Your Country Needs You (Like Never Before)

There surely cannot be a person over the age of 14 or so who is still unaware of the seemingly uncontrollable epidemic of stabbings and Knife Crime sweeping the country. Not one person surely? In London alone there is a knife-related murder or serious stabbing almost every day. Only recently a young teenage kid was literally disembowelled on the streets of our capital.

Politicians of all hues and senior Police Officers pronounce that this is completely unacceptable (it is) but what are they actually DOING about it?

Mainly nothing.  A lot of hot air gets spouted, think tanks go into overdrive trying to come up with the next big ‘thing’, senior Police Officers will have meetings and pronounce that ‘extra’ officers are being thrown at the problem, the government will assure us that new ‘technology’ is on the way.  The main problem is that there are NO extra extra officers, there are, in fact,  21,000 fewer officers.

Meetings are a very small part of the solution, but to come up with the promise of ‘extra’ officers is an insult to both Police and Public alike.  Every one of these ‘extra’ officers is either working what should have been a Leave Day or they have been abstracted from other duties, thereby creating a shortage somewehere else.

Almost every serving or former Police Officer that I know, together with a significant number of Members of the Public have a damn good idea what is causing the problem and how to begin addressing it.

Every knife used in an attack on the streets has been carried through the streets by somebody.  Whilst it is being carried it is vulnerable to being found by Police, and the ‘carrier’ arrested, but NOT if the Police Officers have one arm tied behind their backs.

Currently there is no ‘fear’ on the streets.  The government, in the shape of Camoron and Cruella, have savagely decreased the number of Police Officers, including the Front Line that they claim to protect.  Cruella herself issued an instruction to Police to drastically reduce the number of Stop Search carried out.  Since her edict both crime in general, and stabbings in particular have increased, despite what the Whitehall Mandarins might tell us.  Home Office figures show it thus

Assaults in England and Wales

Not a pretty sight.

My proposal to turn the tide would be to bring back Stop and Search.  Lawfully, Ethically, Respectfully, but Determindly.

Once the grounds for the Stop/Search have been established (and they MUST be) it should be conducted positively and efficiently, and properly recorded.

“People will get Stop/Searched who are totally innocent” I hear the cry.  Yes they will, that is almost inevitable, but the damage can be minimised by the manner in which it is conducted.  Officers could stop me ten times a day if it prevented one more youth getting butchered.  I have nothing to hide, nor do most other folk.   Yes, it is inconvenient, and can often delay us, but which is worse?  Getting a tad miffed about being stopped and searched by a polite Police Officer who explains why you are being Stopped and Searched, or one more teenager getting disembowled within sight of home?

Last year’s IPSOS/MORI poll showed that ost of the population still have a reasonable amount of trust in the Police.  FAR, far more than politicians of any kind.

In view of which Theresa May, why not start the process of rebuilding the Police?  Allow people to feel safe on the streets once more.  Instil fear of being caught and meaningful consequences into the hearts of those carrying knives, or weapons of any kind.

How can you help?  How does your country need you?

You can help today by simply writing a letter or email to your local MP, or the Home Secretary, or the Prime Minister or your local Police and Crime Commissioner voicing your support for some Positive Action and the reinstatement of the Police Force.  Surely no politician can ignore a mailbox overflowing with letters.  Police and Crime Commissoners are up for re-election soon, and who knows when the next General Election will be, but maybe not too far away.  They will all be looking for YOUR votes.

From an operational point of view a short, sharp period of Shock and Awe will remind a certain faction that they do not rule the streets, although they currently think that they do, and they are getting away with it.

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Police Apprentice or Barista? Difficult Choice

Apologies to all those who have seen this on Twitter but I’m too incandescent to drop it just yet.

My ire was sparked by a discussion on Facebook and a retired ‘old sweat’ DS could not believe that Police Apprentice was now an approved entry route with a commencing salary of £18,000 with no actual guarantee of a job at the end of it. OK, I accept that many will find employment in the muddy field at the end of the rainbow but nothing is guaranteed.

