In a conversation which I recorded on my mobile for a “rainy day”, and a “blanket” email which I have kept to show HMIC, we have been told that the proactive teams are to come back into Jack Straws warmth, and start clearing up any outstanding crime reports.
They must not, under any circumstances, get out on the street and find any more crime. Not until the next financial year anyway. All their accumulated leave (and there is lots of it being as we don’t pay overtime any more) is to be taken between now and April. It’s best to have them out-of-the-way, they just cant be trusted to stay indoors.
You see, when a proactive team get outside, be it CID or uniform, they just will insist on executing warrants, finding stolen property, stopping known criminals on the road and discovering nicked motors. Each time this happens, they have to put on a crime report. Being as we don’t care about detecting crime any more, and its all about the amount of crime, this kind of behaviour is a nightmare for senior police officers and their annual cash bonus.
What really gets me angry is the way we are told that an increase in crime can “really hurt us” towards the end of the year. The people who actually get “hurt” are surely the victims! I am sure that these conversations go on up and down the country, in every nick. At least on the management floor that is.
How do they make sure that these operations stop until next year? they simply stop the budgets and allocate the people to other things. In today’s modern police service, you really do have your business ethics now. Everything is geared towards the personal profits (cash bonus for achieving targets) for a very small number of senior officers.
“If a team is unfortunate enough to happen across a crime in progress” we are told “it must not go on the system unless it can be easily detected”. In any other scenario, advice must be sought, in person, from the DCI himself. “We are counting every broken wing mirror from now untill April” says the email in a rather threatening way, as if we went out and smashed them ourselves just to be difficult.
My God, it is tempting………
“you really do have your business ethics now. Everything is geared towards the personal profits (cash bonus for achieving targets) for a very small number of senior officers”
Bad apples in the barrel, then. That sort of thing used to be called “being bent”. And is supposed to be history – not formalised.
money talks, yes it shouts too.
quote
“A fire cannot throw a great light without burning something”.
“Wot a bleeding shower.”
another
“honesty is praised while it starves.”
This bull cannot go on………
Same in our nick boss. The proactive team has been assigned to scrutinising every undetected crime in the last financial year for ANY no crime possibility. Reports have been requested and incidents I could not close without a crime report ( as per NCRS ) last year can now be magically no crimed as the DCI’s £5K bonus is on the line.
Also all intel on drugs will be ignored until April. No warrants. No drugs found. No crime reports. No drug problems in the area.
Happens every year. Book cooking season.
Er, has anyone told the underclass this?
BTW, off to rob a bank.. Almost seems to be a good Idea. Until I realise will be robbing from myself…Should I hand myself in now? Or shall I wait until the next financial year?
Good one!.
Lancashire by any chance??
‘“If a team is unfortunate enough to happen across a crime in progress” we are told “it must not go on the system unless it can be easily detected”’
Is this for real? That is so ridiculous it is scary to be honest
If you are talking money, is our Farce the only one now where the word ‘Overtime’ is taboo and you get hung for even breathing the word ?
Now we are all about to get fucked over again with them changing shifts about willy nilly in order to save a few pennies, will the Supernintendos still get their bonuses ? I bet they do.
Mmmmm. Freedom of information request winging its way to our Farce methinks.
Nope. We’re all the same. Budget was burst last year during an Operation (which I can’t name or it will give my force away). And we were told last week no more malleting the o/t. But Tesco don’t take TOIL was the reply!
Lancashire by any chance????
Up North in our force they call it “suppression” of crime . It amounts to the same thing . No proactivity at all untill April.
You couldn’t make it up really !!
I take it then PC Stuart Gray aka PC Shiney Buttons from Strathclyde Police will be having a one way conversation then about his crime fighting spree
This is the chappie who issued a fixed penalty ticket to a driver for allegedly blowing his nose and last year issued one to a man for littering – it was a tenner that had fallen out of his pocket
Sounds like a complete knob to me. I bet if he got a kicking in the street nobody would step in to help… You reap what you sow.
Anonnymouse / Hunn
You’re both making the dangerous (and unlikely)assumption that media reports of this incident (incidentally, whatever happened to subjudice?) bear any resemblance to the actual truth. I’d give anything printed in our tabloid press a bigger pinch of salt that that dumped on every road in Britain this past month. My understanding of the ‘tenner’ case is that the scrote in question dumped a load of papers in the street as he left the bookies, accidentally discarding a ten pound note as well. By the time, of course, the Scum, the Retard and the Wail got hold of it, the guy was done for dropping a solitary tenner.
Of course, outraged Daily Mail readers lap this stuff up with their daily dose of hate, as do idle, fag-smoking, corpulent schemies picking their way through the pictures in the Scum and the Retard. I’d have thought fellow police officers would be more circumspect.
Solution: Arrest super for Misconduct in a Public office.
” A charge of misconduct in public office should be reserved for cases of serious misconduct or deliberate failure to perform a duty which is likely to injure the public interest.”
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/misconduct_in_public_office/#P50_6229
Or, slightly more realistically, you could write individually to all the members of the Police Authority.
I think that’s perfectly fair.
‘“If a team is unfortunate enough to happen across a crime in progress” we are told “it must not go on the system unless it can be easily detected”’
Which category applies?
This email should be brought to the attention of PSD / IPCC / Police Authority.
Has anyone wondered what the DCI will do if his house is burgled.
Will he demand that the burglary is crimed so that he can make an insurance claim or will he for the greater good ignore the matter and hence get his bonus but not the insurance pay out.
If you know the answer Gadget I might be tempted to pay him a visit!
Reminds me of an incident when our Area Supt had the hubcaps knicked off his car whilst attending some Local Council junket.
The next day 2 of us were called into the DI’s office where it was explained to us how gratefull the Supt would be if we ‘volunteered’ for 4 hours overtime that evening to solve this dreadfull crime.
Needless to say, spent the whole 4 hours in the pub.
Interesting post IG – have linked with another take:
http://witteringsfromwitney.blogspot.com/2010/01/gerrymandering.html
I ought to be getting too long in the tooth to wonder at the speed with which SMTs perform the old ‘Volte Face’ from ‘Dectections detections detections’ (SOO last year!) to ‘No more Crimes please!!!’, but I don’t.
I’m interested (again) in your comment about how ‘we don’t pay overtime anymore’
How do forces get away with this? They can’t force you to take it as time – ours never does.
However,
there’s always the mad scramble at the end of march when departments realise they’ve got alo of pennies left. In our farce and probably all the others,this budget will be slashed next year, as if there was surplus then you don’t need it next year do you?
Consequently if it’s true to form at the middle/end of march you watch it get spent…..
Not wanting to lose face our spineless buffons, sorry SMT used all spare cash and threw it at the pcsos to provide more reassurance.
That went down really well, especially when one Pcso bragged after with overtime, he’d earnt more that year than most pcs…….
I’ve never wiped my knob round the rim of his coffee cup honest…..
This is epidemic across the public sector. A friend in the MOD has bought 3 Land Rovers and now drives them everywhere to put some miles on the clock to make it look like he needed them. Before he just used his own car and claimed the mileage.
It’s not Orwell’s 1984, it’s 1984 by Gilbert & Sullivan, the updated version, now with a forward by Nero Fiddler.
Gadget,
Why not go to the press, provide a copy of your email with your name blanked out, the name your force, but remain anonymous, and hit the bosses where it hurts. There may be many people may look at your website, it still can’t compete with the kind of publicity the tabloids can produce.
This kind of rot should be exposed, because until the public see what is going on, and the bosses are shamed, nothing will ever change. Management are just counting on the fact that they can bully people into keeping quiet, and that these kinds of decisions are kept out of the public forum, the problem is, for the most part their tactics work.
IG can’t now go to the press, having published on the blog. It would take less than an hour to unmask him, and then he’d be up on a fizzer for blogging.
@Bob Harvey
IG’s identity is already known to relevant people in his Force. He operates with their knowledge (but not, perhaps, with their approval).
It is not a disciplinary offence simply to blog; however, in the course of blogging relevant offences against discipline such as “discreditable conduct” or “improper disclosure of information” could arise. So you are correct: he cannot go to the press. Were he to pass on the edited email copy, as suggested by @Baz, that would surely (and very properly) be dealt with disciplinarily.
But neither of the charges mentioned would seem to apply to his activity to date: it is not his own actions which bring any discredit to the police service, but rather the actions of others… nor does he improperly disclose information. However, he probably does operate under a particular constraint, which is that his own Force must not be identifiable from posts that he makes. That is probably why matters that he raises are appropriately and carefully anonymised so as to point the finger at no particular Force (but possibly at a number of Forces).
May he keep blogging…someone has to do it.
[Sorry about that.]
