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| NEWS > 01 September 2007 |
Other related articles:
Nigeria: British Aid Now, Stat
I want to dive headlong into this state police debate today by telling a story. Alhaji Rauf Aregbesola, former Lagos Commissioner for Works who ran for governorship in Osun State this year, paid us a visit at THISDAY shortly after the polls. Aregbesola, who ran on the ticket of Action Congress (AC), was very bitter. From the beginning to the end of the two-hour monologue, he complained bitterly about how the incumbent governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, used the police to harass, intimidate, torture, maim and kill his supporters before and after the elections. He outlined all the evils that were al... Read more
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The Dominion Post - Wellington
01 September 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Editorial: A force learning ri
Hello, hello, what have we here then? It reads like the script for a Monty Python sketch, The Dominion Post writes.
Police officers are being put through a new training course, Making Ethics Real, that teaches them how to "recognise evil" and "confront it more effectively".
Readers could be forgiven for assuming this was a relatively simple matter. See man with stocking over head departing scene of a crime, plasma screen television under arm. Apprehend man. Put him before the courts.
But no, today's police apparently need to be taught the difference between right and wrong.
Given the insights offered into police culture by the Louise Nicholas case and other recent sex trials involving former police officers, it is not surprising police bosses feel a need to do something. There was clearly something rotten within the culture of the organisation in the 1980s.
Having group sex with vulnerable young women, whether willing or unwilling, is not an appropriate way for police officers to relax after a day on the job.
Police bosses have to either assure the public that that culture no longer exists or, if it does, stamp it out.
But it is highly unlikely that getting police officers to debate the ethicality of knocking off work five minutes early or the wisdom of visiting brothels is going to teach the difference between right and wrong to adults who do not already know it.
Especially when, as rank and file officers point out, police headquarters is grappling with the same concepts.
It is only a month ago that human resources manager Wayne Annan was caught sanitising data on the standard of police recruits. Mr Annan claimed test results showed new recruits were brighter than serving officers, but it turned out that was only because the results of poorly performing recruits were omitted from a report on the subject.
New Commissioner Howard Broad made an encouraging beginning, apologising to victims of police sexual abuse, and promising to set new standards.
But he has not lived up to that promise in the past few months.
Standard-setting starts at the top.
If Mr Broad is truly concerned to improve the reputation of the police he will ensure police pronouncements can be taken at face value.
He should then ensure that the police recruit only high-quality candidates who know the difference between right and wrong.
If police recruiters are unsure about how to distinguish between the two, they could start by asking new recruits a couple of simple multiple-choice questions.
First, do they regard police batons and handcuffs as a) law enforcement tools or b) items to take on a date.
Second, do they believe wrongdoers within police ranks should be a) protected by their mates or b) held to account for their actions.
By the time recruits reach police training college they should know the difference between right and wrong. Trying to teach it would be the equivalent of trying to teach them the alphabet.
Oh yes, we forgot. That's another thing police trainers recently had to do for one recruit in order to meet Government promises to expand the number of police officers.
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