Even being an Apprentice Police Officer will inevitably involve antisocial hours, a higher than average risk of physical injury, frequent verbal abuse. You might even get to experience the delights of giving evidence at Court if you’re really lucky.

Complaints if you do the job properly. The current trend seems to be not to attack the evidence any more in a Not Guilty trial, but to attack the officer and his or her integrity. What they can’t dig up they will make up. All very stressful, and for what? £18,000, and at the same time you have to qualify for a Policing Degree at the end of it to even stand a chance of a job.

This programme covers a breadth, depth and range of professional education for the police constable not present in any previous constable training programme. This is a professional degree very much founded on effective professional performance with academic achievement. The police constable apprenticeship standard has been developed along with a police constable assessment plan, which sets out the occupational profile for the role of police constable and provides further details such as knowledge, skills and behaviours.

The apprenticeship will cover areas that are critical to effective policing in the 21st century, such as evidence-based policing, supporting vulnerable people, dealing with cyber crime and crime prevention. An equivalent apprenticeship framework has been developed for Wales.

And all for £18,000 a year?

OK, so you don’t like those prospects, who can blame you? What other options are available?

Every now and again an advert comes out for a Barista at the House of Commons, that can’t be bad surely.

2 years ago indeed.co.uk published this

How much does a Barista make at House of Commons in the United Kingdom?

Average House of Commons Barista yearly pay in the United Kingdom is approximately £22,174, which is 28% above the national average.

Salary information comes from 29 data points collected directly from employees, users, and past and present job advertisements on Indeed in the past 36 months.

Please note that all salary figures are approximations based upon third party submissions to Indeed. These figures are given to the Indeed users for the purpose of generalised comparison only. Minimum wage may differ by jurisdiction and you should consult the employer for actual salary figures.

Tell me again why you want to be a Police Apprentice?

Sadly the bald figures above are not the end of the tale.

The salary levels of House of Commons baristas have been known and publicly available for many years. Did that encourage NPCC, College of Policing etc etc to fight for a higher rate of pay for Apprentice Police Officers? Oh no it did not, indeed the NPCC published a 24 page report justifying the £18k starting rate.

I note that the author has not identified himself or herself, but whoever the author is should be truly ashamed. This is a total disgrace, written in the full knowledge of other salaries ‘out there’. Any senior Police Officer who had a hand in devising or implementing this scheme should be drummed out of town.

It absolutely makes me furious that such a scheme has been devised or implemented by Police Officers of any rank, a total betrayal of (erstwhile) loyal officers.

I am not ‘anti-reform’ but I am opposed to the reform being driven through by the Tories without any regard for the consequences. They state that our Police Officers should be more professional and have more of a professional standing then they pay them less than someone who makes coffee for privileged twats at Westminster. Please tell me how this is even vaguely sensible.

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Police Pay, Pensions and Conditions – It All Makes Sense Now

But I still don’t agree with it.

Correct me if I’m wrong but the first major changes came with Tom Winsor’s ‘Independent’ Reviews.

Instead of being able to retire on a full pension after 30 years service ‘Tom’ recommended increasing retirement age to 60 for a full pension. The Pension Scheme itself was changed from a Final Salary Scheme to a Career Average Scheme. I can’t remember the numbers but I think that the contributions level was also increased. In other words, today’s generation of Police Officers are paying more, paying for longer and receiving less than a) their predecessors and b) their reasonable expectations when they first joined their Pension Scheme.

Fast Forward to 2018 and the College of Policing have introduced the 3 new routes i to Policing. They have also introduced the concept of a ‘Healthy Churn’. They no longer expect Police Officers to hang around for 40 years, and they will actually help you to leave and be a fine ‘Ambassador’ for Policing.