Yes, we want this to be public. I am sure a couple of the tabloids will pick it up and run with it.
The bonus culture for senior bosses is utter rubbish. It encourages this kind of absolutely morally bankrupt practice – though you have to question the system that allows these weasels to acquire positions of power in the first place.
Firstly, supernintendos ought to get a flat rate without any “performance” related bonuses – I thought (ha ha) that the only performane indicator now was public trust and confidence – which would be even more eroded if your email was released to the public, boss. They should be paid for doing their bloody job and having the moral fortitude to stand up and say “this is the crime rate as it is”. Perhaps then we might get back to , you know, using the staff released from “back office functions” to go and assist in the prevention of the crime.
These senior officers should take a good hard look at themselves in the mirror and ask themselves why they joined up.
…and yeah, given that discipline papers now fly left, right and Chelsea for any minor infraction on the part of the rank and file, it’s about time these fraudulent, rotten, self-serving bastards get a taste of discipline themselves.
I’ve almost gotten to the end of my “The Wire” box set, and the sad truth is that the stat-manipulating, self-serving senior officer class is well replicated in our own police service.
I haven’t reached the dizzy heights of receiving incriminating emails yet, but doesn’t this tend to show a cold hearted disregard for the victims of crime ? Victims charter ? You can shove that up your arse, boys, when it gets in the way of my £5,000 bonus…
Same in our farce. Our Insp has been told there’s been an ‘underspend’ and that £90,000 MUST be used up in overtime by the end of March or we lose it next year.
On the same day, the Chief Inspector has been told to find £200,000 savings (from the same department) in the next financial year.
‘Joined up government’?
I don’t think so.
“If a team is unfortunate enough to happen across a crime in progress” we are told “it must not go on the system unless it can be easily detected”
I find this astonishing. It looks to my untrained eye like it might be an explicit instruction that, if carried out, would have the effect of misreporting (specifically, under-reporting) crime to our political leaders. From the comments on this blog I conclude, perhaps erroneously, that were such misreporting to actually take place, the bonus payments made to senior police officers would be erroneously enlarged.
Surely I must be wrong in my conclusions. If such an awful thing were to happen, it would seem to me that senior police officers would be fraudulently maximising their bonuses. I don’t believe this for a moment, and I’m sure it can’t be true. Can someone please explain to me the fault(s) in my reasoning?
The thing is – the public are becoming de-sensitised to all of this. So what if a tabloid decides to run the story? The public are now so disillusioned with us, it’s likely only to damage us rank and file than it is any of the senior officers who think only of fractional % increases in detection rates/crime rates.
“Keep Buggering On.” as Churchill said. There has to be a better world ahead.
A british general is remarked to have quoted Churchill to the Americans in Bosnia in the 1990s: entirely confused the enquiry came about what ‘buggering’ was … the general said, “something done in a dark and dirty place and whilst futile has a certain rhythm to it”.
That’ll be General Sir Mike Jackson then, cracking bloke!
And, yes, this kind of rubbish takes place right across the country. We have this kind of conversation here. It makes my blood boil. But what to do? Resign in protest? Much as I’d like to sometimes, there is sometimes nothing for it but to KBO as I’ve said above. I’ll know when the game is up.
I’ve had no faith in anyone over the rank of Inspector for a long time now.
How they have the audacity to wear the same uniform as me & call themselves Police Officers is just staggering.
It is a form of legalised government approved corruption. I don’t believe in bonuses or priority payments for that matter; they cause division between those who qualify & those who don’t.
“business ethics”
Business ethics? A third-rate bookmaker or loan shark would be embarrassed to be associated with this sort of crookery.
If the bonuses of senior officers are being obtained in this way, it is a conspiracy to defraud. It is also probably a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Where do I report these crimes?
Oh…
What is the difference between this a Pc who lies and sharp practice by Mps to inflate expenses?
ANSWER-None what so ever.
This type of behaviour is never acceptable in the police and must be exposed and dealt with.
However until we have a change of Govt dont hold out any hope-and even then just a smidgeon.
When I joined in the early eighties One of the reliefs prided itself on being the number one theif taking shift,they identified the area on the division where the was drug dealing aplenty, and then set about doing their job very effectively, to my surprise their relief inspector was told to stop this practice by the Chief super, as the detected crime stastistics were higlighting that the division had a drugs issue,if left alone the crime would not be reported as such, I quickly learned that policing was not as what it first appeared.
Gadget,
This is typical of bosses. They think reducing recorded crime is good, because it makes them look good.
T.
Argh boss, don’t we have 72 hours to record crimes once reported?
Maximum of 72 hours to record once it is *known* to be a crime…..
Perhaps what is needed is some helpful rebranding – from 1st February, 2010, a crime will no longer be called a crime, but (in a spirit of Eurocentricnessnessness) it will now be a “faux pas” and will not be recorded in any crime-related statistics.
Adam,
Please don’t.
This is a joke today
A policy initative by June
This time next year ACPO will have a faux pas committee and the Home Office a faux pas czar
(which does have an interesting internal ryhme structure…)
Adam, nice one!
This mania for running the Police, prisons, NHS, Forces etc as businesses is like a virus that will eventually kill the body it inhabits unless quickly cut out. It is pervasive, everywhere and is not failing, it has utterly died on its arse and is stifling the efficiency and adaptability it claims it creates.
“This is no way to run an army…..this has come about because of the success of the civil service in gaining power over the controls of the Armed Services and their attempts to run it like a business. Coupled with this we have some bad leaders. They enjoy business talk and like to pretend that they are up with the latest business thinking………Alternatively, generals could run it as an army. But that seems outmoded.
I left the forces convinced that there was a burgeoning need for a merciless cull at the highest levels to cut out the destructive dead wood that was stifling inititive, pandering to the civil service assaults and failing above all to give any leadership whatsoever to the services.
I predict dark and difficult days ahead for the British Army and fear that the rot will only be stopped when there is a radical change at the top of the Army, with the introduction of some fighters who will deliver the country’s defence needs and demand the resources to do so.”
Col Tim Collins, “Rules of Engagement”, Headline, (2005)
Sound familiar?
One of the best books I have ever read!
Spot on!
Started reading it last week, certainly makes the train journey go nice and quickly. I particularly like the comment by one of his guys during the firemans strike re a knackered pump “ah fuck the fucker, the fucking fuckers fucked!!”
I am currently reading ‘On Combat’ which is even more interesting!
Definitely, Col Grossmans first book On Killing is also well worth a read, should be required reading for anyone who deals with service personnel, especially those likely to see the results and consequences of PTSD
I always thought that small bit you missed out was the best … “The ‘Neithers’ are the self-publicists who are neither soldiers (most have never been in a fight of any kind, even in the playground at school) nor businessmen, thought some like to flatter themselves that they ‘run’ multi-million-pound businesses”.
Brilliant book. A real leader. If you want a laugh, read Doug BEATTIE’s book. BEATTIE was the RSM stood behind COLLINS when he made his famous speech. BEATTIE’s account of what he was thinking as COLLINS finished and walked off the square is hilarious, as was his subsequent action.
Tired and Fed up -
That is a rather brilliant quote, which I will now be paraphrasing ad infinitum.
Thanks!
We have this every year. Section five at the start for detectable recordable offences, and then PANIC! drunk and disorderly when we realise we’ve hit our ‘quota’ of crimes. I remember on Inspector telling me that my section wasn’t ‘allowed’ any more burglaries. Right. I’ll make sure I start telling people they can’t do it, rather than my previous advice, when I was practically handing them the balaclavas and swag bags :/
Still, some people deserve locking up. I wonder if this statistical revelation had something to do with this lad not being cuffed.
http://policeboy.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/urine-trouble-or-not/
PB.
Yes it is that end of year farce. My Superintendent is shi*** his pants at the thought of NOT GETTING his END of year BONUS.
So under strict instructions we have all been told NOT to arrest ANYONE unless necessary.
Never mind, serving the public is in there some where. I’m not as intelligent as a Super so unable to see it.
‘Bent corrupt’ who said that. Put them on an action plan for being resistant to change
Is this Legal?
I add my voice to the crowd who want to know from Gadget whether
“If a team is unfortunate enough to happen across a crime in progress, it must not go on the system unless it can be easily detected”
is a real quote, and if so, who gave the instruction and in what context. I suspect it’s a cynical paraphrasing that was accidentally put in quotes, since I don’t believe for a second that anyone in a senior position would be so idiotic as to say something that would look so bad if leaked to the press.
Oh, and if it is real, please leak it to the press.
I can tell you with 100% knowledge and from experience that DOES happen.
Dear ACPO
Stop shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic, and start putting away criminals.
