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NEWS > 01 February 2007

Other related articles:

Police lieutenant put on leave
WEST BRIDGEWATER - West Bridgewater Police Lieutenant Raymund Rogers has been placed on paid administrative leave for "conduct unbecoming a police officer in connection with misappropriation of municipal property and resources." But just what Rogers is accused of remains a secret - at least for now.

According to Rogers - the second in command in the department - the letter he received from the chief simply cited "violations of department rules and regulations." There has been nothing specific thus far, he said.

Police Chief Donald Clark would not elaborate on the charge, ... Read more

 Article sourced from

Mirror.co.uk - London,UK
01 February 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.


WE BETTER HAVE A GOOD REASON F

By Roy Hattersley Former Labour Deputy Leader
NOBODY in their right minds doubts the evil that might be done in this country by al-Qaeda and its deluded British accomplices.

The threat is real and to pretend it does not exist would be the height of folly.

Nor does any sensible person question the basic integrity of the British police.


There are one or two bad apples in every barrel, but, for most of the time, most of our police officers do what they believe to be right and say what they know to be true.


That applies to their pursuit of urban terrorism as much as to any of the other jobs which they do.


But, in what politicians call "the war against terror", they face a special problem which they ignore to their peril.


As they pounce on another suspect - and we rejoice that one more threat to our lives and safety has been taken out of circulation - they have to be sure that they have made the right charges against the right man.


Another innocent man dead or another house raided by mistake - no matter how good the intentions - would result in a crisis of confidence in police methods if not police integrity.


And not only among the British Asians. Everyone who believed in the rule of law would begin to have doubts.


That is why I worry about what happened in Birmingham yesterday.


Nine people were arrested under the provisions of the prevention of terrorism legislation.


Because of the way that act operates, they have not yet been charged with any specific offence.


However, at the same time, a spokesman for the security services announced that they had uncovered a plot to kidnap and murder a British soldier.


IT would be madness to say that we must hope that allegation turns out to be justified.


But, if the arrested men are never accused of or charged with that terrible crime, we will be entitled to fear that something is badly wrong - the law, the way the police work or the pressure they are put under by politicians.


Frankly, in terrorist cases, the risks of the police getting it wrong are immense.


Firstly, there is a natural tendency to err on the side of caution.


If a man is even suspected of carrying a bomb, human nature dictates that you get him before he gets you.


Second, the law under which they operate does not impose restraints which apply to the arrest and detention of men and women suspected of other crime.


Nor do the usual rules of evidence apply. Because it is better to be safe than sorry, there is a inevitable temptation to assume the worst and most dangerous and act accordingly.


Perhaps most disturbing of all is the pressure which is undoubtedly applied to the police by politicians.


The government does not disguise its wish to see antiterrorist laws passed by parliament - laws which allow easier and longer detention without trial and a speedier way of extraditing foreign terrorist suspects.


It is parliament - properly conscious that the rule of law and the liberty of the subject go hand in hand - which has held ministers back.


As the government attempts to strengthen our defences, they make out the best case they can for tougher - some would say more repressive - policies.


In consequence, the temptation to make the suspicion of an outrage a certainty is almost beyond resistance.


Questions have rightly been asked about several incidents which seemed justified at the time, but which mercifully turned out to be something between false alarms and exaggerations.


At least the threats never materialised. Some of them have involved Heathrow Airport - two years ago surrounded by tanks and more recently required to search every passenger for liquid explosives and shoe bombs.


Successive home secretaries have said it is better to combat a threat which turns out not to exist than to ignore one which is real and results in the deaths of hundreds of innocent people.


BUT, unless we are careful, the politicians will cry wolf too often and, when the danger is real, half the population will assume that the warning is just another publicity stunt.


In this, as in so much else, President George W Bush has set the British government a bad example.


No one can doubt that he exploited the unforgivable wickedness of 9/11 to justify policies which had no real bearing on the war against terror.


It was one of his excuses for invading Iraq and is now used to justify the threats of war against Iran.


In fact, Saddam Hussein - evil though he undoubtedly was - fought a continuous war against al-Qaeda.


When honest men and women are fearful of a bomb on their bus or in their underground carriage, it is easy for politicians to take advantage of the fears to boost their own egos, improve their prospects of promotion and to force through unpopular policies.


And spare a thought for the communities in which yesterday's arrests took place.


MOST British Muslims are no less opposed to and afraid of terrorism than their neighbours of other faiths. In many ways, they have more to fear.


For the tiny proportion of homicidal fanatics among them - most of whom, as the director of public prosecutions said last week, are oddballs and dropouts - hate them and their families more than they hate Christian infidels.


They are accused of treachery to the cause. That is why, if the rumours are true, the plan to execute a soldier which led to yesterday's arrests was said to specifically target a Muslim member of the forces.


Add to that the pain they must feel when they are attacked as they were attacked earlier this week by David Cameron.


No doubt the Tory leader claims that he only excoriated "Islamic extremists", but the record shows that speeches like his incite opposition to the whole Muslim population of this country.


No wonder young Muslims - born here and as British as any of us - feel increasingly alienated from the mainstream of society.


And, unless yesterday's raids in Birmingham can be justified in open court, that feeling is bound to grow.


It would be a savage irony if, by overreacting and making claims which cannot be justified by normal evidence, the police and politicians actually acted as recruiting sergeants to the evil forces which they are striving to eliminate.

 

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