|
|
|
| NEWS > 02 March 2007 |
Other related articles:
Sex offenders give police the
Police have lost track of more than 300 sex offenders who provided only vague addresses for an official register.
In London 88 sex offenders are missing, 25 in the West Midlands and 18 in the area around Manchester.
Last night there was further embarrassment for the Home Office when a police leader said that the department had been given a warning about the problem three years ago. Jan Berry, chairwoman of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said that the organisation had alerted the Home Office to the issue but it had failed to come ... Read more
|
 Article sourced from
|
|
Hamilton Spectator - Hamilton,
02 March 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
|
Hamilton Police Service
|
A violation of our trust in po
The Hamilton Police Service believes in the prevention, detection and suppression of crimes and the relentless pursuit of offenders.
In being sensitive to the needs of victims of crime and other circumstances.
In performing our duties with integrity and accountability.
-- Hamilton Police Service mission statement
Police Chief Brian Mullan can repeat his service's mission statement by heart. I've heard him do it many times. He stands in front of every new recruit and teaches it to them. Explains its importance. Tells them this is what his organization is all about.
But now, those words are sounding hollow.
The police service has failed to live up to its own expectations. And it has fallen miles short of the standards the public rightfully holds it to. Two teens were murdered after a wanted man's attempt to surrender was turned down by the police. A man who identified himself as Corey Rogers called 911 on the morning of Feb. 10, told a civilian call taker his name, that he was the city's Most Wanted man, that he was at 98 Tisdale Ave. N. He asked for cops to come and get him. They didn't.
Relentless pursuit of offenders.
According to a new timeline released by Mullan at an emergency Police Services Board meeting yesterday, the call taker gave Rogers a choice: we'll pick you up or you can walk over to the station. Mullan says Rogers chose to walk. That differs from court documents written by Hamilton officers and from earlier statements from Deputy Chief Ken Leendertse who said Rogers was simply asked to walk in.
Either way, they waited for him to show up at the station's front desk.
He didn't.
One week later, Lucas Deane, 18, and Paul Haggerty, 19, were stabbed to death outside the Dizzy Weasel pub on Barton Street. Hours later, Rogers was arrested at the same address he had given to the call taker seven days earlier.
Prevention, detection and suppression of crimes ...
Police kept the botched surrender a secret from the murder victims' families.
Sensitive to the needs of victims of crime and other circumstances.
And then Leendertse had the gall to congratulate the police on their fine work, knowing full well that the service had bungled a chance to prevent the murders by arresting the man they themselves had designated Hamilton's Most Wanted.
Integrity and accountability.
I asked Mullan yesterday about the role integrity and accountability play in the handling of Rogers.
"Has there been a breach of integrity?" he asked. "If there has, people should be held accountable. If they're culpable, then they should be disciplined and that's my position."
There are many good police officers in this city. And -- as we have learned almost weekly over the past six months -- there are a shocking number of bad ones. Still, our community has for the most part held its police in good stead. Believed that the good outweigh the bad. Believed that things would improve.
But now this has happened. Two murders that might have been avoided. An aftermath that, at best, is a gross mishandling of a horrible situation and, at worst, is a failed attempt at a coverup.
It's difficult to have faith and confidence and trust in the police today.
And that sad fact lies on the shoulders of Mullan.
I take no pleasure in saying that. On a personal level, I have a great deal of respect for Chief Mullan. I do think he is a man of integrity. But I also recognize that he is the leader of some 750 sworn officers and 270 civilians. Among them there are heroes. There are people who have made mistakes. And there are also people without integrity.
As their leader, Mullan is ultimately responsible for all of them. From the civilian call taker right up to the deputy chief.
It is Mullan's job to uphold the core values of his police service. To ensure that, as an organization, it measures up to the goals it has set for itself.
Our values and ethics express the commonly held beliefs that we must strive for in our daily operations. These beliefs govern our work behaviour and actions.
He knows that. He said yesterday he accepts that he is ultimately responsible. It is an understanding that could -- depending on the results of an investigation and the decision of the board -- lead to his resignation.
It is also, ironically, a position that shows integrity and accountability.
|
| |
 EiP Comments:
|
|---|
|
| |
* We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper or periodical. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and we will remove the article. The articles republished on this site are provided for the purposes of research , private study, criticism , review, and the reporting of current events' We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper , periodical or other works. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and where necessary we will remove the work concerned.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 |
Ethics in Policing, based in the UK, provide information and advice about the following:
Policing Research | Police News articles | Police Corruption | International Policing | Police Web Sites | Police Forum | Policing Ethics | Police Journals | Police Publications |
|
| |
|
