Dear Commissioner.......

Thin blue line
19 October 2010

The commissioner's outdated attitudes to police accountability are part of the problem, not the solution, argues Sophie Khan

It was a surprise to read that Sir Paul Stephenson had written to the home secretary with his concerns over legal costs. He has failed to take on board the arguments that have been made time and time again by civil action against the police practitioners and civil liberties groups which link accountability to costs. Instead he has proposed in his confidential letter to Theresa May that he wishes to “make it harder for people to sue the police for damages in civil actions”.

This is a clear signal by the commissioner that he attaches no significance in redressing civil wrongs committed by police officers and that ‘accountability’ is a word that does not apply to the police. This outdated approach in dealing with an ongoing problem is one of the reasons why the police have lost the respect of their communities and are likened to a ‘gang in uniform’ rather than officers of the law.


The only solution

The proposals the commissioner should have put forward would be to recognise that accountability is the only solution to his desire to reduce costs and propose steps to bring about the level of accountability that will address the numerous allegations of police misconduct. At present it is only through civil actions that there is real accountability against these abuses and is the only platform where the evidence can be comprehensively tested and the wrong redressed.

In the absence of civil actions there would be no delivery of justice to those who have genuinely been wronged and as a society we would be allowing a two-tier system to operate for the police, which would be unfair and has no place in due process and the rule of law that we as British citizens value and cherish.


The commissioner could of course argue that public bodies such as the IPCC and the CPS are there to ensure such breaches, civil wrongs and criminal acts are addressed. However, it has only been a recent development by the CPS to prosecute more police officers and the looming cuts on the CPS which have already seen a freeze on recruitment could lead to a lack of resources rather than the will to prosecute more cases in the future.

One of the difficulties I have experienced with the IPCC is its reluctance to take a more direct approach against the police officers working in the Directorate Professional Standards and Professional Standards Board and face them head-on on complaints that have not been dealt with sufficiently and ones that should have been upheld.


No acknowledgement

This has been an ongoing issue for several years and to date has not been addressed and is unlikely to be addressed in the near future. The existing framework of accountability in my opinion is not working and is the cause of many of the civil actions that are subsequently brought by those same complainants as they are dissatisfied with the complaints procedure and feel that their grievances have not been acknowledged by the police.

The commissioner needs to take on board that police officers, like everyone else, have to be held accountable when procedure is not followed or when there is evidence that a civil wrong or criminal act has been committed. His attempt to circumvent the rule of law for his officers through the back door is not welcomed and will be strongly opposed. It also raises serious questions over his commitment and motivation to the new era of policing and whether the lessons of the last 30 years of police misconduct have had any impact on the police.

The Apology

Last week saw Chief Constable Sims apologise for West Midlands Police Force's decision to 'spy' on the Muslim community in Birmingham. But what hasn't been recognised by Chief Constable Sims is that the law was broken, broken by the police when they took such an action and there are consequences that follow, legal consequences.

................Unfortunately sorry may not be enough.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-apologise-over-cctv-in-muslim-areas-2094167.html

Court Closures

The consultation for the proposed court closures ends on 15 September. There is no action being taken by the professional bodies so it really is every court for itself and of course i couldn't just stand back and let the Tory govt close 103 magistrates courts and 54 county court without a challenge. I have been informed that there is room for some courts to remain open if there is support for them, so support your local court if it vital to access to justice in your community.

I've worked with the editor of the the Solicitors Journal and with the intervention of a judge as well, i think we have drafted a temple letter to be used by campaigners who want to 'save the courts'.

http://www.solicitorsjournal.com/hybrid.asp?typeCode=81&pubCode=2

Good luck everyone!

River Thames death

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/8181182.DEPTFORD__Boy__14__dies_after_falling_into_Thames/#shareLinks

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23839165-friends-mourn-boy-12-drowned-jumping-in-the-thames-to-cool-off.do

Rainbow Quay victim from Brockley

Written by Cat Wiener Lewisham News May 25, 2010

Met Police Marine Support Unit. Photo: Adrian Pingstone

The 14 year old schoolboy who died after falling into the Rainbow Quay, by the River Thames on Saturday 22 May has been named locally as Kafi Ibrahim who was a student at Prendergast-Ladywell Fields College in Brockley.

