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.