I find it highly unlikely that the new breed of Graduate Entrants will hang around for 40 years unless they climb the greasy pole.

Therefore the vast majority of the workforce will serve maybe 5-10 years, burn out, then join the churn and move on.

Add in the effect of pay levels being frozen for years and the potential benefits for the Pension Pot become crystal clear.

The Police Service is in crisis, there is no doubt, but the bigger tragedy is that evil government plans (reforms) pushed so viciously by Cruella and the Sycophants, have been Aided and Abetted by ACPO/NPCC. Even now only a minority of the Chiefs are speaking out.

It all makes sense – Churn is healthy for those that pay your pensions. Other Public Services take note.

This is what it has always been about, can you spot the traitors?

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Government, Policing and Contempt

I make no apology for concealing the identity of my contributors, but within 48 hours I received 2 pieces that show just how contemptuous the government are of Policing, and, worse, they are dragging National Police Chiefs Council officers along with them.

The first from a friend, an ex-colleague, an ex-pat who wrote thus;

XXXX, on a completely different track. Was recently in correspondence with John Murray who has selflessly fought for justice for Yvonne Fletcher. There’s a number of issues. The government have been obstructive and refused to release information and intel regards those involved and their knowledge of events prior to and after the shooting. The circling of the wagons by Senior Police management and their lacklustre pursuit of those responsible. The lack of support/assistance by the Federation. John has fought and financed much of this out of his own pocket. A truly amazing and dedicated man.

He is working nights to raise funds for the continuing legal fight to get justice for Yvonne Fletcher.

I could not help but draw some comparisons to the Craig Mackey debacle and how Senior Police management, government and the “establishment” have all come together again to cover each others backs. It just brings it home how little value they place on the life of a Police officer. It is all rather depressing and sobering to contemplate that Senior Police Management (I can’t bring myself to call them officers or leaders as that implies that they have some honour and moral compass) really have so little regard for their own officers and are unwilling to fight their corner.

Regards XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The second from an ex-Met officer on an almost identical theme

Update from John XXXXXXX

First of all I must mention our good friend Tony XXXXXXX.Tony, who, amongst others, has been a pillar of strength to myself and the campaign, the information and evidence he had obtained has been second to none and a massive boost. Tony is currently in The London Hospital Whitechapel, after receiving Major Heart Surgery, other complications set in and he has been in the ICU and Critical care Unit for a number of weeks. I have had the pleasure of visiting him twice during this time, and will do so again next week. he is heavily sedated and has a voicebox fitted, but is in good spirits and is slowly on the road to recovery. For those of you who wish to send a card the address is Mr Tony XXXXXX, Ward XXX, Room X, The London Hospital Whitechapel. I have passed on your best wishes and will advise you all when he can have some more visitors.

On Saturday 27th October I received a call from our lawyers. The due date to commence the High Court action is in November, should we miss this deadline then we can go no further and our man ‘ will walk ‘. To this end I have an urgent meeting with them next Tuesday 30th October to discuss the progress to date and find a way forward and proceed. When on a visit to see Tony I updated him, he said to me from his bed in the CCU ‘ For God’s sake don’t give up ‘ I will try my utmost to convince the lawyers to continue, possibly on a pay later basis. We shall see.

I have had more documents delivered to my vis UPS from the CIA, due to my request under the FOIA. These documents prove beyond doubt our legal claim and clearly proves what went on both before and after the shootings that day.

I also have to inform that the TV Drama programme is well advanced,it will be called ‘ The Promise ‘ and at the same time that the series is aired my book will follow, published by ITV Publishing.

It has been a long hard, expensive 34 years, but it all comes down now to the last 3 weeks, I am confident we will get the justice we seek and ‘ The Promise ‘ will have been fulfilled.

As always your continued support is vital, together we will win, and show the establishment how much they underestimated us. They thought they could silence us when they dismissed our Judicial Review, how wrong they were.

