THINGS ARE NOT what they used to be. People are climbing the walls of Buckingham Palace to the royal wine and borrow cigarettes pays their own way these days. pise, the family and the community just do not seem to count any more.
But the Metropolitan police is a thin 'blue line' that is still trying to keep the old standards alive.
Because Met has however tried to encourage enterprise and Communiy in sas been been Communily slandered and villified. motley collection of professional knocker headed by operation coun tryman diLC the blood of the coppers Charge after charge has been made against our Countryman took police. 209 complaints against individual officers and order to find out these charges ; were, police were forced to break into the city commissioner's office!
Countryman asked the Yard's Complaints vestigation Bureau to take charge of 187 enquiries inpolice corruption.
some one had not nicked 93 of these, large amounts of public money would have been wasted vestigating wild charges against our police.
Because the police try to help people, they have been suspicion.
Brian Davies was a convicted fraud who intended to mend nis ways. So he turned to the ponce for He entertained police to booze and food.
nick The spirit of enterHe took one policeman to Paris so the lad could honeymoon. allalice He hired a Rolls Royce to take detective constables to see Evita.
Then after these policeman had unselfishly given up their time to help him, he went and reported them to operation coun tryman. If some one at the Yard had not suppressed the photographs, receipts and witnesses' statements Davies gave to countryman, these police would probably have been jailed for trying to help Davies get back the straight and narrow.
Unlike the majority of trade unionists the puolic sector who rely on cablings one porce have police have been prepared to go and start their own bonus schemes. "Commander A:
received money respect of a major crime resulting appearance of a witness Commander B: received part of £40,000 paid to of ficers in respect of bank in respect of eem any robbery mnquiry.. Comtheft Commander corrup BOu.
spiracy This goes to prove that those wno are in charge are prepared to get their hands dirty with the rest of the workforce if only the rest of our businesses had managers and directors like that.
All the Met works hard for its money. Right from the unnamed people who £300,000 reward colecicu money the job pulled in March 1980, LUC humblest detective constable. The young COL• stables are not allowed to sit on their arse has its own YOPS scheme and so they are sent out to deal 1 in drugs, flog the odd bit porn, collect their rotection money West Enc prostitutes burglaries and stick ups. T and take the hospital cleaners showed that kind of enterprise they would ing about being low paid.
Even when police have tried to work they have been misunderstood Countryman claimed that detectives extorted money from bail, • for crimidas privileges and for weakenng prosecution case What countrymar did not understand was that the police are only too well aware of the overcrowding of Britain's jails and that is they have been prepared help the bankrobbers and stick-up merchants keep out of the nick.
But they know that crime must pay So they have instituted their own system of fines, which saves the country the ex pense of trials, and keeps the jail population lower. After all you have to make sure that there is plenty of room in the nick for the blacks and the lefties Countryman Was apparently taken aback when they learned that a group of detectives had sent a telegram to the wedding of OI south London's most violent tearaways The telegramme read: 'Bes wishes from one good firm to Cynics countryman were doubtful when a detective in the 'firm' explained that the police were just interestec in the thief's future and thought family life might mend Ills ways The disclosures of DOWN AND MAY BE USED countryman could underour police force. the Met feels that it can no longer run its own produc tivity schemes morale will be destroyed and then where would the country be?
*Socialist Challenge 30 July 1982 page 15
Socialist REVOLUTION YO 1I THATCHEROU
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and, con- perjury
I MUST CAUTION YoU THAT ANYTHING You say WILL BE TAKEr AGAINST YOU IN EVIDENCE AN WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME? ML