Getting rid of the court system?

BBC NEWS Politics Speeding crimes go out of court

Is this the start of the demise of the current legal system in this country? Some may say that the system went down many years ago, but regardless of that, it is the one we all have to work with.

Mr Shrek is setting up bulk handling centres to deal with minor traffic violations, to avoid them cluttering up the court system. Seems a good idea in principle, but you just know it isn’t going to work properly.

Just think back for a moment. CSA, Income Tax, Child Tax Credits, ID cards, Immigration.

Some of the failures that we have had to endure as a result governments changing systems.

If you read the story, one of the comments from the Lord Chancellor is that driving without insurance will not be dealt with by this system, as the offence is (in Lord Falconer’s words) a “serious offence” Yep, that’s right, so serious that convicted offenders get to pay a fine that is less than the amount of the insurance premium they would have had to pay if they had bothered to get a quote. Who says crime doesn’t pay?

The Lord Chancellor has put his career on the line by stating his opposition to any plans to do away with the current adversarial system of justice and replacing it with the French inquisitorial system. If he’s voiced his opposition to a government proposal, his days are numbered.

What’s the betting that this new system becomes the responsibility of the police? Then, when it all goes Pete Tong, the Home Secretary can blame the police, rather than carry the can himself. The public will accuse the police of penalising motorists and our public opinion ratings drop another few notches.

Somebody needs to remind the Home Secretary is that the role of the police is to prevent and detect crime and not to punish offenders. That role belongs in the courts and love ‘em or hate ‘em, it is where the punishment should stay. The police need to retain some independence from the judicial system, to ensure there is a fair and balanced review of each case.

And when will the media stop calling Sir Ian Blair “Britain’s top policeman”? When did he last arrest anyone? If he was on my team, I would be asking some serious questions about his capabilities. He doesn’t lock anyone up, never puts any intelligence in and is always getting complaints. The bloke is a complete liability.

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Irony

There was a story on the BBC today about a Ryanair jet that landed at the wrong airport in Londonderry. No harm done, just six miles short of the mark. Embarassing for the pilot, but we all make mistakes.

Browsing the Ryanair website tonight, I found this news article.

Don’t fly from the wrong airport, says Ryanair!

Fares from 10*

Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline, today (March 15) informed
passengers at Glasgow International Airport that they could save both time and
money…flying from Glasgow Prestwick!

Cock-ups like that are what make us human – but they are much funnier when they happen to someone else.

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

L’aide mutuelle

It wouldn’t take a genius to work out what this means.

I’ve been watching the French police at work on the streets of Paris, dealing with the protestors over there and I would like to offer my services.

You see, their running lines were shocking – not straight, no organisation, no leadership. They needed a sergeant to keep things under control.

The protestors – or “delinquents” as the French interior minister calls them – need a bit of sorting out. The tear gas and water cannon are OK, but you can’t beat a good shielding.

They don’t like it up ‘em!

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Police ‘neglect’ in custody death

BBC NEWS Humberside Police ‘neglect’ in custody death

I’ve read this story and I’m not about to defend the negligent actions of the officers involved.

Just one question – has anyone investigated the hospital for discharging a man with a head injury?

The commentary on the custody video states that Mr Alder had been taken to hospital and discharged, giving the officers the impression that he was “acting”.

It would have become apparent that this man was in serious trouble, but would he have survived had be stayed in hospital? Head injuries are a nightmare for any custody sergeant and you can hear the sergeant tell the officers to take the man to hospital. The fact that the hospital kicked him out would lead anyone to think he was fit enough to be out and about.

Perhaps the family can now turn the attention of their protest to the place where the fatal decision was made? Hull Royal Infirmary don’t seem to have been asked to give an account of their involvement.

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Something positive!

It hasn’t escaped my attention that a lot of posts on this blog (and other police blogs) seem to focus on the stupid and bureaucratic policies that are foisted upon us. These policies do nothing to improve front-line policing and lead to lack of morale.

At long last, I am pleased to report that several forces are introducing a new policy that I wholeheartedly support and welcome. I hope that my colleagues will feel the same way and give this scheme the widest possible publicity.

You all think I’m being sarcastic – don’t you?

Wrong!

Child Rescue Alert is a scheme introduced by a number of UK forces to increase the chances of locating lost and abducted children as quickly as possible. I first heard about it on the BBC web site (full story here) and I think it is brilliantly simple. No extra paperwork and a load of extra pairs of eyes looking out for the child and the suspect.

If you have a blog, can I ask you to put a link to this organisation on your sidebar? As far as I can see, there will be a need for people to register to receive SMS alerts when an incident happens, so the more publicity, the better.

On a slightly different issue, you’ll also see a few more links to other web sites for your viewing pleasure.

Thank you

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Tail wags dog

Folks – believe it or not, there are some very positive aspects of being a police officer. Unfortunately, I am struggling to think of any at the moment, but as soon as one appears, I’ll let you know about it.

Readers of all my posts may get the impression that I’m a moaning, whingeing old git who sits in the canteen complaining to all that listen. This is not the case, mainly because all the canteens in our force have been closed and turned into nice offices for people to sit in and come up with new policies.

There are people who moan and groan about the job, who sit there and do nothing to put it right. On the other hand, if I find something which I think is wrong, bureaucratic, unnecessary or plain stupid, I will challenge it. There are of course ways to challenge. My personal approach is to say “I think this is wrong and here is what I suggest you do about it” So instead of being seen as negative, I come across as being a problem solver.