John XXXXXXX

The stark reality of how trivially successive governments have the life of a Police Officer. We will never forget the callous murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher, but neither will we forgive those involved in the underhand shenanigans that followed rather than just seek justice for the slain officer.

Finally, on top of all of this the government pretend to augment the fight against Terrorism by giving an ‘extra’ £160 Million to Counter Terrorism Policing. My understanding is that this merely represents the cost of CT operations over the last year or so and is nothing more than a refund.

But we can have a new 50 pence coin.

Throw in the fact that Hammond would rather spend £420 Million on potholes than give the Police Service an equivalent amount to fill the black hole in the Pension Fund (which puts a further 10,000 Police Officers at risk of losing their jobs) and it is crystal clear how much contempt May’s government has for the Police Service

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Political Choice

As it’s Sunday I’ll make it brief

Reduced Numbers of Police Officers

Reduced Numbers of PCSOs

Reduced Numbers of Special Constables

Reduced Numbers of Police Staff

General Crime Rate UP

Knife Crime through the roof

Gun Crime increased

Murders/Attempts increased

Police Response Times increased

Fewer Nurses

Fewer Doctors

Longer NHS Waiting Lists

More operations cancelled

More ‘bed blocking’

Fewer Soldiers

Fewer Sailors

Fewer Aircrew

More chaos surrounding Benefits (Universal Credit)

More people in debt

More Suicides

Fewer Custodial Sentences

Fewer Teachers

Fewer Social Workers

Fewer Probation Officers

Increased levels of Student Loan debt.

What do all these things have in common?

Answer:- They were all caused directly, or indirectly, by Political Choices made by our stunning Prime Minister and her psycophantic government, together with her predecessor, David Camoron. Conscious decisions taken with no regard for the consequences. Barely a Risk or Impact Assessment undertaken, certainly NONE for the infamous Winsor Independent Reviews.

Does any right-thinking person actually believe that our country can sustain itself under the onslaught of all of the above? And I haven’t even mentioned Brexit.

There is absolutely no point whatsoever in blaming the Police, the NHS, the Armed Forces, your Local Authority, the Courts, the Prison Service etc. because they can no longer perform at the necessary level or provide a good quality of service.

The Conservatives, particularly Theresa May and David Camoron are at the bottom of ALL of it. Their Political Choices (diktats) are responsible for all of the above and probably more.

The streets have been lost, the Health Service is crumbling in any number of ways, Social Care is rapidly becoming a thing for the rich exclusively, the Armed Forces barely make up a reasonable Defence Force, never mind all the other operations they routinely undertake. Putin must be pissing himself laughing.

Camoron has gone, now Theresa May needs to follow him into obscurity and let us get on with rebuilding the shambles this country has become. It will take years, but we must do it.

If you are a member of a Public Service that I have forgotten please feel free to add the story in the Comments section below. All will be published.

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Something Is Rotten In The State Of Britain

Nicked from Facebook, it is definitely not mine, but the ramifications of Craig Mackey’s actions, or lack of, just rumble on and on, and the smell is not very palatable.

Like many, I made a formal complaint against the behaviour of Craig Mackey. The Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. This individual locked himself in his car as Pc Keith Palmer was stabbed to death by the animal Masood at the gates of the Palace of Westminster. Like many I have just received a reply to that complaint. It has left me slightly uncomfortable.

Apparently according to the Police Reform Act 2002, I do not have standing to make a formal complaint about this matter and therefore they are not recording my correspondence as a complaint about the Acting Commissioner.

The Act specifies who can make a complaint and in what circumstances. Section 12(1) provides that a complaint may be made by the following people:

a. A member of the public who claims the conduct took place in relation to him/her;

b. A member of the public who claims to have been adversely affected by the conduct, even though it did not take place in relation to him/her;

c. A member of the public who claims to have witnessed the conduct;

d. A person acting on behalf of someone who falls within any of the three categories above.