We don’t care about the figures; we care about whether it’s safe to walk the streets. You /will/ be judged on the latter criteria by us, and by your poor, unthanked, unregarded, put-upon, left to rot by the hierarchy troops (who must be about *that* close to fragging some of you themselves).
Your sincerely
The British Public (you remember us, right? The people whose taxes pay your salary, the ones who can vote out your paymasters, the ones that – according to Peel – you and your bobbies are part of)
I would like to point out that this deplorable policy is emphatically NOT ‘running the police like a business’. First, they are deliberately falsifying statistics. That is fraud, and illegal, and NOT running it like a business.
Second, in a real business, bonus for performance is tied to measurements outside the direct control of the bonusee.
Third, in a real business, lets say a security guard company, sending out a memo instrcting its guards to not protect and serve their clients would also be evidence of professional misconduct and warrant a civil suit.
Criminal and civil penalties for a real business. Promotions and bonuses all around for UK police brass. But then, it isn’t a business, its a bureaucracy.
“Second, in a real business, bonus for performance is tied to measurements outside the direct control of the bonusee”
Like the banks for example?
Cabbage – oh I’ve kept worse emails than that, like the one INSTRUCTING us not to arrest any more public order offenders under the act (because we are over our target) and to arrest for Drunk & Disorderly instead (not a ‘recorded’ crime).
Problem is, some of the offenders are not drunk. Never mind, let them walk away then. We are NOT allowed to “GROW” violent crime.
HOW COULD THE DCI BE STUPID ENOUGH TO PUT THAT IN AN EMAIL? BUT HE DID, AND I KEPT IT!
You are suggesting that it would be unwise for me to be murdered, burgled or have my car stolen before April 6?
Slightly off topic – IG: a lovely story re: your header (or whatever you computer buffs call it!) which is, for those who don’t know, our Dep. Apparently, when SirIan took office he wanted the Commish to have the 2 small Bath Stars instead of one biggie ’cause he thought it looked better! He was knocked back by the MPA, app, and was V unhappy. Hope it’s true.
I am intrigued by the statement “We are counting every broken wing mirror from now until April”. There are different ways to interpret this.
One is that “as regards counting broken wing mirrors, it’s business as usual from now until April” In which case I am wondering why someone would say it, especially with such definite timescales attached to it.
Another might be “we are changing our counting process to include every broken wing mirror from now until April”. If this is correct, then presumably things have been different up until now, and after April, things might change again. Since during the period in question, every broken wing mirror is counted, then presumably before and perhaps after, not every broken wing mirror is counted.
In the event that it is the second, I would like to know what impact that this change of counting would have on bonuses payable. If a broken wing mirrors represents a crime, is “counting” it different from “recording” it? Do senior police officers specify which things count and which don’t towards their targets?
A second question: I would like to understand the meaning of the word “detected” in the following: “it must not go on the system unless it can be easily detected”. Now I think that if I approach my car in the morning and see that some toerag has smashed the wing mirror, I think I have detected a crime. Clearly that is not what is meant. Please explain.
Helmut – a “detected” crime in our organisation, in this context, refers to a “Home Office Sanctioned Detection”. It means precisely that a crime is recorded as “detected”, ONLY if a person has been charged to appear at court, summonsed to appear at court, served a penalty notice or received a caution for that crime. (i think i have covered all eventualities)
So, if no sanction as described above is given to the perpetrator of a crime, it is NOT “detected”, (even if we know who did it.)
Them’s just the rules. Do not get me started on national recording standards for Incidents or Crimes, it would take pages to explain.
And IF it cannot be detected then there is a strong possibility that it would not be recorded.
Thank you both, Bob and Lady
that’s just plain scary.
Is there any particular reason why none of you tell the boss to “jog on” when he asks you to do this? You took an oath. If it’s because you’re worried about losing your job (and thereby your pay) then, to be honest, you’re kind of the same as these weasels, just lower in the food chain.
Sorry if that offends as I really don’t want to step on any of your toes. If I see something being done wrong in my place of business I’ll make sure everyone hears about it. There is right and there is wrong, these are not adjusted by whether it’s bonus season or not.
Pieclone,
I liked your post and you raise some good points. Whenever I hear questions like this i hang my head in shame, because yeah your right, we SHOULD be speaking out so why arent we???
Well il have a go at answering you, and with all respect to scotsinsp il put it that bit more bluntly..
1. We simply dont have that sort of system in place.
In the sas they operate a ‘parliament system’ everyone regardless of rank has the right to contribute ideas and point out if something is utter bollocks. they do this of course to prevent the wheel coming off.
In the police this would certainly NOT be tolerated. This in my opinion is due to the way that nulabour have politicised everything and have forced the police to adopt this type of culture. We were told we needed to modernise and stop being racist, we fell for this shit being thrown at us and eager to please, did what we were told without asking questions.
If i turned round when im on nights next week and said “sod the inspector im going to crime this job. Im sure that a crime has been committed. The victim is sure too. But weve got bugger all chance of finding anyone (for many reasons , this isnt a cop out trust me) for it. I remember that shitty email last week where im not supposed to crime it but balls to that im doing it”. Il be in the office the next time we are on days if not sooner. They will want to know why I have contravened divisional policy and i direct order.
What do i tell them please? “well that order is morally wrong”….. tumbleweed you just wouldnt dare. youd be castigated and disciplined as soon as they could arrange it against you. Never mind that id be telling the truth. the truth would be my perception. The gaffers perception would be not to crime and all he would se is me disobeying an order and critisising. Remember the gaffers make our policies. In effect he makes the laws (our internal ones of course).
Leak to the media I hear you say?
yep weve tried that. please google nightjack and read all about him. You can find the old story in gadgets archives. Policemen speaking their minds and deviating from the official jargon is the same as denying christ in the middle ages. you just dont do it. i dont know of anyone who has and has come out of it unscathed.
Again its the way nulabour have encouraged our gaffers to operate. Just look at nulabour they HATE being critisised by anyone. They will do anything to discredit the perpetrator.
Il say it to you mate were frightened at times like this. if any bobby comes on here and says they arent, then theyve got bigger cojones than me or they know something i dont.
As the scotsinsp pointed out hes got kids, family, mortgage etc as have we all. Like any other employees the path of least resistance is the most trod.
Yes i know thats not right, and we took oaths. ‘without fear or favour’ makes me the most bitter. because we would certainly fear the consequences if we refused to do as ordered by a senior officer. they wouldnt fetch us upstairs for a brew and a chat to see if it could be sorted. dear me no. Juggernaut procedures would swing into place and they then cant be stopped. without favour? youve heard me detract nulabour on here and we are supposed to be non political. theres fat chance of that when weve seen these bastards ruin the job we love doing.
I hope my writings have proved useful, this subject is emotive and personal to us, and believe me when we get the chance we do tell people how it is, but we have to tread carefully. for the record my inspectors nowhere near the same quality as gadget, he cant wait for the 3rd pip and another office job, so its abot gllum for me, but il still keep going. I have to, its a matter of pride now………………….
An interesting read, Pieclone – I’d not realised how endemic the problem was.
If you could set the clock back to a certain day, and say “this is where we were allowed to be at our best”, when would that be?
It seems pretty clear that ZeNuLabour had some grudges to settle with the Police and set about to put you “in your place” – but this head-down-make-no-waves-risk-no-finger-being-pointed-at-me way of our country seems to have gone beyond politics – is a change in government at the next election going to be enough?
I recall a Boris Johnson article in the Telegraph a couple of years ago discussing crime, and I posted a link to Nightjack’s blog, telling him if he had even an ounce of interest in unfucking law and order, this was the man he needed to tell him what was wrong and how to go about fixing it. I’d like to think he read a blog or two, but who knows?
who said we obey this crap? I’m just telling you about what comes down, I’m not saying we do it.
I appreciate everyone’s honesty and also that nobody took it the wrong way. Gadget – I certainly didn’t mean to disparage yourself – I have been a long time reader of your blog and read your book (and recommended it to others) so I know you do as much as is possible to deflect SMT whilst doing your utmost to keeps them from destroying front line morale. I’m also familiar with nightjack who is greatly missed in the list of blogs I read regularly.
I know that we’ve got the same problems at my place of employ and I do everything I can to make sure my colleagues and superiors are aware that they have the chance to make a stand and demand honesty and transparency in everything but once folks reach a certain cosy position they are loathe to rock the boat in case they end up in the drink.
I’ve talked to managers individually after meetings and 8 out of 10 will disagree with the edicts handed down from on high but not one has the balls to put their hand up. If they did they’d have another 7 colleagues backing them! If this institutional cowardice goes all the way to the top at my place I’m pretty certain it’s the same elsewhere. It’d just be nice if we could all speak out without fear. I believe it was Robert Anton Wilson who said “communication is only possible between equals” and I happen to agree – the problem is how do we at the lower rungs get our voices heard at the same volume as those we ourselves serve?
