Monday 29 February 2016

Consider This The Next Time Police Scotland Stop You In Your Car

The BBC have discovered that Police Scotland spent £350,000 over a three year period paying out compensation to members of the public. And it was all due to motor accidents police drivers caused.

Of course the BBC didn't just get this info handed to them on a plate. As you would expect with untrustworthy Police Scotland, the BBC had to fight for the info by filing a freedom of information request - then waiting seven months for it to be granted.

Never the less, the figures are now in and they make shocking reading.

The compensation police paid out was for, among other things, police officers hitting a cyclist, hitting a pedestrian, hitting a wall, hitting a parked car, running a red light and causing a collision, and rolling in to a third party vehicle.

Tut tut, shame on you Police Scotland

Therefore, I, as a careful driver with a full no-claims bonus intact for many years, hereby give some advice to Police Scotland patrol car drivers.

A motor vehicle can be a very dangerous thing. In the wrong hands it can be lethal. Careful and considerate driving at all times will help prevent accidents. Adhering to road warning signs, staying alert, and observing speed limits can avoid fatalities.

Oops sorry, I've got that the wrong way round - that's actually what the condescending hypocrites at Police Scotland usually say to us about our driving.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-35431060

Sunday 28 February 2016

An American Pile Driver?

Police in the United States have been taking advice from Police Scotland on how to handle suspects without resorting to shooting them.

Police in the US shot and killed 1,000 people last year so it's a big problem.

The reason the US cops asked Scottish cops for advice is because most police in Scotland are unarmed yet still manage to arrest suspects, so they reckoned there may be something to learn from us that could hopefully reduce the number of police shootings in the US.

I wonder if the advice untrustworthy Police Scotland gave them was to gather a few uniformed plods together and sit on top of the suspect until he suffocates and dies.

After all, that seemed to work rather well for Police Scotland in the Sheku Bayoh case.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/cops-change-shooting-policy-after-7280880

Saturday 27 February 2016

An Apology To Sir Stephen House

It seems I may have got my opinion of Sir Stephen House a little bit wrong.

As regular readers will know, I refer to him in this blog as Sir Stephen 'I've got an ego as big as a' House.

I have also called him a menace in a uniform (see post) and a pathetic individual, devoid of all moral worth (see post).

But I have now discovered that the reason he cancelled dozens of appointments and went missing during the last 2 months of his tenure with Police Scotland (when his force was facing unparalleled criticism and really needed leadership) is because he was busy selling his Helensburgh house and setting up his own private company, Sarantium Solutions, at his £1.3m London property.

Of course he did all this while still pocketing his £208,000 as chief constable of Scotland.

So let me here and now apologise to Sir Stephen for calling him a menace in a uniform and a pathetic individual devoid of all moral worth.

I'd like to amend that to a greedy, money grabbing menace in a uniform and pathetic individual devoid of all moral worth.

Glad I've cleared that up now.

http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2016/01/31/sir-stephen-house-set-up-private-company-while-still-on-police-scotland-payroll/

Friday 26 February 2016

A Picture Paints A Thousand Words

We have discovered that Police Scotland keep photographs of every suspect they talk to for 12 years - even if that person was innocent and has done nothing wrong.

That may seem strange to you. Why on earth would Police Scotland want to keep mugshots of innocent members of the public who have done absolutely nothing wrong and have not committed any crime?

Easy.

Police Scotland have little interest in who is innocent and who is guilty. They don't get paid on innocence or guilt. They get paid to arrest people, bundle together as much evidence as possible to support the arrest (and fabricate evidence if need be), then pass it on to the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service so they can get as many prosecutions as possible.

Police Scotland and the Crown office's only interest is that when a crime is committed they get someone for it and get a successful prosecution. Anyone will do, it doesn't matter if they did it or not.

Police and the Crown office exist to arrest and prosecute people. Guilty or innocent has never come in to it and never will. As long as the Scottish public see police and the Crown office arresting and prosecuting lots of people they feel safe. That's what it's about.

If you are a police officer trying to find someone to arrest for a crime, the more photographs you have in your file the more chances you will have of some witness picking out one of the mugshots and saying 'yeah, I think that one looks a bit like the culprit'.

So now, dear reader, you know why you regularly hear police spokespersons on the TV saying things like "...we're following a positive line of enquiry" or "...a member of the public has identified a suspect for us and we hope to make an arrest soon" etc.

And the TV viewers all heave a sigh of relief and go to sleep in their beds that night, safe in the knowledge that our Scottish boys in blue are right on the case of all those baddies out there.

Except an innocent member of the public often ends up in the dock as a result.

But hey, that's not really important is it?

http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2016/01/31/police-scotland-keep-mugshots-of-innocent-suspects-for-12-years/

Thursday 25 February 2016

Sleaze, Money, And The Old Pals Acts - It Must be Glasgow City Council

There's been a bit of controversy over Frank McAveety giving the city treasurer job at Glasgow City Council to Councillor/Bailie Philip Braat.

