25 Nov 09 | Uncategorized
How strange to come away from an inquiry into policing feeling impressed and even a little touched.
But the report, by Denis O’Connor, the chief inspector of constabulary, into the past, present and future of public order policing, is such an exceptional piece of work that it deserves all the plaudits it will surely get. O’Connor goes at his huge task with real vigour, attacking it enthusiastically from all sides, and never hesitating to criticise the police when he feels that officers have made mistakes.
O’Connor has a very clear vision of the police force he wants to lead; it is a modern police force, making use of modern tools, but still adhering closely to the original ideals of Robert Peel that policing should be “approachable, impartial, accountable… based on minimal force and anchored in public consent”.
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20 Jul 09 | Index Index, minipost
Officials in Kyrgyzstan have claimed at a news conference that a local police officer has admitted to inflicting the injuries on freelance journalist Almazbek Tashiyev that resulted in his death last week. They claim the policeman knew Tashiyev well and the row was personal and now consider the case to be closed. Upon admission to hospital Tashiyev, and his brother who also witnessed the incident said he had been assaulted by “about 10 policemen”. Read more here
26 May 09 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Armed Israeli police attempted to halt the opening night of a prominent Palestinian literary festival in Jerusalem ordering a Palestinian theatre to close. Read more here
13 May 09 | Uncategorized
Chandeliers, moats and tennis courts. Who ever imagined it would come to this? With the current controversy over expenses, parliament is at serious risk of inflicting damage upon itself that could take a generation or more to repair.
Of course there are always security issues to be considered whenever data is stolen. And while MPs may have only limited claims to privacy, and none at all where expenses are concerned, they certainly have an unrestricted right to personal safety. Equally, it’s obviously troubling if bank details and passwords are being passed around. Yet at a time like this it is hard to avoid the conclusion that reaching for the police is the worst possible option: in truth we are far beyond that.
A scandal that has been exposed by free speech on the front page of a newspaper cannot be undone by attacking the human right that dragged it out into the daylight. It is painfully obvious that instead of being persuaded that open comment is the crime here, the public will take recent events as the best possible argument for protecting it at all costs.
In trying to keep their expenses secret, parliamentarians fell dangerously out of kilter with an electorate who now feel thoroughly vindicated by the horrors visited upon them. It would be dangerous indeed if the idea got around that Westminster’s most telling response to public anger was an ill-advised attempt to lash out at the gleeful messenger. This may be rough justice, but a little more transparency a little earlier on might have brought us a happier regime less threatened by curious eyes.
The public’s right to know should be engraved on the heart of every legislator. Life would be so much easier for them if they all understood this. It would be especially easier for the rest of us if their Speaker did.