I’d like to see SMT positions rotated out every two years (and not just in the police “service”). Let them get to that position then it’s back into the line or retirement if there’s no position suitable for them. Remove the safety net and bonus schemes and make it so the sole motivation is doing the right thing. If it’s not so cushy and there’s no private fiefdom I imagine it won’t be such a sought after role, then the people who actually want to do the job can do it instead.
Also, whilst I am dreaming out loud, free donuts and extra strong tea for all.
Have to disagree with Alex here, if you go to a job and you have a victim and you’re both damn sure you have a crime – you crime it! It’s that simple! NCRS says you have to crime it, the Superintendant don’t enter into it.
I would crime it like they pay you to do, the chances of it being detected has NOTHING to do with whether or not it is crimed. I always work this way, bollocks to their mad rantings, if a crime has happened I will record it without a moments thought about the DI’s crime stats.
Agreed, you can only do this if you aren’t trying to climb the slippery pole of promotion, but I’m not so fuck them.
I work for the public not the Supernintendo. I couldn’t care less what the useless twat thinks of me.
Guv and Oliver’s Army,
Spot on. We must obey any lawful and reasonable order. But instructions like this are neither lawful nor reasonable…
Theres another argument,If you tell it as it is, the system conspires to defend itself, and you become the person that suffers as the whistle blower, Or you can try to do your bit to the best of your ability within the constraints of a corrupt system, otherwise if everybody gave up on moral grounds the system will fill up with people who all think the same, and then you`ve got real problems.
I did and the reaction was hilarious, quite frankly. Lots of teddies and tantrums and the certain knowledge gained that ACPO couldn’t give two hoots about the state of their middle managers who are amongst the ‘Neithers’ … I did my bit, no-one listened. I’ll be doing it again next month and will continue to do it, but I suspect no-one will be listening then, either.
The whole police service is built on dodgy foundations and if it were a house you’d knock it down and build a new one. I think we need this within the police service and we need to cause senior officers to FEEL the pressure they’re under. I’m convinced they are too thick skinned (and frequently just too thick) to notice it and impotent to do anything about it.
Pieclone – yes you are right in many ways. For me it goes something like this:
Speak up where you can, point out what is happening is wrong, stand up for my team, push the boundaries of the definition of ‘failing to obey a lawful order’ as far as I can without going down the line of ‘insubordination’ too far, and hope that most of them retire soon, WHILST, deflecting too much of the crap away from the cops who knock their pan in most days and try to keep their heads up. They know I will look after them and if they’re having to follow the fairyland stuff being asked of them, it’s because my efforts have failed elsewhere.
I have a mortgage, kids to feed and clothe and also some self-respect. If I go, who is left to fight for the MOP on the inside? If everyone who saw it, and despaired, decided to jump ship what would be left? Whilst I – and many others – have felt (and sometimes still feel) that we can’t go on – we keep coming back, because someone has to keep fighting. Sometimes the complaining on here is just a release?
Well said guv, sadly though most in your rank today are the yes men that allow this madness to continue.
In my part of Ruralshire we are again busy cooking the books, but sadly I am no longer suprised, HQ propaganda dept publish so many slants on the ” truth ” nowadays it isn’t possible to distinguish the fact from fiction.
Keep up the good work for your team, you don’t know you have a good guv till they leave!
And the point you make about seeing right or wrong – yeah, that is true. The real problem is it’s endemic – you might take one or two down with you, but it ain’t going to change with that. It needs the equivalent of a nuclear button being pressed.
Civil Service Mottoes
“always spend the Budget and ask for thrice as much next time”
ask any honest civil servant.
“Always waffle with as many syllables as possible ”
nutin’ changes as every uni MPite that has been schooled knows.
“Thieves who steal from private citizens spend their life in bonds and chains; thieves who steal from publick funds spend theirs in gold and purple [i.e. a baronial title]
Cato , Praeda Militibus Divididenda,XI, 3
The Roman Juvenal 2000 years past did comment.
“many commit the same crime and face a different fate: that man gets the cross, this one one gets the crown.
Satirae, XIII, 105
and this for NuLabour
“To the man seeking power the poorest man is the most useful.”
Sallust.
And another one:
“That which is oft repeated, will be so”
My avatar has changed! Must be cos I changed my email address! I’m not a crab anymore – I now look like a cross between a bat and Zebedee…
From someone who respects Gadget but doesn’t always share his politics:
This goes past management being silly and becomes unethical and illegal. If you can assemble enough evidence for a 50% CPS nick for ” misconduct in public office”, then rather than screw your career I would suggest you send it to Private Eye.
This happens in every nick in the land; you can see that from the comments. There has been loads in the broadsheets about it. No one gives a toss. It’s not sexy enough.
The fact is no one really cares.
Crime is sexy and sells papers, but whilst most people aren’t directly affected by crime (acquisitional crime is still relatively rare and most decent people are covered by insurance) and the vast majority of violent crime is either bad on bad or drunk on drunk (or an overlap) so the vast majority of middle England don’t care and why should they.
Those of us who do the job think about it, (er, because its our job to). Politicians give lip service to it when they need to go soft on something else.
People on police blogs care but are not representative and many (90%) have an axe to grind.
But should we care that most people don’t care? People care in places like 1840 to 1860 London. or Moscow today because there crime really did/ does touch every one
Our Chief Constable is in trouble. Looks like he will follow the Notts CC on the scrapheap. I’m a Neighbourhood Beat Officer, we’ve been told to forget working on our beats and to lock-up for easy detections i.e. Simple possessions / going equipped / section 5 POA etc. We are now working plain clothes until April to boost the sanction detection rates for the division. We’ to have been told not to arrest for complex crimes. Different force – same problems.
The way my local force do it all year round, is to make it virtually impossible to call into your local nick, then other than dialling 999 you cannot get to speak to any police officer. Every encouragement is made via advertisements press reports etc to report incidents in your area to the local Community Action Team, this is a voicemail system that is monitored by PCSO`s they then usually attend a couple of days later and either try to bullshit you that it isn`t a crime, failing that when your`e not having it, they plead incompetance and stand behind their blue epualettes, they then go off and tell you you will get the real thing, which never happens, two weeks later when you enquire they send you another PCSO. I can`t think of any better way to grind somebody down, its very embarrasing when the neighbours think you keep needing help from a PCSO. The crime never gets any further than the voicemail.Its been that effective that Alan Johnson has visited the force and likes it.
May I apologise to any well meaning PCSO`s, but do you ever get the feeling that your being used? You Should!.
So, let me see if I have this straight.
Labour(Blair’s old party, which under Brown, are watching the doomsday clock) have brought in some COMPSTAT on steriods sort of deal where you on one hand, have to have a drop in the crime rate, or you aren’t doing your job. But on the other, you have to detect so many Assaults causing bodily harm/Impared drivers/ASBO breaches/Illegal resident Martians, or you aren’t doing your job. This number is some national ratio, which is multiplied by your force’s number of plebes to get a target of 753.22(I don’t envy the guy who finds .22 of an impared driver)
So, here’s a question. How is that supposed to happen? The crime rate going down and the crime rate going up are polar opposites. To keep the Senior manager’s eyes on the ball, Labour gives out cash bonuses. So with visions of dollar signs(Or pound signs anyway) in their heads, they basically reign in the troops if the current figures are good enough, or get them busting every jaywalker in Strathclyde, to get the “detections” up.
I was loosely contemplating leaving Canada to apply in the UK, but My god, between this blog and the Bloggs blog, I think I’ve made the right call to stay home. There’s certainly a reason the flow of cops between the UK and here is very much a westerly one.
30 years on from the job I can remember a version of this. We had high detection rates in another Ruralshire and were amalgamated into Greater Mudshire. We had a time-honoured practice of not submitting crime booklets (cuffing) with no likely body and often did them retrospectively from TICs. Along came a link to the rank of subdivisional bosses to the number of crimes. Cuffing became an instant ‘crime’ and numbers shot up, DIs becoming DCIs and Dsupers. Once the upward promotions were secured, the old ways came back.
What I can’t understand as an academic is why the British Crime Survey doesn’t pick much of this up? I’d welcome suggestions beyond ‘because it’s done by wankers’ as I pretty much have evidence to confirm that bit. This stuff is all over the public sector, which accepted the corruption from ‘performance management by objectives’. Nulabour actually has an army of “independent” evaluators giving advice on how to do the frauds and the politicians are entirely complicit. The private sector does it by bribing audit people with consultancy work.
I must live in the same street as Shafted or this is all over the country like a rash. The question might be about how to make it sexy.
