Defendants' Information Service
01 September 1995
The Defendants' Information Service (DIS) emerged from a campaign by the Hackney Community Defence Campaign (HCDA) to support the victims of police crime that came to light following the exposure of extensive corruption at Stoke Newington police station. The campaign's work included building a dossier on policemen involved in dealing in drugs and the fabrication of evidence (see Statewatch, vol 2 no 2, vol 4 no 5).
In 1989 the group started recording names of officers alleged to have planted drugs and fabricated evidence. When the cases were cross-referenced a core of 12-15 officers came up repeatedly, but over 120 officers were named. The information was circulated to solicitors representing people charged with drug offences in the area, and the result was that the Met launched Operation Jackpot in January 1992. At the Court of Appeal this information was used by lawyers to get the convictions of 13 people overturned who were wrongly arrested by Stoke Newington police officers. At Snaresbrook Crown Court, in London, another 25 defendants were acquitted and the Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence in twenty other cases. In the resulting civil actions against the police over ?300,000 has been paid out to nine people to date.
Following the success of the HCDA campaign the DIS was set up in September 1994 as an independent company, that is registered with the Data Protection Registrar. Access to the DIS database is restricted to the two people who set it up and reports are provided to solicitors who have made an enquiry. It provides them with details of cases where allegations of misconduct have been made against police officers which resulted in criminal acquittals, civil damages and/or complaints.
Given the current situation, where police and prosecution lawyers have access to a defendants criminal records but defence lawyers are all too often unaware of the history of a particular police officer the DIS will go some way to levelling the playing field. For further information contact: DIS, PO Box 7459, London N16 6QQ. Tel. 0181 806 4952.
Observer 27.8.95; "Redressing the balance", in Legal Action September 1995, p10.