Was This Institutional Racism Or Simply Police Malpractice?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3369102/Police-officer-PCSO-convicted-misconduct-murder-man-burned-death-neighbours-wrongly-thought-peadophile.html

Whatever description is put to it, these police officers, should feel the full weight of the law brought down on them, including the two women police officers who apparently have been cleared of any wrong doing.

[andy-hughes]

It appears from the reports that the officers concerned took a personal dislike to this poor man which may, or may not have been influenced by his ethnicity.

Whatever the reasons, the tragic outcome is undeniable - but if due process has been followed and the two women police officers have not been found responsible, then that judgement should stand.

We cannot allow the emotional impact of this dreadful event cloud judgements applied by the law.

[andy-hughes]

divebuddy - //Nothing to do with racism.//

I would not be so quick to dismiss the possibility that the victim's ethnicity may have played a part in the overall dislike and indifference shown towards him in this situation.

The truth is, we are never going to know for sure either way.

[jno]

you could probably find out if there was something to compare the case with - if eg a white man had called in with similar problems. But we don't know if this is the case; so it might be or might not be racism.

[andy-hughes]

divebuddy - //You can't just label the cops racist. There isn't any evidence of that. You can label them incompetent, uncaring and untrained, there's lots of evidence of that.//

Of course, neither I nor anyone else can accuse the police of racism here - which is why I didn't do that.

I merely put forward the possibility that the gentleman's ethnicity may ( and I stress may) have played some part in building their dislike of him, which led to them not taking his complaints seriously.

I am merely putting it forward as a possible aspect of their attitude - it is not the be-all and end-all of what they did, or rather failed to do - but it may be a part - and as I also said, we will never know.

[retrocop]

I am with db all the way here. Totally unacceptable behaviour by the police and inexcusable. Not racist though as far as the police failings imo.
The word P*** was used by the assailants and that is the only racist comment I can see in the report. Very unprofessional.

[Retrochic]

Its Police not having enough resources and not prioritizing the complaints of the victim. I hesitate to say the attitude of the victim in previous interviews with the Police probably did not help, but this is of course no excuse for what happened to him.

[jomifl]

It may be the guy 'cried wolf' to often, the police are human beings too.

[retrocop]

I recall a little old grey haired German woman who came into the counter at Paddington Green every day for years, without fail ,enquiring after her missing son. We sat her in the interview room and generally got her a cup of tea and told her our enquiries were ongoing.
We all knew the poor woman's son was killed about 6 years earlier in an accident and she just couldn't come to terms with it. That was really sad but she left the station quite reassured until the next day. I reckon times have changed big time since the 70s. :-(

[Retrochic]

yes retrocop things have changed for the worse. I was talking to a Police Officer who came to the house on Sunday ( son was a witness to an accident) . He was about middle forties and said he'd just been told he was going to have to work 10 years extra for his pension for £145k at the end of it. Also he said there was no time for adequate rural policing as police were understaffed in the urban areas and over-faced with paperwork. Total lack of enthusiasm so I am not surprised an irate person who frequently made complaints to the police was eventually (and tragically) overlooked on the one occasion he really needed Police support.

[jomifl]

Complaining to the police can sometimes be counterproductive. When the police relieved my father's neighbour of the 12 bore shotgun that he was shooting from his back garden his neighbour's next act was to take revenge by attacking my father with an axe (fortunately other neighbours intervened)

[beso]

While this particular incident cannot be unequivocally attributed to racism, there is a vast body of statistical evidence that police in general are not evenly handed in the application of the law to people of different ethnicity.

[anotheoldgit]

beso

/// there is a vast body of statistical evidence that police in general are not evenly handed in the application of the law to people of different ethnicity. ///

Could that be because certain ethnicities are not even handed with society or the police?

[andy-hughes]

AOG - ///// there is a vast body of statistical evidence that police in general are not evenly handed in the application of the law to people of different ethnicity. ///

Could that be because certain ethnicities are not even handed with society or the police? //

It could be - but that does not excuse dereliction of duty which in this case, has led to the horrible death of an innocent individual.

[anotheoldgit]

andy-hughes

/// It could be - but that does not excuse dereliction of duty which in this case, has led to the horrible death of an innocent individual. ///

And nowhere did I say it should.

[andy-hughes]

AOG - // And nowhere did I say it should. //

And nowhere did I say that you said it should.

[anotheoldgit]

andy-hughes

/// AOG - // And nowhere did I say it should. // ///

Then perhaps you should not have bothered to make that comment if you didn't want it to appear that you did.