When I was in the job, we were far more professional. There were several ways of getting an arrest and a detection. From a radio call, sending us to a fight, shoplifter or a suspicious person trying car doors. Patrolling the streets (shock horror) and finding something like the above.com And amazingly, before computer similations, crime pattern analysis, and all the other wonders of modern Policing, we would actually look at the crime book, see what was happening where, target that area and …..
Unfortunately I suspect this is merely the tip of the iceberg. The figures are being massaged left, right and centre to reach the top of whatever league table we’re being measured against right now – be it station to station, BCU to BCU, Force within most-similar group or overall in the country.
I’m not personally aware of any statisticians being employed by my Farce, but with the amount of fiddling going on it would strike me as a wise business move by someone high up (not for our benefit or the benefit of the public, however.)
It’s always amusing how the onset of April brings on this massive rush of turds and other festering ideas to try to stem the tide of crime and make the Supernintendo look good.
I’ll never forget hearing a snippet of conversation as I walked past our ACIMU (sweeping crime under the carpet office) and overheard the following conversation between DS and probationer:
DS: “Why the hell have you recorded a broken window as a criminal damage?”
Probationer: “But sarge, she’s been suffering with problems from that family since they moved in and they’ve threatened to smash her front windows in before..”
DS: “She lives on a main road, right?”
Probationer: “Yeees..”
DS: “And her house fronts onto the pavement?”
Probationer: “Yes sarge, but Billy himself was seen running away at the time..”
DS: “.. but there’s no forensics, no direct eye witnesses, NOTHING! We’ll never get a detected out of that. The stone was about the right size to be flicked up from a car tyre – it’s a busy road – it was an RTC. That’s why you’re dealing with it!!”
Words were had. But what can you do when the DS is so far up the back end of the Superintendent he can no longer see daylight?
Had I have been that probationer, I would have asked the DS to state the definition of Criminal Damage. If the DS was unable to quote the definition, I would have replied “With all due respect…………”, then read out the definition verbatim.
Applican’t,
You’re absolutely right. My bizarre example goes thus;
Annual appraisal. My Sgt is not happy and says that in the past 12 months I have ‘not achieved’ enough injury accidents.
I argue that you cannot ‘achieve’ an RTA (road traffic accident). They either happen or they don’t. If you’re available you get sent to deal with it.
Sgt says “You can’t argue with the figures. You have not been to as any accidents this year as you did last year, so that’s a ‘not achieved’”.
I pointed to a poster on the wall in the Sgt’s office which says the Divisional objective for traffic was to reduce the number of injury accidents. “Are we achieving that?” I asked.
“Yes” replies the Sgt, with a smile on his face, because that will be an ‘achieved’ on HIS appraisal.
“Therefore, if there are less RTA’s to attend how can I get a ‘not achieved’ in that category?” I asked.
“But you haven’t been to as many as you did last year, so in my book that’s a ‘not achieved’” he replied.
This pointless argument went on for some time until he lost his temper and told me to sign my appraisal form as a ‘true and accurate record’ of my years work.
I refused. Within minutes I was in the Inspectors office. He was more understanding of the farcical situation but asked me to sign the appraisal anyway because “nobody takes any notice of them except the HR managers in headquarters”.
I refused.
A few weeks later I was told that my application to leave Traffic and join the Control Room had been successful. I wasn’t even aware that I had applied to go to the Control Room.
12 years of training as a Traffic officer and FLO (family liaison officer) were sacrificed on the altar of the bean counters.
So, to answer your point of ‘why don’t we stand up and say something’?
I did, and got my legs chopped from underneath me.
Now I just quietly get on with my job and keep my head down for just a few more months before I retire this summer.
Posting on blogs like this is, as Scots Insp says, a good way of letting off steam.
XX So, to answer your point of ‘why don’t we stand up and say something’?
I did, and got my legs chopped from underneath me.XX
But if EVERY one did it, instead of standing around tut tuting like a gang of Edinburgh spinsters at a farting competition, then they can not send EVERY one to the control room.
What will they do? Sack you all and get the army back from Afghanistan to do street policeing in Luton, Toxteth and Davison Mains?
“But if EVERY one did it”
Well, lead by example old chap – would you like to co-ordinate efforts to defy management in your office and tell us how it went?
XX VanDee
“But if EVERY one did it”
Well, lead by example old chap – would you like to co-ordinate efforts to defy management in your office and tell us how it went? XX
I did and I have already written about it here.
I was the local organiser against us having to wear name shields on the uniform.
We WON, and NO one was sacked!
As I said, they CAN not sack the whole force IF they stick together, instead of acting like a shower of bloody cowards hiding in the locker room.
A fair point. What would likely happen is that the main ‘instigators’ would be made an example of. The equivalent of professional, career crucifixion. Hammers and walnuts don’t even come close.
Those who fell into line behind them would be left considering the effect on themselves to continue. Given the spinelessness of some individuals, it isn’t difficult to see which way they would fal.
I stand corrected, old chap – you did stick it to The Man, props to you!
However, I would suggest that a protest against name shields (an issue publicized in the media as a Very Bad Idea from the start) isn’t going to cause the same fury On High as challenging something like this, a directive which has an effect on people’s salaries.
You and your colleagues COULD try it, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Wait until the media get hold of it, at least.
XX I would suggest that a protest against name shields (an issue publicized in the media as a Very Bad Idea from the start) isn’t going to cause the same fury On High as challenging something like this, a directive which has an effect on people’s salaries.
You and your colleagues COULD try it, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Wait until the media get hold of it, at least. XX
We do not get such directives…na call the what they are DIKTATS, here. crime is crime, and regardless of how they cut the budget, we keep doing the job as described in the contract, and with full Governments aproval.
Just a pity they do not let the army work to the same principal instead of making them dig wells and build schools for ungratefull bastards in far away places that no one had heard of before 2001, and much less cared about.
You either work for the same farce as me or it is a country wide CORRUPTION issue.
Meant to add that to KKop. Sorry
If you work for my farce, you have my sympathies Bob.
I don’t think you’ll find one bobby in the whole of this country that hasn’t heard of the ‘Cuff Book’. I was quite friendly with our ACC at the time , he told me he came to the Force and went on a tour of the divisions to get his face known and get to know what was what. He laughed as he told me in one CID office he asked a young DC for the crime book and was promptly given it. After reading he said, ‘And where do you keep your Cuff Book?’ The naive Dc said, ‘ Oh it’s here in this drawer Sir.’
Sounds to me you all need a union,a proper union that has the power and the guts to stand up to these people
The chance would be a fine thing. Very fine. I will just keep on keeping on, doing my thing and not worrying too much about thiers.
A proper union would have the teeth of being able to legally withdraw labour, and we can’t strike by law, so we’re screwed really.
This is a truly magical time of year. I watch in awe as attempted burglaries and theft from motor vehicles become criminal damage, how stolen wallets, mobile phones and laptops change into lost property, its a bit like an old “find the lady” stall up the East End. Slight of hand. Meanwhile over in Diver City all is not rosy………..budgets are being cut, steering groups aren`t being steered and working parties aren`t working.
While I have seen massaging of figures before in my career this behaviour is now totally different-it is gross misconduct of the most serious kind that is designed to enrich a small group of people-Superintending ranks and ACPO.In order to get their bonuses they are making officers lie cheat and make false entries on crime reports and other official documents -these are disciplinary offences.Most of these Supts et al have very little police experience especially at the front end-they believe they can get away with it because they are all at it and that is the system.Now i have seen enough to know that eventually the whole pile of cards will come tumbling down-the enquiry into Fiona Pilkingtons death by IPCC is still rolling on and I wonder how many “crimes” in this scenario were “cuffed “or “lost”.
As I used to say to the constables on my team”There is only one way to do and its the right way-then when the shit hits the fan you dont get covered in it and neither do I”
That basically means that officers must have moral fibre and backbone and if they believe a crime has been committed it must b e crimed and investigated.If you have run a crime past a DI or someone before you are allowed to put it on make sure if you are told it is not a crime to record this in your PNB preferably as he or she is giving you the instruction then ask the supervisor to sign it.Likewise if you are told to “No Crime” a crime then make sure the supervisor lists the reasons why on the crime.You will get a hard time and you will make yourself unpopular but believe you me this will be nothing like t he hard time you will get going down the job centre or in the dock at Crown Court when the shit is flying about-and believe you me when the shit starts flying the guvnors will look to push it onto you the PC-and the shit will fly-the history of the police force shows it will
Great advice, get the geezer to sign off that it was on his advice, then see how quickly they waffle a way out.
Fortunately, I always had enough money to tell them to do a biological impossibility, [though some still could],so when I on occasion challenge a stupid decision, they backed way off.
Unfortunately many a decision enforcer relies on the need of the underling to eat.