In my opinion my complaint was justified under b and d above.

b. I have been adversely affected by the conduct of Mr Mackey. Also

d. The complaint was lodged on behalf of Pc Keith Palmer

I am also told:

Section 12(5) further provides that:

…a person shall be taken to have witnessed conduct, if, and only if–

(a) He/she acquired their knowledge of that conduct in a manner which would make them a competent witness capable of giving admissible evidence of that conduct in criminal proceedings; or

(b) He/she has in their possession or under their control anything, which would in any such proceedings constitute admissible evidence of that conduct.

In my case I based the reason for my complaint on the evidence, given on oath, by Mr Mackey to the Westminster Inquest. I can only assume that Mr Mackey was telling the truth during these proceedings. Therefore, in my opinion section (a) above is relevant to my complaint.

The truth is, whilst making the complaint, I fully expected it to be kicked into touch. Not because it was not warranted. But because it does not suit either the hierarchy of the Metropolitan Police or the Mayor of London’s Office. Imagine if you would, that instead of Keith it had been some member of some ‘special interest’ group who was chased and murdered whilst a police officer remained locked in his car………..

But the thing that really surprised me is the inclusion of the following:

‘Well, members of the jury, it’s clear from the evidence of Sir Craig that there was, as I say, nothing that he could have done to have stopped Masood. PC Palmer was under attack practically as soon as Sir Craig saw the attacker. What Sir Craig did was sensible and proper and was intended to protect others in the car with him. None of them, as I have said, had any means of protecting themselves or of resisting an attack, and even if he had got out of the car, it is clear from the CCTV evidence that he would not have reached PC Palmer before Masood had inflicted the fatal wound. Indeed, it’s very likely that Masood would have been past the car even if Sir Craig had got out of it. It’s also clear that after Masood had been shot, Sir Craig did not flee the scene: his first instinct was to get out in New Palace Yard, as we saw on the footage when he opened the car door. However, he was told by an officer to leave, and for good reason’.

This statement is the comment made by the Coroner during his summing up at the Inquest. At the time a great many people queried why the Coroner made such an overt defence of Mackey.

It should be remembered that the purpose of an inquest is to answer four questions:

1 Identity of the deceased

2.Place of death

3.Time of death

4. How the deceased came by his/her death

Evidence must be solely for the purpose of answering these questions and no other evidence is admitted. It is not for the inquest to ascertain “how the deceased died” or “in what broad circumstances”, but “how the deceased came by his death”, a more limited question.

The Coroner’s defence of Mackey had no place in the Inquest. There was never any doubt as to who caused it. The complaint against Mackey was in relation to his behaviour, or lack of behaviour, as a police officer at the time. The complaint was very much along the lines of that made in 2015, against several police officers who failed to get out of their patrol car to assist a Tesco security guard with a violent shoplifter. A complaint which led to the justified sacking of one police officer. I can see absolutely no difference between that incident and the issue around Mr Mackey’s behaviour.

But as out of place as the comment was at the Inquest, it is it’s regular appearance in the official responses from the likes of Cressida Dick (Commissioner of Police) and the Mayors Office for Policing and Crime that worries me. It appears that this statement was a deliberately structured ‘key’ designed to aid in the release of Mackey from his predicament. Prepared and pre-empted, in my opinion, even before the end of the Inquest.

The real cancer that is killing the police service resides in the top floors of the Yard and other Police HQs around the land. Yes, there are many Chief Constables and senior officers who still hold true to the traditional values of policing. But they are growing fewer in number. Seeing how the system has rallied around to protect one of its own, many genuinely good senior officers must be tempted to avail themselves of such patronage.

There is corruption in the police. It stinks of politics…….

That is all

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Context

Context is everything. It can completely change one’s understanding of an event or comment.

Many things have been said over the past few days about the (in)actions of Acting Commissioner Sir Craig Mackey during and after the terrible events on Westminster Bridge and the Palace of Westminster.

