Chief Constable Walter Mitty

[douglas9401]

I wonder what other imaginary or dodgy stuff is still to come out.

Begs the question, who did the background checks as he was rising through the ranks?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ceqq74pg1evo

[jackthehat]

It was Northants Constabulary who don't bother with such things as establishing competency to perform the role as a senior-ranked officer.

[gulliver1]

Didn't Penny Mordaunt Tory MP ...Try a similar stunt to impress the public. When she said her experience in the Royal Navy reserve and being on active service would add to her making a good PM .Cry . She was later found to be talking a load of Borix as most Tory MPs do.

[TheWinner]

hell hath no fury  . . . 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13476539/Nick-Adderley-wife-Walter-Mitty-Falklands.html

[jourdain2]

'Walter Mitty' were the first words that sprang to my mind, too, douglas.

My mind is boggling!  As a simple teacher who had to provide references, statements etc., etc., when applying for jobs - how, just HOW did no-one check on the accuracy of the information he supplied or question him in depth at interview, or notice that he was too young to have served in the Falklands conflict?

I can probably answer my own question - he knew people. 

Nepotism is rife, worse than rife; it is now the norm, it would seem, in our culture. Just look at the Post Office scandal. That woman was being considered as a Bishop even though she had never served her time as a vicar. More than ever, it seems to me, it is down to who you know. 

I'm furious actually, really furious and very, very cynical. 

[davebro3]

The most shocking thing is that a chief cop "earns" £176k pa !!!

[davebro3]

hopefully he loses any pension entitlement

[Hopkirk]

No Dave, not unless found guilty of an offence in court.

[barry1010]

He probably didn't lie about his previous jobs on his first application to join the police which would have been rigourously checked but embellished his history on subsequent applications, by which time he was a trusted and respected colleague.

Silly man, from what I have read he was a well liked man and good at his job.

 

[ToraToraTora]

was he doing a bad job though?

Reminds me of a surgeon way back when who'd done countless operations, later it turns out that he had no qualifications at all!

[barry1010]

This chap? https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/132700/Fake-surgeon-who-operated-190-times/amp

Probably was a whizz at Operation when he were a lad

[vulcan42]

An additional problem with this is there are plenty of medal suppliers in this country where anybody can buy any medal.  "Victoria Cross sir? yes that'll be just £51 please"

[davebro3]

Yes - it's a bit of a paradox, someone with all the right qualifications may not be much good at their job. The issue here is his falsehoods making him unfit for the role even though he may have been performing well.

In the film "Catch Me if You Can" based on a true story Frank Abignale takes on various jobs for which he is unqualified with some success & (it's claimed) even passed the exams to become a barrister with minimal study.

[Ellipsis]

> I can probably answer my own question - he knew people

Almost certainly. A nod and a wink ...

[andy-hughes]

It's probably down to an assumption of veracity, based on the fact that he was a serving office, and apparently a competent one.

Obviously he harboured some deep insecurities about himself, hence the need to bolster his public persona, it's pity he went about it in such a cack-handed manner.

[Ellipsis]

> What first interested you to the police force?

>> I'm an inveterate liar and have been very successful for decades.

> Ah, excellent. When can you start?

[sandyRoe]

He couldn't have been on the level, could he?

[andy-hughes]

sandy - Human nature means that we all see the best in ourselves.

Introspection is a rare art in people, the ability to objectively look at ourselves and say , yes, this is wrong about me, or i should not do that.

A man once summed up his life as being 'Someone who simply tried to make people happy ...' - that was Al Capone.

So if you think of it like that, this man probably didn't look at himself in the mirror and think "I am deceiving people and pretending to be something I'm not ..." because we all do that, to a greater or lesser degree.

What is common to all of us, is the ability to gloss over the 'wrong' bits of us, and amplify the 'right' bits, because that makes us comfortable with ourselves.

This man was obviously deeply insecure about his own potential and abilities, so he 'added' to his persona to overcome those feelings of inadequacy, and has now been forced to face up to them by the exposure of his deceit, and the attendent loss of his career and status.

But I don't think he probably started out with a long-term plan of deception.

These things are insidious, they creep in, and the bigger the insecurity, the bigger the need to compensate, and the easier it becomes to assimilate the deceits into daily life.

But let this be a lesson to everyone, have a good look at what you do to make yourself feel good about yourself, and try to make sure that, should some scrutiny come in, your approach will stand up to it.

[Peter Pedant]

'Walter Mitty' were the first words that sprang to my mind, too, douglas.

I felt sorry for him - what does it matter what medals a fella wore? The issue was dishonesty and a finding of dishonesty does all  sorts of things to your job, job prospects and reputation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Boorda

this fella commits suicide for  wearing stuff he shouldna.