Siri show me gaslighting
Let's give the police more power and a raise; why not add lifetime immunity to the pot for all serving officers?
On Sunday in what should have been one of the biggest exposees of the year the Observer announced that 1 in 100 officers in England and Wales faced a criminal charge last year. But crickets. I gasped when I read it, asked for some stats about how that compares to the general public.
Assumed that there would be additional promises and noises made about Commissioner Mark Rowley’s turnaround plan that oddly makes no mention of training. How about Rowley’s hotline about corrupt police but once they are found guilty; he can’t actually fire any of them. What is the point of announcing a hotline for police that are actual sexual offenders if you haven’t put the processes in place to remove them? Just PR and nothing to back it up.
If you want to increase police powers; increase the power to immediately suspend any officer accused of violence against women. Currently said to be at 1,000 cases to review. Institute a zero tolerance policy. Increase the power to remove criminal police from access to vulnerable women and increase the power to name them once found guilty and actually do something to protect women. Increase the power to remove their pensions rather than letting them retire on medical early retirement. I’m all for increasing Rowley’s power to take those actions- so are Braverman and Khan. Let’s streamline the dismissals process; as currently it takes around four years. If they are suspended without pay; there will be an urgency to either get them back on the force or get them out. Currently they stay on active duty and the process is years and years- and most revolving around sexual abuse or harrasment don’t result in a charge.
If officers know that they will be dismissed and lose their pensions for beating their wives or inappropriately using power for sexual gain; that is an actual detriment to the behaviour. Currently they act with complete impunity- and rightfully so; unless you basically get caught and it gets in the media; you are rarely removed. One in ten found guilty of gross misconduct are removed. Number of dismissed officers has fallen by half. You read that correctly— those bad apples are staying put. Only 12 officers of 519 accused of domestic violence were removed. Only 10 out of 412 investigated on online abuse were removed.
An officer caught masturbating multiple times is still active on the force. An officer that took and shared an image of a decomposing body is still on the force, and my favourite from Casey’s report with 11 misconduct charges against him is still on the force.
But no, Rowley had been asking for a wage increase for his force that are under Special Measures and have been for the last 9 months. His force that will have two to three officers a week answering criminal charges for the forseeable future? (Note that these officers have had done things bad enough to actually warrant extensive jail time- or Rowley wouldn’t be able to remove them. This does not address the normal sexual harrassment, racial abuse, or embezzlement and abuses of power.) It is wild to me that the standard to be removed from the force is criminal behaviour that requires custodial sentences. In any other business in England; the standard for getting fired isn’t being locked up it is gross misconduct. But not for those meant to protect and serve. 90% of those found guilty of gross misconduct continue thier illustrious careers as police. Police that apparently deserve a raise and expansion of those powers.
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