Many commentators have called him “Coward”, indeed, initially, I had some sympathy with that argument. Having given it a great deal of thought over the past few days, and listened to the opinions of many others, I find that I have shifted my position somewhat.

The events of that awful day have been recounted many times, and I don’t need to go over them again, but certain actions, or inactions maybe do bear further scrutiny.

Sir Craig Mackey, the Acting Commissioner, was ‘out and about’ without his Personal Protective Equipment and no radio. Really? He may well not have had any PPE but no radio? Really? That must be the only car in the Met’s fleet that doesn’t have a radio hard-wired into it. I’m reasonably certain that he would have had a mobile phone with him too. He might not have been very far away from New Scotland Yard but I’m sure the Commissioner does not go out and is not contactable in case of emergency. That does not make sense.

Sir Craig Mackey was concerned for the well-being of the two other people in his car, both civilians it would seem. Maybe he was, but I’m not convinced that locking themselves in served any truly useful purpose. Why has the inquest not heard from these two persons? If Sir Craig was such a significant witness then surely one or both of them must have seen something? Why not give that evidence to the inquest?

Had Sir Craig Mackey actually got out of his car there was nothing he could have done? Possibly so, but that in itself is not a reason to stay in his car. The main reason that he should have got out of his car, in my humble opinion, is that he had just witnessed one of his officers being violently assaulted. It is entirely possible that Sir Craig was unaware that his officer was indeed mortally wounded. He should have had a First Aid Kit in his car. Human compassion for the fallen officer should have propelled him from the car to assess whether he could assist the officer, or whether he could comfort the officer.

He was told to sit in his car by a PC? No Commissioner in my experience has ever taken orders from a Constable. Had he wanted to get out of his car he could have done.

It was necessary for him to take command/control of events back at NSY? No Commissioner ever takes hands-on control of any incident or operation, they have people to do that for them.

In August 1976 the then Commissioner, Sir Robert Mark, appeared on the Front Line of the carnage following the Notting Hill Carnival. To take control? No, to show solidarity with his troops.

Cowardice? No, probably not. I have changed my opinion on that and the events outlined above probably don’t amount to cowardice. What they do add up to, again, in my humble opinion, is a monumental lack of LEADERSHIP. Sir Craig has only recently bern Knighted, what was that for? Leadership?

In a citation he is commended for reducing stop and search by 70 per cent while doubling the arrest rate and overseeing a dramatic improvement in the recruitment of officers from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Hardly for Leadership.

It could also be interpreted that he did not oppose the government’s cuts to Policing vehemently enough;

The MPS has already made £600 million in savings and faces another £400 million by 2020.

Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey told the Budget and Performance Committee that although the MPS is currently sufficiently resourced, further assessment would be needed should present demand continue.

That’s not Leadership in my book. He could have opposed the cuts, but in my eyes he just rolled over and accepted their inevitability, saying that the Met currently had sufficient resources. Really? I, and the people I talk to, am not seeing that.

The worst example of Leadership since the Charge of the Light Brigade. Well, maybe not exactly, but it’s up there.

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#MackeyGate Rumbles On

Just a quick one today, but I’m still Apoplectic, Incandescent and any other crap descriptions I can think of.

Scotland Yard have now issued a statement on the (in)actions of ‘Sir’ Craig Mackey, Acting Commissionaire.

It reads:-

“Neither he [Mackey] nor the two civilian members of police staff he was in the car with during the time of the attack had any protective equipment with them … His initial reaction as a police officer was to get out of the vehicle. However, an operational decision was made with a police officer at the scene that the then acting commissioner should not get out and that he and the two police staff should leave New Palace Yard immediately.

“It was evident that there were officers already present with the necessary skills to neutralise the threat and to administer advanced first aid. At this stage, the full extent of the threat was still unknown.

