Downing Street Says » Bichard Report/Humberside Police

Asked if the Home Secretary had the power to insist on the removal of the Chief Constable of Humberside Police, the PMOS said that the powers were contained in Section 33 of the Police Reform Act 2002 (amended section 42). That process had begun and would be followed through. As he understood it, Humberside Police Authority had two weeks to respond. Asked what action could be taken if the Police Authority did not accept the Home Secretary’s demand, the PMOS said that the powers laid down in the Act were clear. It would not be helpful to get drawn into a discussion about hypothetical scenarios. Asked if the Home Secretary was saying that the Chief Constable ought to resign or should be sacked, the PMOS said Mr Blunkett was saying that the Chief Constable should be suspended. A process had been agreed with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Chief Police Officers Staff Association (CPOSA) and the Associating of Police Authorities (APA) and would be followed through.

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So Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabularies – who works for David Blunkett – failed on every visit to Humberside to notice that the criminal records system was being administered under the terms of the ‘data protection act’ and not under the ‘if we want to we will keep information on unsubstantiated allegations rules that we just made up’.
The Home Office hadn’t issued sufficient guidelines on the retention and use of intelligence and if the public recognised this it could make the Home Secretary look incompetent.
So the Home secretary found a scapegoat – except this scapegoat is not going quietly.
I hope he sues for wrongful dismissal and makes DB appear in court to explain why the home Office is not doing its job of monitoring Constabularies and making recommendations on the retention and use of intelligence.
Comment by Roger Huffadine — 24 Jun 2004 on 9:21 am | Link
"Good day, Constable.", the Inspector said.

"Good day to you; so, what brings you to lovely Humberside", said the Constable.

"Oh, you know, the usual – checking in on staff, meetings, the usual. Oh yeah, and using my l33t h4ck3r sk1llz to go through your database’s cronjobs for that weekly ‘drop database’ command I heard you guys have been running.", said a grinning Inspector.

Oh, yes. That seems likely.
Comment by Gregory Block — 25 Jun 2004 on 5:57 pm | Link

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» Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Bichard Report/Humberside Police

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