Why should we risk our jobs and mortgages to stand up to this?
Why?
The Government has created all this bollocks and being as they were ELECTED, we can assume that the people are getting what they wanted. It’s not like people didn’t KNOW what nulab were like.
And I will say this AGAIN; who the fuck says we follow these instructions? I don’t. But I will continue to write about what we are TOLD to do.
An elderly couple are burgaled. Thankfully not home at the time, but none the less very distressed. Loads of history gone and unecessary damage caused. Standard response.
Two men in their thirties walk hand in hand through a park and are verbally abused by a group of school kids. Immediate response.
I know what can happen when you stand up for what you believe to be right. I was kept upstairs and not allowed in the living room when we had visitors.
I REALLY know what you mean, I was warned.Even my doctor has run out of things to prescribe.
I seem to remember that a female Goth walking hand-in-hand through a park in Lancashire was beaten to death and her boyfriend left brain damaged by a group of ‘schoolkids’ not so long ago. And quite a few men in their forties have been beaten to death in recent years by groups of schoolkids. No doubt most of these incidents started as verbal abuse, the Goth incident certainly did.
Actually Gadget, I voted Labour 13 years ago in the (now stupid) belief they would bring accountability about. A couple of months later I found myself at a conference on ‘best value’ and knew I’d been utterly conned. All this crap is ancient, useless management-babble, with nothing new in it. The government gawps at the conference were talking down to us and clearly telling us what kind of research they would fund (i.e. – utter crap supporting them). We rolled over faster than a bunch of Supernintendos plotting a golfing holiday with their expected bonuses. So much for academic credibility. A few of us tried to do the right thing like you, but the strain gets too much, even in education. Our outlet was to write critical articles with words like ‘performativity’ (which means the shit exposed in here) in them, but this only made us niche players being fed by the establishment zoo. This stuff ain’t party political, it’s some vile collapse in integrity. I found myself eating excellent food in ‘exotic’ locations off the back of millions in project funds supposed to help bring ‘real change’ whist discussing if any of it got spent on ordinary people (answer none). The world has actually gone Stalinist under the guise of management babble. Cops remain better than most I work with. But we are all in the kow-tow.
Good article Inspector Gadget. I know it’s a bit after the event, but can I post an excerpt and a link on my blog?
There is an example of how we might investigate this ‘nitty-gritty’. It’s the report into the “social work IPCC” which discovered paedos being left in the job years after complaints and a boss who encouraged his investigation staff not to investigate anything. It has the right form to bring all this stuff to light – except that it was withheld from publication for a coupe of years. Sources inside the actual IPCC tell me they are being warned off any real investigations. Thus a decent cop uttering ‘black bastard’ in the heat of action is sacked, but some police execution-style shooting investigation leads nowhere. In the alleged racist incident, even the complainants accepted the guy was just doing his job and that an apology would have been sufficient. I’m getting so cynical I think there was nothing racist in Stephen Lawerence, just crass incompetence covered-up by focusing away into the race-card area.
Next week sees me teaching a bunch of Supernintendross research methods with integrity taken out, so they can lie with ogives and other frequency distributions. This is how my mortgage is paid.
He wasn’t sacked. The Mum appealed to the better nature of MP acpo and he was saved by the skin of his teeth. Lucky boy, though. (Rightly imho)
If you teach those idiots any of the following words, you’ll find yourself hounded every time you drive a vehicle on public road:
Quantitative
Qualitative
Bivariate
Multivariate
Likert
There are plenty of others … you get my point. You know perfectly well they’ll only add it to their business-ology lexicon and patronise people about shit they don’t understand! Some people should be kept away from sharp or pointed objects; superintendents should be kept away from statistics.
There is a is a police authority Chairperson who recently stated to the effect that ‘elected Chief Constables would not be a good thing as they would be too accountable to the public’. Who fears who?.
This story is no suprise,
a few years ago when I worked on a proactive team we were told (in about November)
“DO NOT SEIZE ANY MORE DRUGS UNTIL APRIL”
You really can’t make this crap up.
I had a similiar experience common sense cooper. I guess that’s just how things are nowadays.
We have the same thing every year…… Someone who is on “light duties” goes throgh the undetected crimes and tries to get others to detect it!
And then if they could not get it detected they will change the qualifier to something that is not counted.
Some would call it fraud…
Peter Fahey, CC of Mudwater look-a-like GMP, actually emailed his senior officers in Gadget-like form recently saying, in my words, the empire of corruption needs to come to and end, but many senior officers have now known nothing different and will be hard to change.
Some of us 24/7 don’t teach the dross you mention and even believe such grim idiocy as ‘diversity’ should be buried on unconsecrated ground with its priests. Real statistical thinking is very different from getting people to mouth the lip-gloss of a few terms. The old joke was the Police Review showing an inspector kicking a PC up the arse, doing the Bramshill flyer and doing the same again, but with bigger boots on. Academe has much the same problems with truth as the police or our even grimmer Town Halls.
Catch me at what you’re on about and I will take the bottle of whiskey and revolver to the quiet room, not to return. It is, sadly, what the mainstream does. I do teach with the rider that to follow what I say in political naivety is just to write a suicide note. The Supernintendos actually agree with Gadget in their own magazine, but still take the money. Interesting that ‘everyone’ knows, yet none of it really gets into public scrutiny. My experience in the old Soviet countries was much the same. The Samizdat and private conversations were like us in here, public space just a freezing moral climate.
Intercourse the ogive we might say. What happens when those of us with actual experience rather than indoctrination in PC are all gone mate?
24/7 Inspector wrote: ” … The whole police service is built on dodgy foundations and if it were a house you’d knock it down and build a new one. … ”
allcoppedout wrote: ” … The world has actually gone Stalinist under the guise of management babble. … ”
Bob wrote: ” … There is a police authority Chairperson who recently stated to the effect that ‘elected Chief Constables would not be a good thing as they would be too accountable to the public’. … ”
Rural Traffic Cop wrote: ” … if they could not get it detected they will change the qualifier to something that is not counted. Some would call it fraud… ”
My contribution is to suggest that what we are talking about here are but symptoms of a much bigger malaise. The problem could start with ACPO Ltd, or with Common Purpose, or even with the “ever closer union” of Barroso’s Empire. But it seems to me that someone somewhere has decided that the British model of policing must be destroyed, so that it can be replaced by the French/Napoleonic model. Then it will fit better with policing in the other regions of the empire. What we are talking about is how they are doing it. Sort that out, and they will just find another way. It is my guess that the members of ACPO Ltd and/or Common Purpose would have good reason to be glad that the crime of treason has been removed from the Statute Book.
The French/Napoleonic model? like:
Police who are left to get on with policing whilst politicians do the politics.
A national force to cover serious and organised crime.
Local forces under the control of local people, but with national vehicle, uniform and IT procurement.
A fully armed service that still seems to avoid shouting yea-ha at any opportunity.
A national intelligence IT system across all forces.
A legal system that seeks to uncover the truth not show which lawyer has the biggest willy, (with lawyers and judges who earn about the same as police middle managers).
Decent uniforms (wooly pulleys for patrol and formal uniforms that make the wearer look like a member of a dignified profession and not a used Grow-bag).
The CRS and Gendarme mobile.
wine with refs.
You’re right, it must be awful…
@ C.I.
I’ll leave your sarcasm, it doesn’t help. Neither does complaining that your bosses don’t give you the right toys, the right refs or the right babygro’s. And I plain fail to understand the correctness of an armed national force such as the CRS except as the enforcers of the Napoleonic Code’s ownership rights (as I explain below), or as the armed wing of the NuLabour Party which is what some within ACPO Ltd appear to want (from watching their behaviour and pronouncements).
Let us instead go right back to the beginning. Under Common Law, everything that is not specifically forbidden (eg murder or theft) is permitted. Under Napoleonic Law, everything that is not specifically permitted is forbidden. In practice, these days, the outcomes are much the same as far as Joe Public is concerned. And that is largely because Joe Public is not paying attention.
However it is a matter of who owns what. Common Law shows that governance starts with the people. They own (give legitimacy to) the government. That is why Peel’s Principles are important, and equally why they are not now displayed on ANY police web site in the UK! I also believe that they are not taught in training school either. Under Common Law, the government only has the power that the people are prepared to give it. Thus all these “terror” scares inspired by ACPO Ltd, which are designed to soften up the people to give away more of their liberties and freedoms into the “safe keeping” of ACPO Ltd.
Under Napoleonic Law the State exists first, and controls the people. It doesn’t matter how benignly those controls are exercised, the citizen still owes all their actions, and even their very being, to the benevolent State. Habeas corpus, for example, is a very strange concept to the Napoleonic code lawyer.
