what else you will do.<br />
<br />
Personally, I am just tired and, while I will continue to fight my battles in the Tribunal, I just want the Met to leave my family and I alone: you have done enough to us. More than enough. As anyone who saw the One Show would know, the effect on my family has already been devastating and I have walked away from a job I love, and have loved, for the best part of a decade.<br />
<br />
Lastly, I want you to know that I am not scared of you, nor the Met, and because I am not, I will ask you this: <em>have you ever picked a cat up by the tail?</em><br />
<em></em><br />
As Mark Twain said, someone who does learns something he can learn in no other way.<br />
<br />
Let me walk away in peace.<br />
Yours faithfully,<br />
James Patrick<br /><em>By Email</em><br />
<br />
<strong><em><span style="color: red;">Thin Blue Line Comment in response to James on his site:-</span></em></strong><br />
<br />
And so it continues. <br />
<br />
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe must surely have been instrumental or at least made aware that further Gross Misconduct matters were being considered. <br />
<br />
<em>“On 9th April 2014 you breached the MPS Media Policy and direct instructions provided to you by appearing on the BBC programme ‘The One Show’ without the appropriate authority.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>You also participated in a radio interview with BBC Radio 5 on the 10th April 2014 without the appropriate authority also in breach of the MPS Media Policy and direct instructions”.</em><br />
<br />
He surely cannot claim he knew nothing of the new proceedings. As such, surely it was improper of him to permit the LBC conversation to proceed as he was aiding and abetting the alleged breach? Agent Provocateur springs to mind. (a person employed to induce others to break the law so that they can be convicted). <br />
<br />
The comedy of errors continues, and it would be a comedy if it wasn’t so vindictive, unjust and a blatant immoral attempt to silence you once and for all. <br />
<br />
What a joke then, to read CC Nick Gargan’s piece in the Guardian on Tuesday 22 April<br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/22/police-leadership-criticism-politicians-undermining-service?CMP=twt_gu" rel="nofollow">http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/22/police-leadership-criticism-politicians-undermining-service?CMP=twt_gu</a><br />
<br />
To paste the first few paragraphs of the article:-<br />
<br />
<strong>Gratuitous criticism will not help the police to improve</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br /> Politicians’ sweeping condemnation of police leadership may bring short-term political gain, but it will undermine the future of the service.<br />
<br />“I was stung by the words of Bernard Jenkin MP, chair of the public administration select committee at the launch of its police crime statistics report earlier this month. “Poor data integrity reflects the poor quality of leadership within the police”, he said. Not “the poor quality of some leadership,” nor even “the poor quality of leadership of some within the police”. Instead Jenkin dismissed police leadership at a stroke. It has become the height of fashion to dismiss police leadership. And the place where it is most fashionable to do so seems to be Westminster, and Whitehall”. <br />
<br />
Nick may well be one of the “Good Guys”, but sadly there are all too many examples of ACPO ranks whose conduct and attitude is well deserving of the criticism. <br />
<br />
Your case James is a perfect example of what is wrong with policing today. A lack of probity, honesty and moral compass, replaced with greed, pernicious deception and downright corrupt behaviour by high ranking officers who should be setting exemplary standards. <br />
<br />
When looking for reasons why public confidence in policing has plummeted, look no further than the ACPO ranks. Rank and file officers are forced to compromise their professional integrity carrying out ACPO and SMT strategies that are not in the public interest. <br />
<br />
And when someone dares to blow the whistle with the truth, look at how they form a cordon of defensive and attacking strategy. It reminds me of Custers last stand, with the police Chiefs formed in a circle protecting their jobs, pensions and fiefdoms with their obfuscation, denial and deceit. We all now how that one ended up. <br />
<br />
My continued best wishes to you and your family James.<br />
<br />Kind regards<br />
Steve Bennett<br /> Retired West Midlands Officer<br /> Author of the Thin Blue Line UK Blog<br /> http:\\thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com</div>
Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-36440950417762395502014-04-17T03:53:00.002-07:002014-04-17T04:03:17.226-07:00HEAR PC JAMES PATRICK CONFRONTING SIR BERNARD HOGAN-HOWE, THE MET COMMISSIONER ON LBC<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is the moment that PC James Patrick, a police whistleblower, who was forced to resign after raising doubts about crime figures, called LBC to confront the Met Police Commissioner.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/d2-7YrKataU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em> James' call to Sir Bernard, appears 20 minutes into the video.</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<a href="http://www.lbc.co.uk/watch-met-police-chief-live-on-lbc-88983">http://www.lbc.co.uk/watch-met-police-chief-live-on-lbc-88983</a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">PC James Patrick had said crime figures were manipulated and sexual offences were being under-reported by 22-25%.<br />
<br />
Last month, PC Patrick left the force after being subjected to disciplinary proceedings.<br />
He called Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe on his LBC phone-in to ask if the Met were planning to overhaul their procedures on whistleblowers to avoid what he had to go through. <br />
<br />
Sir Bernard responded: "We're always prepared to do that. Each case, as you will know sadly though your experience is not straightforward, so of course we're always prepared to look at that and if there's anything you can offer us in that, we'll try to learn.<br />
<br />
"It's a difficult balance to strike."<br />
<br />
Speaking about his resignation, Mr Patrick told the Commissioner: "I've had no choice, have I boss? "I felt very, very let down in particular by the senior levels of the Met."<br />
<br />
Sir Bernard replied: "First of all, I'm sorry about your experience, because I'm sure whatever the rights and wrongs, you won't have enjoyed what you have gone through, nor your family.<br />
<br />
"Secondly, I'm certainly happy to consider meeting if you would want to, now that the misconduct process is out of the way.<br />
<br />
"And I hope you'd be prepared to accept as well that, although you've got a very firm view about what you've seen and your experience, I have asked for some independent advice to find out whether your allegations are endemic or in fact your experience was a one-off."<br />
<br />
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner did admit that mistakes are made in the force's crime figures, adding: "None of our figures are perfect. We know that. We know that not all crime is reported. In terms of rape, it is thought that 85% of rape is never even reported, let alone recorded. The stats never tell us everything and errors are made." </span>Crime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3307739442406722533.post-13163599124807828012014-04-13T12:06:00.001-07:002014-04-13T12:06:40.696-07:00Police Constable James Patrick on BBC The One Show<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/WLQ90E6mmuw" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
<br /><br />
With thanks to Dave Hasney over at the <a href="http://bankbabble.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fiddling-crime-statistics/" target="_blank">Bankside Babble</a> for this one. James' story and the disgraceful treatment and bullying he has received at the hands of the Metropolitan Police, following his decision to blow the whistle on the widespread manipulation and fiddling of crime statistics. <br /><br />
<br /><br />
We are happy to re blog this to provide our support and thanks to James for his courageous efforts. <br /><br />
<br /><br />
Not over by a long chalk this one, and let's hope we finally start to see some probity return to police recorded crime. <br /><br />
<br /><br />
Steve Bennett<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Retired West Midlands Police OfficerCrime Analysthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13625925803753107945noreply@blogger.com0