The Evening Times newspaper interviewed a councillor who asked not to be named (because they've all been warned by the whip not to comment). She was directly quoted as saying that:

A deal on Phil (Braat) was done by Frank (McAveety) back in September in return for votes when he ran for leader.” (see article).

So the old pals act would appear to be alive and well in Glasgow Crooked City Council.

What a surprise (not)!

In case you don't know who Frank McAveety and Philip Braat are, let me remind you.

Frank McAveety is the councillor who got caught ogling a 15 year old schoolgirl at the Scottish Parliament (see article).

Philip Braat is the councillor who, despite being accused by a married woman of stalking her and a report on him being sent to the procurator fiscal, was NEVER even so much as interviewed by Police about it (and in an interesting and no doubt completely unrelated fact, Braat just happened to be head of the Strathclyde Police Authority at the time - see article).

The headline in The Herald Scotland reads "Glasgow Labour councillors hit with gagging order over Women 5050 row'. The full story makes for interesting reading.

I've also got a sneaking feeling when people see the words 'Frank McAveety', 'Philp Braat', 'women' and 'gagging' appearing in the same story there's gonna be plenty folks out there making up their own jokes.

Me? I wouldn't dream of it.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/homenews/14241261.Glasgow_Labour_councillors_hit_with_gagging_order_over_Women_5050_row/

Wednesday 24 February 2016

Wanted, Corrupt Procurator Fiscal

Just thought I'd pass this job offer on to my army of readers.

The Crown office are currently looking for a Crown Agent & Chief Executive and are offering a salary of around £105,000. The job came up when Catherine Dyer announced her retirement.

It's a job worth doing and decent money so I recommend it to anyone who feels they are qualified to take it on.

Honest, decent, fair, and just persons need not apply though.

You just won't fit in with Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service culture.

However corrupt individuals who know how to bastardise the law and twist the terms 'sufficient evidence in law', 'insufficient evidence in law', 'in the public interest' and 'not in the public interest' to do absolutely anything you want to do while appearing completely justified in doing it should definitely apply.

http://www.scottishlegal.com/2016/01/29/crown-agent-chief-executive-crown-office-procurator-fiscal-service/

Tuesday 23 February 2016

Crown Office CBE For Sale?

The Crown agent and chief executive Catherine Dyer has announced her retirement - just weeks after she received her CBE.

Coincidence?

Probably - if you believe in coincidences.

But I do know that time will tell.

Which is why I've opened a 'book' to take bets on whether we'll see Ms Dyer walking out of the COPFS office next month in a blaze of glory with Jim McColl on one arm and Carole Baxter on the other and a copy of The Beechgrove Garden Annual popping out the top of her handbag.

Or...

Whether she'll slip quietly out the back door, gripping her newly acquired CBE in her hand, ready to hang it on to the letterhead of the nearest organisation who'll pay her an exorbitant amount of money for her 'expertise'.

Anyone fancy a wee punt on it?

PS - to those procurator fiscals reading this blog (and my web stats show that you do ;-)) please be aware that when I say I've opened a 'book' to take bets on this, I am of course joking. I haven't - I don't gamble myself, I don't condone it, I do not have a gambling licence, and there isn't actually any 'book' nor does there exist any betting mechanism anywhere to place wagers on this matter. This whole post is satirical comment on public officials who say they are going to 'retire' then sell themselves off to the highest bidder and...oh, what's the point...ok Mr PF, just send your lackeys from Police Scotland to arrest me for running an illegal gambling racket and I'll tell it to the Sheriff instead. Hey, it'll give me something else to write about later.

MUST SEE! This Is How COPFS Treat Innocent Members Of The Public

Apologies if you're in the middle of eating at the moment, but please, please take a look at the disgusting pictures at the bottom of this post and remember them.

These pictures are not from the movie Midnight Express, nor are they from Abu Ghraib prison, Guantanamo bay, or some other poor third world hovel.

Nope, these pics are from the 'state of the art' 21st century Glasgow Sheriff Court, courtesy of Her Majesty's Inspectorate Of Prisons who, all kudos to them, called them degrading, inhumane and filthy.

Now, if this was where we were keeping convicted murderers, rapists, monstrous criminals, or the dregs of humanity you could perhaps be forgiven for saying hell mend 'em.

But it's not.

This is where our Crown office hold INNOCENT men and women before they appear before the Sheriff.

That's right folks, in case you forgot, you are INNOCENT until proven guilty in this country - so until you appear before a Sheriff you are INNOCENT.

And this is the holding cells where the Crown office put all those INNOCENT men and women. Wanna spend a penny? This is the filthy place where you are expected to do it - and in front of all the others who happen to be in the holding cell with you at the time.

So why would our Crown office put INNOCENT members of the Scottish public in such a disgusting place like this?

