The War
On Police Accountability
Over the years police have been negligent, brutal and manipulative. Society needs police to protect and serve which it does. Although in the UK, people have witnessed how police are not held accountable properly. For example only 1 officer has been charged for murder (in relation to police brutality).Death Of Vulnerable People After Police Contact
There seems to be a serious problem with BAME people and those who suffer from mental health dying after in contact with police or dying in custody. Let’s do a history and take it back to Brixton 1985. Dorothy cherry Groce was shot by the police officer Lovelock in 1985 which triggered the Brixton riots her children were 8, 11, 14, 18 and 21 when they experience post-traumatic stress disorder ever since she was shot he was wounded and left paralysed resulting in her family caring for her at 25 years until she died in 2011 of kidney failure the pathologist directly linked the gunshot to the injury.
The Guardian released an article about Martine Brandon a woman who died (October 2014) in her cell in police custody the police were guilty of misconduct but I PCC found systemic and individual failings by the Hampshire Constabulary in care of a very vulnerable unsatisfactory inadequate checks as she was laying in the cell unresponsive in her own faeces for 6 hours. An inquest jury in 2013 concluded that Herbert died of Cardiac arrest taking a legal high. A police inspector lied about man with mental health issues who died in the a cell. There was a lack of communication about Herbert’s mental health, the failure of medical assistance, the failure of close monitoring of him.
If you know the story of Julian Cole (6th May 2013) you would have known that there was an incident outside of Bedfordshire nightclub and it ended up with Julian being left in vegetative state by five police officers. PC Ross, Oates and Kalyan were accused of lying about his condition but there was no information about the officers being charged. Later on PC Hannah Ross was one of four two facing allegations amounting to gross misconduct over treatment or Julian Cole 5 years vegetative state then Oates then Kalyan were sacked. It took 5 years for him to receive a little bit of Justice first of all these officers were perverting the course of justice so that’s a crime itself but of course it gets the minimal amount of punishments by being dismissed and not imprisoned.
Dalian Atkinson was tasered to death, a police officer continued to kick him according to an eyewitness. Police tasers were used as an alternative to the use of Lethal Force which was introduced in 2003 but Sophie Khan lawyer legal and policy director at the Police Action Centre stated that "If the man has been Tasered three times, that is excessive use of force. Police are not properly trained to use tasers." Black people are 3 times more likely to have a Taser used against them by police than white people, according to figures released last year by the Home Office. Nevertheless, the police officer was charged with murder. This is the first case of police brutality and the police receiving a substantial punishment.
Mzee Mohammed Dailey’s died while in custody. Even though he had possession of a knife he was also autistic. It seemed as if Mzee was dehumanized and his death was justified because of a him carrying a knife but no acknowledgment of his mental health or how vulnerable he must of felt. 8 security guards, 18 police and a helicopter. First and foremost there is no need for all of those police officials for 1 man. Police used excessive force because there was no reason for him to die after police contact and he died of physical exhaustion.
Institutional Corruption and Racism
The police especially the Metropolitan police insist that there is no institutional racism that exist when time and time again they fail to address their stop and search policy or the racial profiling of gang matrix. StopWatch.org mentioned 370 people having to be removed from the gang matrix as it is a racialised war on gangs and stigmatized black youth. Amnesty international also released statistics: 80% aged between 16-24, 64% of these on the matrix or green/low risk, 15% are minors, 35% have never been convicted of a serious offence, 78% are black males, 75% have been victims of violence. This racially criminalizing database targets young black boys on estates. It’s also classist too because of the demonization of living in a estate. These boys are victims of violence but are immediately labelled suspects for music they listen to and videos they watch online something so minimal. These gang matrix disrupt access to housing, education, employment, benefits, etc. Not only that but it doe not differentiate who is actually in a gang and who is not.
There also needs to be a discussion about the petty reasons for stop and search such as “looking at officers with hands in pockets and walking fast” (The Independent released an article about the stop and search 21st February 2020). That is not reasonable grounds for stop and search that’s very generic it doesn’t make sense how putting your hands in your pockets all of a sudden is criminalised. Let’s talk about how in 2018 the BBC release an article on “two brothers being detained after a fist bump" a fist bump is the equivalent to a high five or handshake friendly gestures that mean no harm whatsoever is all of a sudden inherently suspicious…..
BBC brought to light the story of Faruk Ali. The Bedfordshire police two police officers called Christopher Thomas and Christopher Pitts accused of laughing as they drove after Mr Ali who was an autistic man and they were doing it for their own benefit for fun although so at first nothing happened and a year or two later they did get sacked and found guilty of gross misconduct over the way they dealt with Mr Ali.
Privacyinternational.org and Libertyhumanrights.org.uk state that police use of body worn video cameras is not covered by any law this is worrying because it means that the public is not protected against misuse and abuse for example police forces editing or deleting footage that might incriminate police officers on actions. I think it’s important to have some sort of policy that protects the public from misuse and abuse of police officers. It’s detrimental that we police the police. People in communities who are over police are most likely to have their rights infringed by body worn video cameras and BAME Communities are often over police people with mental health are often disregarded and people who is immigration status isn’t clarified enough will feel insecure to approach the police for help.