The school’s website contains a message of condolence to his friends and family from the headteacher Mrs Whitfield:

“Dear Parents/Carers, It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the death of Kafi Ibrahim, a Year 8 student. Kafi was the victim of a tragic accident which took place on Saturday. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

He was declared as having passed away at an east London hospital at approximately ten minutes past four on Saturday afternoon. It is understood he fell into the water at around 12 noon on one of the hottest days of the year.

The Met Police said officers from the local borough, Marine Support Unit and Dive Squad attended to help in the search and two officers dived into the water in a bid to try to find him but were unsuccessful.

He was pulled out approximately two hours later by a Met Police diver and taken to hospital. The circumstances of the incident were being investigated by officers based at Southwark Police Station.

The death is not being treated as suspicious and it is understood a postmortem was to be held. Flowers were left close to the scene of the tragedy. The possibility that he hit his head on a deepwater lock after entering the water is one aspect of the event that is being investigated.

Police Restraint

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid64523559001?bclid=0&bctid=88225325001

Police Taser

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article7096598.ece

Sean O'Neill, Crime and Security Editor

Police officers fired a 50,000-volt stun gun charge into a man who had collapsed with a major epileptic seizure, the policing complaints watchdog said yesterday.

The man, 40, who has accused police of being negligent and using excessive force, claims that he was Tasered five times despite police being told about his medical condition.

He spent more than two weeks in hospital after the incident, which is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Sophie Khan, the man’s solicitor, said her client had been in a gym when the seizure occurred. “The officers were made aware by the ambulance staff and the gym staff that he was suffering from an epileptic seizure but they continued to Taser him in the stomach and forcibly restrain him in a manner that has caused him long-term nerve damage to his wrists and back,” she said.

A leading epilepsy charity said that the incident should prompt a review of police training.

“We are disturbed that the police used a Taser on a person who was clearly in, or recovering from, a medical emergency,” said Monica Cooper of Epilepsy Action.

“A Taser should not be used on a person who is having, or has recently had, a seizure.

“During a seizure, and for a period of time afterwards, the person may not be fully aware of their surroundings or what is happening, and they may be confused.

“Police should be trained to recognise that seizure activity can be mistaken for violent or inappropriate behaviour.”

The man suffered the epileptic seizure last November during a training session at the gym, in Whalley Range, Manchester.

An ambulance was called but, the IPCC said, the man’s physical reactions were so extreme — including biting and punching — that paramedics struggled to treat him. They called for police assistance.

An IPCC spokesman said: “During the ensuing incident one officer discharged a Taser at least once into the man. The man was also restrained.

“The whole incident from the man’s collapse to his transfer to hospital lasted approximately one hour.”

The victim lodged an official complaint last month with the Manchester force, which referred the case to the IPCC. Naseem Malik, an IPCC commissioner, said: “This man suffered an epileptic seizure and it is clear that paramedics were struggling to treat him due to the violence of that seizure.

“Our investigation will be thorough and examine the appropriateness of the actions taken by the officers who attended to assist the paramedics.”

Greater Manchester police have used Tasers infrequently compared with other forces, firing the stun guns 32 times between April 2004 and June 2009.

Superintendent Mike Freeman, of Greater Manchester Police’s professional standards branch, said: “Officers were called to this incident because the man was suffering a seizure and posing an immediate threat to the safety of himself and others and had assaulted a number of paramedics.

“As an IPPC investigation is under way it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.”

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1212262_probe_after_police_use_taser_on_man_suffering_epileptic_fit

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8618143.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/apr/13/police-taser-inquiry-epilepsy-seizure

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1265709/Police-use-Taser-man-violent-epileptic-fit.html

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1213749_police_tasered_me_as_i_had_an_epileptic_fit

Free weekend

I am free this weekend to have a real weekend without thinking about work, apart from 2 letters which i will draft this weekend and of course reading the training material from Wed. But free otherwise. No stress, no strain and i can probably do some real writing, not this blog stuff for once. Yeah i have reclaimed the weekend.

Christmas hols seem as if they didn't even happen. the last couple of weeks have been solid as a rock, interesting work always which has taken up most of my time apart from the deadline work that never ends. anyway no deadlines next week, so all cool.

had a call from a new client today, really good case. police stitch up, that you can't make up. the police are screwed on this one, totally screwed and i am going to go after them tooth and nail so they will be screwed if they are not already. it's just not right and something has to change otherwise this is just going to continue forever.

interesting work and a free weekend, i couldn't ask for more.