Inner Cities (Policing)

Part of Prayers – in the House of Commons at 12:07 pm on 17 July 1987.

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Photo of Mr Chris Smith Mr Chris Smith , Islington South and Finsbury 12:07, 17 July 1987

It does not vindicate the system at all. Had the system simply been left to operate as it normally operates, the Police Complaints Authority would have reported in January 1986, saying, "Yes. The incident happened; apologies all round. We have carpeted the 30 officers in the three vans that we think were in the area that evening, but there is nothing that we can do." It took three weeks of public outcry and concern to force the matter further into the open. The matter would not have been reopened without that public outcry, the campaign conducted by many people in the media and, I might add, a lot of pressure from me.

The second major lesson that needs to be learnt from this whole sorry affair is that we need to review police disciplinary rules. At the moment, to find a breach of discipline by a serving police officer the test of proof beyond reasonable doubt has to be applied—precisely the test that operates in a court of law. No matter who is up before a judge or jury, that test must be preserved in a court of law. However, in every other profession, for matters of discipline—not matters of criminal prosecution—the test is not proof beyond reasonable doubt; it is a balance of probabilities. Why is it that for the police, and the police alone, the stiffer test is needed? Why is it more difficult to take disciplinary proceedings against the police, when the police are in a position of far greater authority and trust in relation to the public than the members of any other profession? We need to reexamine the operation of the police disciplinary rules and the strength of the test needed to ensure that discipline can be exacted where necessary. There must be a balance between the natural and legitimate rights of serving police officers and the interests of the public to make sure that discipline exists. At present, that balance is not right and we must try to change it.

The third major lesson that I wish to draw is the need for proper control, supervision and record-keeping of the activities of district support unit vans. The van which carried the five police officers who were convicted yesterday was a district support unit van. I have been unable to establish who was in control of its operations that night. Was it the police station whence it came, or was it the police station and authority covering the patch in which it was operating, which was a completely different station? Who was in operational control of the activities of that van that night? Even more important, what records were kept by the occupants and driver of that van of where it went, what they did and what incidents it attended that evening? Very few records appear to be kept at present, and as long as no records are kept and there is no clear chain of control and command we will always be worried about what some of the occupants of the vans are up to.