The police: Unaccountable, secretive and out of control
Leading article: This assault shows why the police are in urgent need of
reform
Thursday, 9 April 2009
There are circumstances under which the police might need to use
reasonable force to subdue political demonstrations that turn violent.
But what is so damning about the video footage that has emerged from
last week's G20 protests in London is that there is nothing in the
slightest bit reasonable about the force that was used against Ian
Tomlinson.
Mr Tomlinson was plainly walking away from riot officers when he was
struck. It is impossible to say for certain that this assault by a
baton-wielding riot officer brought on Mr Tomlinson's heart attack only
a few minutes later. But most people will find it impossible to
disconnect the two events.
It would, of course, be foolish to second guess every decision made by
police officers in the heat of such an engagement. But that cannot mean
that anything goes. This incident looks like a serious breakdown in
discipline. It also serves to underline broader concerns voiced about
the police tactics at last week's demonstration. Officers corralled
protesters into separate enclosed areas and then forcibly dispersed
them. It was in just such a "kettling" operation that Mr Tomlinson was
assaulted.
Almost as disturbing as the assault itself was the misleading response
of the police when they were first probed on the incident. They made no
mention of contact between Mr Tomlinson and their officers before he
collapsed and briefed that other protesters had impeded police medics in
their efforts to help him. It was only when this new footage emerged
that the police admitted they might have a case to answer.
As for their attempts to present their involvement as merely shielding
Mr Tomlinson from an angry mob, this was reminiscent of the false
information circulated in the wake of the mistaken shooting of Jean
Charles de Menezes in London in 2005. The public were told on that
occasion that Mr Menezes' behaviour and clothing had given them cause
for suspicion. These lies were exposed by CCTV footage from Stockwell
Underground station, just as the police's account this week has crumbled
in the light of these latest images.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission has launched an inquiry
into the apparent assault on Mr Tomlinson and will decide whether
charges should be brought against officers. But this terrible case
reflects deeper problems in the police, the most glaring of which is an
entrenched culture of unaccountability.
No police officer has been convicted of a firearms offence in 15 years,
despite the deaths of 30 individuals, many of whom were unarmed. Rather
than learning from this poor record, the police have relaxed their
guidelines for firearms officers. New rules of engagement were
introduced several years ago (without a sniff of public consultation or
parliamentary debate) allowing the police to shoot suspected suicide
bombers without issuing a warning or identifying themselves. This
unaccountability is accompanied by reflexive secrecy. Revelations of
incompetence, such as the bungled investigation into the murderer Robert
Napper, are invariably met with a closing of ranks. If individuals are
disciplined for their failings, we do not hear about it.
Deficient leadership is, of course, responsible for these ills. The
Metropolitan Police force was politicised by its previous commissioner,
Sir Ian Blair. We await an answer to the question of whether his
successor, Sir Paul Stephenson, will prove a reforming commissioner.
It is hard to see much impetus for change coming from the Government.
Indeed, ministers seem determined to see the powers of the police grow,
rather than diminish. A law potentially making it illegal for a member
of the public to photograph a police officer came into force earlier
this year. The person who took this video of Mr Tomlinson being attacked
could, in a ghastly irony, be prosecuted themselves.
But the answer to the lack of police accountability, in the end, does
have to be political. The London Mayor, Boris Johnson, showed that he is
prepared to stand up to the powerful policing lobby when he demanded the
resignation of Sir Ian last year. It is vital that Mr Johnson uses the
powers available to him to bring the nation's principal force under
control. And whichever party forms the next government should make
police reform on a national level a priority.
The police are right to point out they do a difficult job. But this
complaint misses the point. The days when officers could rely on the
unquestioning trust and respect of the public are over. There has been
too much misconduct, dissembling and secrecy over the years. Only an
injection of accountability and wholesale reform can restore faith in
those charged with delivering our safety.
Http://www.independ ent.co.uk/ opinion/leading- articles/ the-police-
unaccountable- secretive- and-out-of- control-1666144. html
Thursday, 9 April 2009
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