Policing - new material (35)
01 December 1997
Talking shop Carol Jenkins. Police Review 26.9.97. pp20-21
Interview with the new ACPO president David Blakey who advocates a national layer of policing citing "the formation of NCIS, National Crime Squad, national training and PITO as prime examples of this idea being put into practice."
Protesters - heroes or villains? Alan Beckley. Police Vol. XXIX No. 13 (September) 1997 pp28-29. Article by the Chief Inspector, West Mercia constabulary, that observes "that protesters are no- longer the mis-fits of society they are now middle class and senior citizens who carry the weight of public opinion with them and therefore policing protest incidents requires greater sensitivity."
Continental rift Alan Beckley. Police Review 5.9.97. pp18-19. This piece considers the impact on day-to-day policing in the UK of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Police complaints and discipline: deaths in police custody England and Wales April 1996 to March 1997 Judith Cotton & David Povey. Statistical Bulletin 21/97 (Home Office) 1997. This bulletin records 57 deaths "in police custody or otherwise in the hands of police" which is up 14% on 1995-96. It notes 22 500 complaints cases 377 disciplinary charges against officers and 77 officers dismissed. It also records the statistics by ethnic origin.
Light Loads Stewart Goodwin. Police Vol. XXIX No. 14 (October) 1997 p.19. Short piece on "Britain's only permanently armed force" the Ministry of Defence Police and their firearms training.
Playing it safe? Steve Frosdick. Police Review 3.10.97, pp20-21
This article considers the issuing of CS gas sprays to officers policing football matches and asks if "the risks which CS sprays at football ground pose to crowd safety are greater than the benefits it offers for officer safety?"
Police and foreigners: a research project on German police officers' attitudes and behaviour patterns towards non-German citizens Dr Manfred Murck & Hans Peter Schmalzl. Police Journal Vol. LXX No. 4 (October-December) 1997 pp311-314. This purported "research project" arose out of an ongoing series of racist assaults by German police officers on migrants and foreigners . It will come as no surprise to find that the authors' failed to find a "systematic behaviour pattern of the police" but blame "structural conditions" (see AI report Continuing pattern of police ill-treatment EUR 23/04/97 July 1997).
Garda brutality in Limerick Proinsias O'Maolchalain. An Phoblacht/Republican News 2.10.97, pp10-11. This article follows-on from investigations into the Gardai in Limerick by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Amnesty International. It presents case-studies that range from ill-treatment to outright brutality and supports calls for a public inquiry into this notorious police force.
Complaints and discipline Police Federation. Police Vol. XXIX, No 15 (November) 1997 pp19-23. This piece presents the Police Federation's evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee and its disagreements with ACPO and the PCA over the investigation of complaints against police officers.