“Mr Mackey then returned immediately to New Scotland Yard, where he carried out his responsibilities as acting commissioner; namely to lead and coordinate the strategic response across the Metropolitan police to protect London during what was an ongoing terrorist incident.”

My initial reactions to this statement are

When was any Commissioner ever needed to run any operation personally?  I don’t care what it was (and it was serious obviously) the Commissioner was not needed in person, although it would have been helpful if he had his official-issue mobile phone with him.

Swear Alert

Why the fuck could he not remain on scene and as a warm, loving human being (OK I made that bit up) have comforted a dying officer?  He was THERE For Fucks Sake.  One of his officers had just been savagely attacked and was dead or dying, with a Tory MP of all people trying to save his life.  Did Mackey go out without his First Aid Certificate and humanity as well?

For those of you who have not seen it and have suggested that maybe the Press reports were biased or exaggerated, here is a link to the official transcript of Mackey’s evidence to the Inquest.  It seems to me that Media Reports were not biased or exaggerated and, in fact, could have been worse.

I really need to take a couple of Aspirin and study the transcript armed with my trusty quill and papyrus, but I’m not quite sure how well his recollections fit with the accepted timeline of events, but then I am pretty angry at the moment so my judgement might be clouded.

 

Off to lie down in a darkened room now.

 

ADDENDUM

It has been brought to my notice that many posts and comments regarding Mackey have ‘disappeared’ from Farcebook overnight, so if you have posted or commented you may wish to check it’s still there

 

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I Am Actually Ashamed

It’s not often you will hear me say that (OK, I know you’re reading it)

Today’s headlines have just stunned me into (almost) silence and left me ashamed that I was ever a member of the same organisation

I locked myself in car as Westminster bridge attacker struck, says Met chief

I could easily swear here, but I won’t.  What made it worse was this one from last year though,

New Year Honours: Officer who witnessed Westminster attack among police recognised

It doesn’t even stop there, whilst one MP, Tobias Ellwood,  was trying in vain to save PC Keith Palmer’s life, another one, Mike Fabricant, had locked himself in his office drinking whisky

MP Tobias Ellwood who tried to save Keith Palmer in Westminster terror attack says murdered Pc ‘was the hero… not me’

I fully accept that it’s a long time since I retired from the Met, and that almost everything has changed, but where has the loyalty to your comrades gone.  If one of our PCs needed help the canteen would empty in an effort to assist.  The Inspector and Sergeants would go and I have even witnessed a Commander administer the Attitude Test.  There is no excuse for an officer of any rank (in my opinion) to lock himself in his car and not assist a man who subsequently died.

Sir Craig, then the Met’s acting commissioner, said his first instinct was to secure his chauffeur-driven car. “I was sitting in the car with two other people, one colleague had clearly seen what was going on,” he told Masood’s inquest at the Old Bailey. “I locked the doors — we had no protective equipment, no radios, we had been in a ministerial meeting and literally came out of that.”

His first instinct was to secure his chauffeur-driven car?  What kind of a moron puts steel and rubber before a human being?

No PPE?  No radio?  Welcome to the world of Policing.  I spent all of the years I patrolled the streets armed with a torch, a whistle and a trucnheon. with a radio to call for backup then hit someone with it.  Why were you on the streets of London without even a truncheon?  Is being a Senior Officer some reason not to carry one out on the streets?  Does it exempt you from Policing in some way?  We had to produce ours on Parade before we were allowed out.

Sorry Mr Mackie, your attitude stinks.  I hate to think what Keith Palmer’s widow will make of this revelation.  I certainly don’t think you deserve a Knightood, even it was for saving the Met £400 Million on paperclips or something.  You COULD have stood up to the government  and contested the cuts, but you chose not to.

I look forward to the days that will now follow to see what the public, the Federation and Keith Palmer’s widow have to say about today’s revelations.  If I were “Sir Craig” I honestly think that my resignation would be on the Commission’s desk first thing tomorrow.  The modern day Police Service needs Leaders not Bean Counters.

