Biased BBC contributor Alan observes “Not much choice on the radio today…either the resurrection of the KKK in Poland and the Ukraine or the appalling possibility of Tom Winsor heading the HMIC.
The BBC manage to find the completely independent Police Federation to talk about Tom Winsor’s merits but I never heard any description of exactly what responsibities the HMIC actually has….and what effect it has on the work of frontline police officers…..so I had a look at Inspector Gadget for the real dirt.
Here is the BBC getting the Federation’s take……
‘Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, told Today the organisation was “very surprised that the home secretary has chosen somebody who has so little experience of policing”. He said: “When you look across the police service there are so many people with real experience and real understanding – a profound understanding – of policing, we don’t know why the government has chosen a commercial lawyer.”
The Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales commented that the role had previously always been “fulfilled by an individual with a strong and credible record of achievement within policing and knowledge and understanding of the wider criminal justice system”.’
So just how much good does all that ‘experience’ do for the police officer on the beat?
And here is Inspector gadget’s few words on the subject…..
http://inspectorgadget.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/alone-in-the-canteen-winsorhmic-shock/
‘With regards to HMIC; As you would expect (and probably the reason you are here at this Blog) I have a rather different view. Many people are throwing their hands in the air in a giant Mexican wave at the thought of Winsor being HMIC. Personally, I know that HMIC has been behind every silly piece of policing nonsense over the last two decades.
From the odious ‘Detection culture’ via ‘Public Confidence’ and ‘Citizen Focus’ to an obsession with targets, and then an obsession with cutting targets. In Ruralshire, we actually have a target for the number of targets we must cut.
Police officers in this country no longer know what their mission is as we swing from one knee-jerk reaction to another, trying to appease the media or bend to whatever single-issue agenda shouts loudest. HMIC could have sorted this out but instead they have made it worse.
HMIC consists of police officers on attachment who spend their time criticising operational officers for not doing things they didn’t do themselves when they were operational. Most of them are desperate for promotion and working for HMIC is a great way to pad the portfolio.
So for me, in light of the appalling lack of backbone and disloyalty shown by HMIC and ACPO over that last two decades, it doesn’t matter who has the job. Winsor probably won’t expect us to walk around a housing estate with a megaphone shouting at people to close their windows. He probably won’t expect me to celebrate Gypsy Culture Week or apologise for slavery either.’
To me that sounds like he thinks the HMIC is a complete waste of time and utterly hopeless at providing direction to the police service. I could be wrong but I don’t think so.
Interested in this “experience” bit.
McKeever might be right-but do the BBCs candidates have relevant experience in making programmes I wonder-for the job of Director General.I mean?
And anyone at the BBC able to explain how Patten became Chairman of the BBC Trust…don`t recall his making any programmes way back?
Interested in the read across as ever….but the BBC never seem to link up their pearl necklaces do they?..one ishoo at a time eh?
I also read Gadgets blog earlier and was surprised because I was expecting a full on winge from him over this appointment.
Listening to R5L this morning discussing the school teacher sacked after she’d announced she was pregnant, the presenter received a large number of texts from small employers who found it impossible to employ women of child-bearing age because of disruption caused to their business if they became pregnant. Only large companies like public broadcasters can afford to employ women. They would discuss this later in the programme after *after* Winsor’s appointment was discussed but that would be a “long discussion”. And so it was. R5L never did return to the subject.
Anything which impacts negatively on the employment perks of the beeboids, eg pensions for just about anybody or pregnancy absence etc etc, is characterised as the government trampling on the workers.
The BBC don’t seem too happy about Winsor , do they?
I wonder if theyr worried that, not being from the public sector ,he might just be less keen to continue to push the PC agenda, police organising Polish family fun days and Gypsy culture weeks (the latter already mentioned).
Anyway the Beeb do not seem happy.
Anything the bBC is not happy about is a ringing endorsement. They have turned into a reverse-litmus test of the right thing.
http://www.hmic.gov.uk/about-us/what-we-do/
Hmmm
Nowhere does it say that these tasks can only be performed by serving or former police officers
In the same manner that consumer watchdogs are not run by former employees of Currys
BTW who inspects the prison service – is he a former prison officer?
“HM Chief Inspector of Prisons is appointed from outside the Prison Service, for a term of five years. The Chief Inspector reports directly to the government on the treatment and conditions for prisoners in England and Wales and other matters.”
Relevant exprience is clearly necessary but not apparently as a prison officer
So why is the prospect of a non-copper being HMIC such a threat to civilisation?
The BBC has a special reverence for certain lobby groups like the police federation and BMA – almost like the unions, funny old thing
Here’s how the Polish racism slur appears from Poland:
http://john-moloney.blogspot.com/
Too many University graduates fast-tracked for promotion now in senior officer ranks. Gadget is right the HMIC should be making those Chiefs (with their sociology degrees) face up to the real world.
It’s long been the practice to employ former Chief Constables in the role of H.M.I.C. and to be honest, after all the years of pushing for promotion within the police, they probably know as little about front line policing as a recruit straight from training school.
If ever you hear a chief officer talking about all his “experience”, take it with a massive pinch of salt. When a copper gets to the heady heights of the hierarchy they will have done very little operational policing.
I can remember when a colleague and I, both ordinary patrol constables, jumped into the back of a police van after football match duty in order to return to our station to sign off. Imagine our surprise to find two Chief Inspectors, a Superintendent and the Divisional Chief Superintendent already sitting in the van.
On the way to the station we came across a road accident. As we were first on the scene, it was up to us to deal with it. Only me and my mate jumped out of the back of the van and as we did I heard one of those senior officers say ” It’s a good job we had a couple of Bobbies in to deal with it because I don’t think any of us could’ve done it.”
The rest of them mumbled in agreement.
So I don’t think Tom Winsor would be any worse than some of the deadwood ex-Chief Constables that have had the job.
Senior Police Officers may know about the theory of operational policing but very few have had the actual practice (apart from their two years probation).