Although the murder of Stephen
Lawrence was before Cressida Dick was in charge, she was when it was revealed
that that undercover officers had spied on the family's campaign for jus-tice.
Whistle-blower Peter Francis claimed he had been tasked with finding
"dirt" on the Lawrences and their supporters.
In March 2021, Dick was
criticised for the Met's handling of a vigil for Sarah Everard, who was
abducted and murdered by an officer. Dick's advice to women worried at being approached
by male police officers, was that if they felt unsafe they should resist
arrest, run away, then "wave down a bus" or call 999!! In the 2021
report into the murder of Daniel Morgan, Dick was criticised for hampering efforts
to access to important information, causing delays to the report's release.
Only six Met Police officers
had been disciplined over the misuse of stop and search since 2014 despite
5,000 complaints. In July 2020 three officers were investigated for gross
misconduct over the stop and search of Team GB athlete Bianca Williams. She and
her partner, and baby son were in the car when the couple were handcuffed and
separated from their son. They felt they had been racially profiled!
Whilst Cressida Dick 'brushed
complaints under the carpet', a report was released by the Independent Office
of Police Conduct accusing officers of misogyny, racial discrimination, bullying
and sexual assault and suggesting these were not isolated cases within the
force.
Now we have a 'new broom' in
Sir Mark Rowley who wants to clear out, by his estimate, hundreds of officers
who have been getting away with misconduct and even criminal behaviour. However,
on BBC Radio 4 he said the MET were 'pretty much the only organisation where
the leaders are not able to decide which people stay in the organisation or
not'. He has asked the Prime Minister, Home Secretary and the London Mayor to
look into this anomaly. See https://tinyurl.com/23dttuvw
Back in November 2022 Rowley
admitted that he had shed a tear over a misconduct report led by Baroness Casey
condemning the force. Writing to her he said "You uncover painful experiences from those within our ranks who have
suffered discrimination and hate from col-leagues, only to have their suffering
compounded by a weak response from the Met”. This cannot continue and he
should be able to continue his reforms. What a contrast to the apathetic
attitude of his predecessor!
Let me turn to Greater
Manchester Police (GMP), whose reputation has fluctuated over the decades.
Having recently read GMP Deputy
Chief Constable John Stalker's book I must confess I had already formed a poor
opinion of James Anderton, the Chief Constable at the time. He showed lack of
loyalty to Stalker, who had been given the difficult task of investigating the
work of the Royal Ulster Constabulary in relation to alleged 'shoot to kill'
policy of six suspected IRA members.
Stalker's removal from the case
was perceived by many as a cover up. # He and his family suffered harassment
for him doing his job though his work was vindicated later.
Anderton had strong views on
morality, putting great emphasis on cleaning up prostitution, and a purge on
'gay' community. This found resonance with many residents and the Thatcher
Government of the time. His closeness to the now disgraced politician Cyril
Smith was a blot on his career (settling for only an informal warning to
Smith). He openly championed corporal punishment, which he would not be against
using himself.
Between Anderson and Watson
there have been four other Chief Constables, some who have tried to improve the
image of GMP.
Anderson's successor Sir David
Wilmot appears to have been a decent man and I credit for him branding GMP as
'institutionally racist' in 1998.
He was followed by Mike Todd,
who some regarded as the perfect modern police chief, intelligent, articulate,
charming and with a burning desire to nail crooks. When he took 2002 when it
was seen as one of the UK's worst forces. He appears to have been an
inspirational leader, often personally on the front line.
Sir Peter Fahey took charge in
2008 during a time when police funding and numbers were reduced. Fahey
expressed his dismay at the increase in 'red tape' for police officers. He
wanted policing led by judgement rather than targets. He wanted more discretion
to be given officers to enable them to deal with minor incidents in a more
sensible way.
The next Chief Constable Ian
Hopkins was mired in controversy and was removed from office by GM Mayor Andy
Burnham in 2020 after a police inspectorate report revealed the force had
failed to record an estimated 80,000 crimes in one year.
One of the greatest skeletons
in GM Police's cupboard concerns the poor response over decades to sexual
exploitation of young girls, first in Rusholme and then in Rochdale. Thanks to
the hard work and bravery of retired detective Maggie Smith and Chief
Prosecuting Council Nasir Afzal some offenders have been prosecuted. See
https://tinyurl.com/rswp93fs
The latest scandal is the
failure to use of DNA evidence in the prolonged incarceration of Andrew
Malkinson. He has been cleared of a murder charge after 17 years now DNA has finally
been accepted.
I am concerned that the new
Chief Constable, Stephen Watson, is not going to be a 'new broom' sweeping out
bad practice. Speaking at the funeral of James Anderton he said he had left
"a lasting legacy in policing." I would suggest that legacy was not a
good one!
Senior ranks who will be sent out
to work on divisions 'will be expected to go out on patrol' as he would do
also, he confirmed (echoes of Mike Todd).
He claimed the number of
arrests was up by 61%, the number charged with crimes had risen by 19% and the
number of complaints was down by 38%. This should be expected after the low
level under his predecessor.
I feel Peter Fahey's approach
of judgement rather than targets needs to be heeded. I speak as I am personally
aware of three or four cases where lack of judgement and lack of empathy have
been shown by police in North Manchester, in particular towards the black
community.
When obsessed with targets
whether in policing, health or education staff are human and will make mistakes
or 'cut corners'.
The jury is out though I have
heard from retired officers that the new Chief Constable is 'old school' like
Cressida Dick and James Anderson.
I hope the new Chief Constable
can take note of past errors and build a police force tough on real crime, but
more empathetic in dealing with the public.
# Ken Livingstone was outspoken
in Parliament accusing the Attorney General of a cover up and was ordered to
leave the Chamber.
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