There is one very large problem that I am struggling to come up with a solution for. That is reason for the title of this post. Anyone who has been in the police for any length of time will tell you that the core functions of the police are performed by the officers who respond to jobs 24/7/365. They are supported by other officers who undertake the neighbourhood policing type roles.

If you like, these officers are the dogs. (you could add another word, which would also describe the attitude and commitment of these fine officers)

In his most recent post Another Constable discusses a recent drink drive case and talks about some of the procedures that have to be adhered to. Most of them are set down in law and cannot be avoided, however, some of them are just plain ridiculous. You can read my comments to see what I mean.

In today’s policing environment, the dogs have many tails (No, not the Alsatians or spaniels, I’m talking metaphorically – go back to the beginning and read it properly)

These include:

Community Groups

Neighbourhood Watch

CPS

Home Office

Myriad Internal Departments

Senior Officers

All of these groups have their own agendas, the only thing they seem to have in common is that it requires a front-line officer to put the agenda into practice. None of these groups seem to want to make our lives easier.

The CPS is a case in point. Originally they were set up to support the police in making prosecutions, to remove the necessity for officers to attend court and prosecute the offenders. A fine idea, until they decided that it was too much like hard work to actually put the file together themselves. So now, they send the file back to the officer with memos that make it abundantly clear that the prosecutor hasn’t even opened the file, let alone read it. We have to fill out Witness Availability forms, so that the CPS can arrange the court case at the most inconvenient time for all concerned (apart from the prosecutor). Now, the CPS give 24/7 advice in order to decide on the right charges before the file even appears on their desk, to make it even easier for themselves. If the CPS were really there to support the police, then all we would need to do is arrest, interview and complete a statement and leave them to fill out the rest of the case papers.

Now we spend loads of time chasing up pointless lines of inquiry – a classic example of tail wagging dog.

Of course the solution would be to remove the tail, but there is a law in this country preventing people from docking the tails off dogs.

Anyone got any good ideas?

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

The Victim’s Charter

How many police officers out there are aware of this one?

This is the latest piece of legislation that the Home Office have chucked out in an effort to make it look like they are doing something positive to fight crime.

Click here to read all about it.

This comes into effect in April and basically makes it compulsory for criminal justice agencies to maintain contact with victims.

I’ve mentioned it on this blog before about officers who get complaints for not doing simple things like phoning up a burglary victim to tell them they’ve caught the pondlife* who stole all their electrical items. How easy is it to make that call? How often do we get to pass on good news? The victim (in most cases) will be delighted. But no – we do all the other stuff and then forget about the person who started it all off.

Most officers I have dealt with have recognised the importance of keeping victims informed and making sure they document the contact. The Home Office Counting Rules, which have been in force for years, make it clear that no crime report can be filed unless the victim has been told. In particular, one of the conditions of claiming a detection is that the victim (if applicable) has been told that someone has been charged or cautioned.

So why has this legislation been brought in? It doesn’t change the processes that the police should go through. In that respect, it is probably the only recent law change that hasn’t increased the administrative burden on officers. The charter doesn’t give details of any sanctions for non-compliance, because it is already covered by the police complaints procedure.
It introduces deadlines for other agencies to provide information, but without sanctions, who is going to bother? Who ever made a complaint about the CPS that was dealt with and the guilty party punished? When was the last time a court clerk was disciplined for not passing information on to the police?

It is yet another publicity stunt. Hopefully the officers who can’t be bothered to make a quick phone call will be goaded into taking more positive action. As a supervisor, I make sure that any reports I file have been dealt with properly, to the extent of making quality assurance calls to the victim. Sergeants out there who don’t check their officers reports thoroughly in future might find themselves having to account for their lack of supervision.

*With apologies to all toads, algae and single celled organisms reading this who are offended by being compared to criminals. Also apologies to the Professional Standards Department of Nottinghamshire Police, who think it is worthwhile to investigate and suspend an officer for using this description of the criminal fraternity.

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Assaults on police ‘hit 60 a day’

Here’s an interesting fact from the BBC

BBC NEWS UK Assaults on police ‘hit 60 a day’

In the old days, people knew that if they assaulted an officer, they were looking at jail time. Now, they are lucky if they get a slap on the wrist.

Tough on Crime? I don’t think so.

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Crime reporting

On the same day that PC Copperfield gave an insight into the administrative albatross of crime reports in The Policeman’s Blog: “DETECTING”, news that Humberside Police have “stopped investigating minor crime”. (Full story here)

I can’t see why this Hull policy should be attracting news attention. What they are doing (or not doing) is prioritising the workload. If a report comes in with no witnesses, no forensic, no suspects and no obvious lines of investigation, it gets filed. To do anything else is a waste of time.

There are officers who hang on to these reports, whether it is in the vain hope that a miracle will occur or under the misconception that clutching onto a load of smelly old crime reports will stop more being allocated. Experience will tell you the likelihood of detecting a crime and if on first view it seems the report will go nowhere, then tell the victim. They appreciate the truth and being told (in the nicest possible way) that there is no apparent hope of a clear-up is better than giving someone false hope.

Even filed crime reports are kept for years, so when someone coughs it in four or five years time in a pang of conscience, the report can be pulled out and cleared up.

The biggest cause of complaints from members of the public is not being told what is going on after they report a crime. The right approach from the start would avoid all this. If officers didn’t make promises they can’t keep and pick the phone up every few weeks, if only to say the case is still being worked on, then there would be less dissatisfaction. What would also help is if we were given time to actually investigate the reports instead of filling out yet another bloody Home Office inspired form!

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Police forces ‘to be cut to 24′

BBC NEWS Politics Police forces ‘to be cut to 24′

So much for the consultation process!

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!