Now it might be that the English, if asked in a fair and unpressured referendum question, could actually decide to throw away their heritage and opt for Napoleonic Code instead. If the full concepts were carefully explained, I doubt they would, even in this age of dumbing down education standards. But the people would have been asked, and possibly consented in giving away their birthright. Whichever way it is connived at by ACPO Ltd and their acolytes, it will not be valid. My freedom is not yours or your senior officers (aka ACPO Ltd) to give away.
That is why I view the current destruction of the British Policing with such concern. I am not saying that what you have is perfect, but that it has the capability to be good. I am saying that the alternative leads to things getting much worse for the British citizen. Of course the Police will not worry, for under those circumstances they will be a favoured government elite. Given that ACPO Ltd tell us now that they are the equal of elected government (see their web site, top right text just below the line of pictures), it would not surprise me if ACPO Ltd became the government in the near future.
Without sneering or sarcasm, convince me otherwise. Oh, and don’t do a Revd Sizer (as he did with blogger Seismic Shock) and send the local officers round to “have a friendly chat” unless you really want to confirm the correctness of my opinions.
Claustrophobic inspector wrote: ” … A legal system that seeks to uncover the truth not show which lawyer has the biggest willy, (with lawyers and judges who earn about the same as police middle managers). … ”
I am puzzled how you square that with the action against Geert Wilders in the Netherlands (another Code Civile country) in which the court has decided that it will not hear most of the witnesses nominated by the defence. To me that smells of a political trial. Read it for your self on the wildersontrial site.
XX Jeff said::
Under Napoleonic Law, everything that is not specifically permitted is forbidden. In practice, these days, the outcomes are much the same as far as Joe Public is concerned. And that is largely because Joe Public is not paying attention XX
Bollox.
Think of the impossibility of policeing, or lkiving under such a law.
“Youse fekin nicked because the law does not state that you can start crossing the road using your left foot first!”
It does not exist and it is not workable.
Jeff,
Without sneering or sarcasm, huge numbers of retired cops have houses in France. As do many other English people. Voting with ones feet.
I have a while to go before retirement but could imagine doing worse.
Besides the UK is not a fully common law country Scotland is almost entirly staute based and England and wales have not been fully common law since, at least, the Bill of Rights.
With sneering or sarcasm, ACPO as a future goverment? that I (or anyone) could “send the local officers round to “have a friendly chat”?
Furor Teutonicus wrote ” … Bollox. Think of the impossibility of policeing, or lkiving under such a law. … ”
Yes. For the general public it would be impossible. That is the idea. The Police effectively given the power to make up the law as they go along, in order to detain or punish whomsoever they choose. Seems to be the way big demonstrations are policed these days. Pretty good way of making the public fear any contact with the police! You might not want that fear, but the actions of ACPO Ltd make me believe that they want it.
Claustrophobic inspector wrote ” … Scotland is almost entirly staute based … ” Sorry, I had intended to write about England, despite the depredations brought about by the current Scottish Mafia who are running the show.
and: “… that I (or anyone) could “send the local officers round to “have a friendly chat”? ” That it has already been done! The Anglican Vicar of Virginia Water did not like being told that he is a heretic, and had West Yorkshire Police send two officers round to give the blogger “words of advice” in particular to pressure him to delete his blog. Amongst many places, you can read about it at:
this blog or
Harry’s Place. or
another post at Harry’s Place or in the
Grauniad or on the
BBC
Sorry for the two part reply, it was the end of a long day.
Furor Teutonicus wrote ” … Bollox. … ”
I refer you to the answer given in Arkell v Pressdram Ltd.
Claustrophobic inspector wrote ” … With sneering or sarcasm, ACPO as a future goverment? … ”
I forgot to give a mention to that wholly upstanding and completely reliable body, whose databases (uniquely amongst government agencies anywhere) never contain any hint false, unreliable or inaccurate information. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you the database of that wholly owned subsidiary of ACPO Ltd: ACRO, the ACPO Criminal Records Office. They will be doing the background checks (including consideration of unproven and malicious allegations) on every person working with (or whose employer thinks that they might possibly have to work with in the future) children or vulnerable adults. The IT site The Register points out that some 16 million people will need to be vetted by this second use dog’s dinner. 16 million people who will be utterly dependent on ACPO Ltd for the bread on their table. Utterly dependent on the veracity of the unproven allegations that ACPO Ltd will store in its “intelligence” databases!
As an interlude, could you please point out any campaign run by ACPO Ltd to rescind powers that have already been given to the Police? The public impression is that, like Oliver, they always want more.
You’re right that it’s that serious Jeff, though we need to take the piss to survive it at all. There is a Catch 22 – those of us who might speak out know we will be declared insane, which will let the powers-that-be send us on ever more dangerous bombing missions you have to be mad to do. I wonder how many of us would put our cross in the ‘none of the above sleazeballs’ if we could get it on the ballot?
In their own organ the Superintendross note all our points as their own, but only worry this is causing them stress and lack of promotion prospects. Uncharmingly self-centred.
Most of us will have seen The Wire, The French ‘Spiral’ is much the same. The Belgians don’t even need cop soap-opera as they are so incompetent sad laughs can be had via direct reporting. We may well have sunk as low if Newsnight’s skew on Nico Bento is right.
Anyway, briefcase and overnight bag packed for ‘Juking the stats 101′. I’m first up after the housekeeping speech which will enthrall all as to where the toilets are and what to do when the fire-alarm sounds (cut your heads off and run about like chickens?). I’ll start with mention of single and multivariate Gaussian copula analysis (from a bomb-proof hide to evade 24/7′s bullets), before emerging to explain this cant has zeroFA squared to do with anything other than bankrupting financial institutions. The rest is actually about police and local authority statistics and the price of fish.
wow what a interesting post , its really
Carroll,Thats what happens when you start replying to blogs in the early hours of the morning!.
“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)
Bad enough that the majority of the Chief Officers are milking the system for all its worth, even worse are those ACPO ranks who stand by while the stench of this corrupt activity is allowed to continue.
As so many have rightly pointed out here, the system isn’t geared toward truth and honesty, it’s bent and distorted out of shape for the benefit of the Senior Management, taking the “Gravy Train” for all its worth. Worse than that, the web of deceit that has been woven all these years has eroded respect for senior command, and with good cause.
They have created a tyranny of conformity. Front line police officers are unable to untangle this web, despite protestations by many with an informed and accurate perspective and experience at the sharp end.
How crooked the system has become, when police bloggers with genuine honorable intentions, have to operate behind a cloak of anonymity to bring the truth to the eyes and ears of the public whose interests you serve.
Even worse, when the gravest truth of all revolves around the highest ranking police officers, whose standards should be above reproach. The honour and distinction of achieving a high rank in public service has been replaced with greed, with a convenient blindness to the immorality and even illegality of their actions.
When Rodger Patrick, the retired West Mids DCI, let the cat out of the bag recently, about the “Gaming” effect of fiddling the figures, an anonymous detective said: “Name any crime and I’ll tell you how it can be fiddled.”
For the benefit of the uinitiated :-
“Cuffing” – in which officers make crimes disappear from official figures by either recording them as a “false report” or downgrading their seriousness. For example, a robbery in which a mobile phone is stolen with violence or threats of violence is recorded as “theft from the person”, which is not classed as a violent crime.
“Stitching”, where offenders are charged with a crime when there is insufficient evidence. Police know that prosecutors will never proceed with the case but the crime appears in police records to have been “solved”.
“Skewing” – when police activity is directed at easier-to-solve crimes to boost detection rates, at the expense of more serious offences.
“Nodding” – where clear-up rates are boosted by persuading convicted offenders to admit to crimes they have not committed, in exchange for inducements such as a lower sentence.
That front liners are expected to support this level of deceit without resistance and perpetuate the illusory fantasy of ever reducing crime is the biggest crime of all.
All credit to those with the courage to stand up to the pressure from the Chiefs to apply these immoral practices. When your job and future are under threat to comply, the sense of injustice and frustration must be overwhelming.
Simon Reed, of the fed said: “Senior officers are directing and controlling widespread manipulation of crime figures.
The public are misled, politicians can claim crime is falling and chief officers are rewarded with performance-related bonuses.”
Distortion of the figures leads to misallocation of financial and human resources, resulting in the public being deprived of the policing it deserves. The gravy train of police funds has been milked and the “con” disguised through years of bureaucracy, performance targeting and distraction techniques, making the task of basic policing more difficult to deliver.
We have collated plenty of evidence of senior officers who are paid grossly disproportionate salaries and bonuses for perpetuating the deceitful illusion of crime reduction. A full, transparent 43 force public enquiry is needed to force the disclosure of these illicit payments and inducements. We won’t hold our breath on that one quite yet.
