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Police Reform Bill Ends Accountability

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Here's the article.

I know we have people of all different backgrounds here, so it will be interesting to have debate...

I first wanna give my view by saying I have no issues with the police as individuals. In fact, the area in which I live feels safer now we have police presence... However, I have many friends who get involved in nonviolent activism, as do I and I do not feel comfortable with this bill at all...

I know people who have been assaulted by police officers at demonstrations, one who was assaulted in police custody and have followed activism sites for a while, so I believe that the police have more accountability than your average person when it comes to committing acts of violence, or harm to individuals... Ian Tomlinson, was an extreme example...

I kinda worry how far this will go, in terms of the abuse of power some police officers are willing to exert. Regardless of whether or not anyone agrees with UKUncut, the way in which they were tricked in to arrest was embarrassing. How then, can we trust the police in any situation?

Would this possibly open the gates for homophobic or racist police officers to treat people unfairly?

We have far more civil liberties than most countries, but this bill is at risk of removing some of them...

*** Note: Not being on the inside of the police, further than being an appropriate adult, I'm not sure how sexual assault or racist/homophobia linked allegations are currently treated, regarding accountability. I guess that there are separate laws for that?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If there's no ombudsman there's no enforcement of the rules. Police can, do and will protect their own (as they did with employing a pathologist known to be incompetent to investigate Tomlinson's death, thereby protecting the murderer PC Harwood). The IPCC are useless, but they're better than nothing.

    But why would a government expecting serious social disorder want an accountable police force? POlitical policing is here to stay and part of that is making sure that the police are not accountable for their actions.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've got a big problem with it, as I do with the election of commisioners.

    We need an IPCC, and we certainly don't need police forces being run by whomever got the most votes.
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