Women say domestic abuse by police officers goes unpunished. Victims of police domestic abusers ‘are powerless’ their abusers are too often protected from facing justice. Centre For Women’s Justice (CWS) super-complaint claiming failures among polices forces. Cases of 19 women including police officers from 15 force areas who have been victims of abuse, violence, stalking and rape. The domestic abuse conviction rate among police officer is lower than the general population. Victims who are police officers are ostracized and feel open hostility from other officers which creates that atmosphere of rape culture for victims/survivors who speak up about abuse. A Freedom Of Information Request showed there were 19 convictions for 493 reports against police officers, a rate of 3.9% while the general population rate is 6.2% the report said.
Negligence Of The Police
Police have had a history of turning a blind eye or knowing enough evidence to take action but choosing not to. Unfortunately police can’t be sued for negligence because they have a special position in public service and under the law. The family of Joanna Michael August 2009 try to but a rolling in 1988 decided that the police could not be held because the public interest play in protecting the police from negligence claim. Thankfully, this was changed in Robinson V Chief Constable of West Yorkshire 2018 UK SC 4. In the case of Robinson V Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, the police are now liable for the acts of 3rd parties of those acts are the foreseeable consequences of acts by the police. It took 2018 for police to be held to some standard for negligence.
It’s no secret the police force as an organisation was negligent towards the allegations of Jimmy Savile abusing children especially in hospitals. What many people are unaware of is the fact that 35,000 police staff are not properly vetted. Ian Naude is notorious for becoming a police constable only to later rape a 13 year old girl. On average 13% of people in each force have not been vetted. The IOPC received 415 complaints under the category about abuse of position for sexual purposes in the 3 years to the end of March. Take PC Palvinder for example sending sexual messages to vulnerable victims and contacted them while at work.
I understand that this might be an extremely negative and pessimistic view of the police. However, they do bring some of this hatred on themselves. Working-class people do not have the same view of police as they do force ambulances or fire fighters. While some people may have good relations with their local police officers others have faced abusive and traumatic experiences with the people who supposedly are an institution established to protect and serve the public. There is no harm in criticizing a public authority for their flaws, this should motivate the police to do better.
References
Taylor, D. (2015, Aug 6). Cherry Groce children to sue Met police for damage shooting caused them, Guardian <https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/06/cherry-groce-children-sue-metropolitan-police>
Morris, S. (2016, Mar 18). Police guilty of misconduct over woman who died in cell, Guardian <https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/18/police-guilty-misconduct-woman-found-dead-cell>
Gayle, D (2018, Oct 8). PC accused of lying to paramedics called to treat arrested man, Guardian <https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/08/pc-accused-lying-to-paramedics-called-treat-arrested-man-julian-cole>
Dalian Atkinson: PCs charged over footballer's death named, (2019, November 13). BBC. <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-50410762>
'Struggle and restraint' factors in Mzee Mohammed Dailey's death, (2019, November 18). BBC. <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-50464532>
StopWatch Gangs Matrix <http://www.stop-watch.org/our-work/gangs-matrix> Accessed 3rd May 3, 2020
Tidman, Z (2020, February 21). Police stop and search innocent black man for ‘looking at officers with hands in pocket’, Independent. <https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/stop-search-london-met-police-black-man-hands-pockets-oxford-circus-a9349311.html>
Two brothers went viral after being
detained following a fist bump, (2018, May 25). BBC <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-london-44246239/two-brothers-went-viral-after-being-detained-following-a-fist-bump>
Faruk Ali case: Bedfordshire Police officers sacked for gross misconduct, (2016, April 7). BBC <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-35987385>
Privacyinternational.org, Every Police force in the UK will soon use body worn video cameras to record us in public, (3rd March 2019) <https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/2724/every-police-force-uk-will-soon-use-body-worn-video-cameras-record-us-public> Accessed 3rd May 2020
Bureau Of Investigative Journalism, Lawyers launch super-complaint over police domestic abuse, (9th March 2020) <https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2020-03-09/lawyers-launch-super-complaint-over-police-domestic-abuse> Accessed 3rd May 2020
Goymer P & Leatherdale D, (2020, March 9). Victims of police domestic abusers 'are powerless', BBC <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-51773425>
The Supreme Court, Robinson V Chief Constable of West Yorkshire 2018 UK SC 4, <https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2016-0082.html> Accessed 3rd May 2020
Spreare-Cole R, (2019, September 27). Around 35,000 police staff 'not vetted properly' to root out sexual predators, watchdog warns, Evening Standards <https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/around-35000-police-staff-not-vetted-properly-to-root-out-sexual-predators-watchdog-warns-a4247861.html>
Pedophile Pc with 'insatiable appetite' for young girls jailed for 25 years (2018 December 13). The Telegraph. < https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/12/13/paedophile-pc-ian-naude-had-insatiable-appetite-young-girls/>
West Midlands PC sent sexual messages to victims, (2019, July 10). BBC.
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-48926033>
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