We have been collating all of this for some time now, with a view to making it as public as we can. We started back in september with “CRIME STATISTICS HIDE THE TRUTH”, then “Crime Statistics – A Measure Of Public Confidence?”, “MORE SPIN FROM LABOUR ON OUR FAILING JUSTICE SYSTEM”, “FUDGING CRIME STATISTICS IS NO WAY TO RESTORE PUBLIC CONFIDENCE , “No faith in police statistics? “, “HOME OFFICE CRIME FIGURES – CONSPIRING TO DECEIVE “, “Force or Farce? – Police Recorded Crime”, more recentll we opened the Chief Officer bonus can of worms with “TOP COPS PAY & CRIME SCANDAL” and “TOP COPS ARE STILL FIDDLING THE CRIME STATISTICS ”
Our most recent article exploded the NPIA bubble with “NATIONAL POLICE IMPROVEMENT AGENCY : YET MORE SCANDALOUS WASTE ” – that one is a real shocker when you dig deep into the finances and activities of Peter Neyroud and his merry men that are supposed to set the standard for others to uphold. No doubt our look at ACPO will deliver much of the same.
Your words and articles are seen by people that CAN make a difference. It remains to be seen whether or not they will actually deliver the reforms so badly needed.
Among the most disturbing were the revelations of Heather Brooke in the Guardian, about the expenses of Sir Hugh Orde , the president ACPO. The rot is clearly embedded within the “root and branch” culture of the highest ranks, when the man who is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the Chief Officers in England & Wales sets such an example.
Those it seems to apply to most must be ACPO and the Chief Officers.
Six years ago, a letter was sent to the London Evening Standard, by PC Norman Brennan, serving as Director of Victims Crime Trust. Extracts from the letter are reproduced below :-
“It is rare that front-line police officers speak out, but I feel the public has the right to hear us.
When I joined the police service in 1978, there were only 13,150 recorded robberies in England and Wales. Most robberies were reported because of public confidence in the justice system.
Last year, this figure had risen to a massive 101,195 recorded robberies, and the British Crime Survey, the Government’s preferred method of measuring crime, which made your front-page last week (22 July) will show the true figure to be at least double or triple this number.
Murder is at its highest rate since the Second World War.
The only reason it is not many times higher is because of the skill of our surgeons.
Although police chiefs are loath to admit it, there are parts of our cities that are, in effect, no-go areas. My colleagues joined the police service to protect and support the public, but they are prevented from doing so now because of huge amounts of political correctness and red tape. We are given so many targets we almost stand still.
Politicians can make statistics look as good or as bad as they want, but the police and the public live in the real world and know the truth. I am amazed even in the latest British Crime Survey, the Government omitted crimes of murder, sex offences, fraud, crime against commercial premises and, more important, crimes against children under 16, who make up a significant proportion of victims of crime.
I believe the situation on law and order is so bad that, to borrow a medical term, it is on a life-support machine. In my personal and professional opinion, the criminal justice system is in crisis. It is not just criminals we should be putting in the dock, but the Government.
Prime Minister, you can fool some of people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time”.
PC Norman Brennan, director, Victims of Crime Trust, Twickenham, Middlesex.
From Blair to Brown, nothing has changed, in fact it has got considerably worse. Crime is still significantly higher than the authorities would have us believe.
Front line police officers are still discouraged from speaking out about the lack of resources and being buried in paperwork and bureaucratic “protect the backside” processes that prevent them performing more effectively.
Politicians still have too great an influence over policing in this country. Having two sources of crime statistics enables politicians and Chief Officers to manipulate headlines to read exactly how they want, with their own political or greed driven agenda.
As one officer put it “The police service is living and telling lies at the moment just like MP’s expenses. Someone is going to get caught out soon, but they just don’t get it do they!”
Everyone knows that stuff like the ‘single Gaussian copula’ is shit, including those flogging the machines and software to use it. No point in studying the crud if you’re only going to use it as a bent bastard (like the bwankers and political scum). I’d recommend a black and white Indie film called ‘Pi’ instead. That’s mad enough to make you feel like Shafted without doing the numbers.
I used to feel like that, then they sent me to Harrogate, but that didn`t work, Effexor,Citalopram,Diazepam,CBT,EMDR that also didn`t Work,
If I had only been born a few years younger, basket weaving could have been the solution.
bob on with that post. By our silence we assist in keeping the status quo.
Spot on Crime Analyst. My lecture yesterday was to senior officers across government agencies. If anything the cops are the best of this bad bunch. They all know what they are doing and they all say they are powerless to put it right. The corrupt wedge is in everywhere.
We might lump a lot of my teaching under the highly unsexy banner of ‘statistical process control’. You can almost hear the entire blog droning itself to sleep at the very mention of the term! My partner found an article dating from 1910 the other day describing it all as shit.
It’s vital in manufacturing in maintaining quality, but even here I can tell you a lot gets perverted. The stuff itself would work, but not in this Stalinist culture. Nulabour has been trashed by academics since a time almost before it started, but this itself is frankly a load of self-interested fanny-farting. A lot of our extra cash comes from MBA and MPA (public admin) teaching. All we manage to do is teach people how to cover-up. Some of our students rebel, but all I can offer them is therapy and material like yours that tells them they are not alone. The ultimate model is not science, but rather Chinese Bureaucracy.
On confidentiality, does anyone know how ‘secure’ these blogs are? I’m not bothered personally, but wouldn’t want to drop someone else in the shit down the line. I understand Gadget is known to his force, if not approved. I did notice, following a link from here, that I was asked for personal details.
I’m used to making my sources anonymous, but having spent time in Soviet Paradise (and GMP), can’t help being paranoid enough to think the authorities might well be blogging in order to put together a hit list. I just don’t want to fuck anyone’s career over in my own blog and book is all – though in my madness I can imagine a novel in which the denouement has IG himself as the supreme institutional godfather! Apologies (if needed) even for the thought, but stranger things are part of our reality – GMP having once been run by the second-coming of James the Baptist.
XX I did notice, following a link from here, that I was asked for personal details. XX
Aye. I have had problems logging into Google Blogger sites. Julia M, (Ambush predator) for example. Every time I must open a new account.
Of late to open the account they demand D.O.B and Mobile telephone number.
WTF do they need THOSE for?
It’s just a marketing ploy to obtain your details in order to send you more rubbish. Just give them a fake d.o.b and fake mobile number. Works every time
Fake D.O.B yes 00.00.0000 works. But the phone number they SAY they need to send your activation code by ….oh I dunno, SOS, SDG, PMS, or something.
MOST peeving.
I’m just new to blogging and only partly down the route to paranoid wreck. Can’t even handle my own site yet. Fortunately, I’d rather die than know my own mobile number. Upset the ex-cops on my last project by suggesting they could have free ones.
I certainly hope I’m not known to my force!
Can we have a new topic please? some very interesting posts but its getting a bit tin foil hat in places now.
Any second someone will compare someone else to Hitler…
OFFICER DOWN:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8492623.stm
Rest in peace.
This might be of assistance. Removed the start of the link as it might not get thru otherwise.
eff.org/wp/blog-safely
Google were forced in the USA to identify a blogger under a court order when the author made defamatory comments about an Australian model.
telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/6060546/Bloggers-beware-Google-forced-to-identify-anonymous-blogger.html
The Telegraph article says : “The majority of bloggers, no matter how controversial the topic of their blog might be, have little to fear from this court case. It’s the trouble-makers and trolls who need to think hard before hitting publish on their next post”.
Internal police IT wizardry may have a means of tracing/tracking URL addresses, but unless the users system contains an identifying name (not the norm for private users), a court order to the ISP would be needed to identify the user.
The question is, whether the investigating source intent on targeting an individual is prepared to face the negative pr associated with outing them. The maxim for private users, seems to be to avoid malicious content aimed at individuals or organisations by name.
Just to confirm Godwin’s Law Claustro, shall I ask if you have a small mustache?
Thanks for the above CA. Pretty much agreeing with Claustro, I’d just close noting that climate scientists (Newsnight) are now paranoid enough to meet in secret, scared to reveal their identities. WTF can we discuss in the open?
Permission to be happy about this, in my own horrible little way?
I now have more investigating officers looking into dodgy insurance claims call me this month than I’ve had all year, I suspect because of this type of policy. There are arrests, pending arrests, interviews under caution, and at least one fraud prosecution in the pipe. It’s coming from all over the country.
I don’t get performance pay for catching fraudsters (that would be far too open to abuse) but I do like it when somebody gets their scam rewarded with a court appearance.
I shall make the most of it before the new tax year.
Be interesting to see if your hit rate is higher than managed with the MPs at 120 to 1 Eddie.