Dear Public, I feel I have to apologise for our Leadership, they’re not all the same, honestly.

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Stop and Search – Bored With It Now

The arguments re Stop and Search continue to rumble on, stoked by the opinions of a few ‘Adademics’ most recently.

People continue to be stabbed and killed on the streets of our country, some VERY young children among them, but oh no we mustn’t conduct Stop and Search on these poor young things, it’s not right.  If they are old enough to carry weapons and get involved in knife fights, stabbings, robberies etc etc then they are old enough to be stopped and searched.

According to Theresa May when she was Home Secretary we should be drastically cutting back on Stop/Search Full Stop, or she will bring in legislation to make us stop doing was the threat I believe.

“I want to make myself absolutely clear: if the numbers do not come down, if stop and search does not become more targeted, if those stop-to-arrest ratios do not improve considerably, the government will return with primary legislation to make those things happen,”

She failed in her determination to introduce the relevant legislation due to, mainly, pressure from David Camoron. However she did succeed in obtaining a voluntary agreement;

Forces participating in the scheme must:

  • Record the outcome of stops in more detail to show the link – or lack of a link – between the object of the search and its outcome, allowing an assessment of how well forces interpret the “reasonable grounds for suspicion” they are supposed to have. They must also record a broader range of outcomes, such as penalty notices and cautions, so it can be understood how successful each stop and search is.
  • Allow members of the public to apply to accompany officers on patrol to help improve the community’s understanding of the police.
  • Introduce a stop and search complaints “community trigger” so forces must explain to the public how powers are used if they receive a large volume of complaints.
  • The Home Secretary said forces must make clear that they will respect law established in the recent Roberts case by only using the Section 60 “no suspicion” stop and search power when it is “necessary to prevent incidents involving serious violence” rather than just “expedient” to do so. For those participating in the Best Use of Stop and Search scheme, use of Section 60 must also be authorised by a chief officer who must reasonably believe that violence “will” take place rather than “may” take place, as it stands now. Forces must also limit its application to 15 hours and communicate with communities before and after, so residents can be kept informed of the purpose and success of the operation.

Back in the real world, crime in general and violent crime in particular, has rocketed since Theresa May’s interference in 2014.

For the ‘Academics’ amongst you the problems look like this

Stop/Search vs Crime England and Wales

Stop and Search in England and Wales

In the last 24 hours there has been much use of the word ‘Toxic‘ on Social Media, much of it aimed at former Police Officers who oppose the policies being introduced, unchecked it would appear, by the College of Policing, National Police Chiefs Council and Home Office.

Well, let me tell you, I think the attitude of some very senior Police Officers, aided and abetted by ‘Academics’ is ‘Toxic’.  The figures speak for themselves. In my very humble opinion, and what do I know about it, we should not be having any discussion about reducing Stop and Search at all.  We should, however, be having a very serious discussion about ensuring that our Police Officers are properly trained (not by e-learning) on HOW to lawfully conduct a Stop/Search procedure, what is required, grounds, properly recording the procedure and its outcome etc.

We can not justify cutting back on Stop and Search in the light of rising crime, weapons, killings etc on the streets of our country. EVERY ONE of those weapons is carried through the streets at some point by a real living person.  The responsibility of the Police is to intercept those weapons and prevent the ensuing crimes.

How can they do that whilst being told to cut back on the use of Stop/Search?  Senior Police Officers and ‘Academics’ are not doing anybody any favours highlighting the number of Stop/Searches carried out, they should merely concentrate on the quality of those Stop/Searches and ensure absolutely that they are carried out within the law.

Any criticism of properly conducted Stop/Searches is TOXIC nothing less.  Fnally, how many stabbings, robberies etc have been prevented by ‘Academics’?  Is there a database somewhere for those important figures?

 

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