Simple answer. The Crown office and Procurator Fiscals are corrupt. They believe everyone to be guilty until proven innocent - it's completely flies in the face of justice but it's how they work. The very fact that you have been charged with something, anything, is a presumption of guilt in the eyes of the motley crew known as 'The Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service'.

The COPFS operate in a manner that goes against everything that is just, honest, fair and decent in our society. What makes it worse is that this corrupt lot claim to be a public body working on our behalf, in the public interest, for our benefit.

Let me make one thing absolutely clear. Before members of the public go in front of a Sheriff they are every bit as innocent as the Procurator Fiscal, the Sheriff, the Court Clerk, the Solicitors and everyone else in that court room.

Yet the Crown office treat you, the innocent member of the public, completely differently.

Rest assured, if Procurator Fiscals need to spend a penny you definitely won't see them parking their bum in the same place they expect you to park your innocent bum. Equality only works one way in the world of the COPFS.

So take a look at the pics below and remember your place - and don't forget to doff your cap the next time you meet the PF.









http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/14281908.Filthy_court_cells_for_women_found_to_be__quot_degrading_and_inhumane_quot__/

Monday 22 February 2016

Anything To Declare, Such As Watching TV?

Police stopped a holidaymaker at Edinburgh airport on the way back from her holiday in Holland.

So what was this criminal mastermind up to? Smuggling stolen diamonds, illegal drugs, x-rated porn, or even bringing a bunch of tulips from that seedy den of inequity we call Amsterdam?

Emm, no.

Police Scotland stopped her in the arrivals hall and claimed she hadn't paid her TV licence - and threatened to throw her in jail unless she paid them £55 immediately.

Only problem was, untrustworthy Police Scotland had got it completely wrong.

She didn't owe TV licensing money at all.

Police Scotland are so incompetent they don't know who owes fines and who doesn't. They are so lazy and inefficient that when they do get it right (a rare occasion), instead of turning up at the culprits house to collect the fine like they should, they prefer to sit on their backside eating doughnuts and expect a biometric passport machine at Edinburgh airport to do all the work for them.

Ultimately, Policing in Scotland these days is all about extorting money from the public - whether it be from targeting the public and making them in to criminals for the most minor of things or police acting as debt collectors for their corporate masters.

There has been considerable debate in the press in recent years about how well (or not) our police protect our borders.

So ain't it good to know that while terrorist are trying to kill hundreds of members of the public by driving jeeps full of explosives in to Glasgow Airport, our bold boys in blue are busy over at Edinburgh airport checking on people who haven't paid their TV licence - and even getting that wrong.

Comforting indeed.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3421052/Holidaymaker-stopped-police-airport-unpaid-TV-licence-fine-didn-t-owe.html

Sunday 21 February 2016

Police Play Hide And Seek

The creation of a single national police force in Scotland has been a complete disaster. If you needed any further proof of this, just look at the facts.

Everyone from members of the public to politicians know Police Scotland is a mess. The only people who say it is a success is...Police Scotland.

That tells you everything.

You'd think Police Scotland would wake up and realise that the only people standing flying the flag for their organisation is themselves. You'd think someone somewhere in Police Scotland would sit up and take a reality check.

It's simply inconceivable that everyone else is wrong and Police Scotland are right. Especially when they exist to help, support and protect the public and yet we, the public, are screaming at them every day telling them they're just not doing it!

Talk about falling on deaf ears.

Arrogance is a big part of corrupt organisations - and as usual it's the public who lose out.

Everyone with an ounce of common sense knows that Police Scotland was set up to save money and that those cost savings were always going to be at the expense of services to the public.

But many members of the public don't know that the centralisation of Police Scotland was also designed to make individual police officers less accountable to the public.

You see the bigger an organisation is, the more places there are to bury things that go wrong. There are also more people that you can blame for things that go wrong.

If a wee boy in a wee village playing with a football in the street breaks a neighbours window you don't have to look far to find the culprit.

But if you're in a densely populated, sprawling housing scheme where there are hundreds of wee boys playing with footballs in the street, it becomes more difficult to identify the culprit.

Which is why when you expose, as I did, corrupt police officers in the densely populated, sprawling centralised Police Scotland, they just hide and blame it on others. So the answer you get when you try to expose police corruption in Scotland nowadays is 'it wisnae me mister, big boys did it and ran away'.

That's when you realise that the centralisation of Police Scotland in to one big organisation wasn't only about saving money...it was also about the police being less accountable to us.

A Culture Of Attitude

A study was done over a period of 6 years leading up to the creation of the one-size-fits all national police force, Police Scotland.

The idea was that the study would identify problem areas of policing where changes were required and these changes incorporated in to the new national force. The hope was that the new super-duper central police force would have an opportunity to start off on a good footing.

One of the findings of the study - which was based on interviews with officers and police analysts - was that civilian staff had been treated like “infants” by the uniformed police officers.

In a normal everyday workplace situation, it's not uncommon for people in management positions to look down on the workers beneath them. It's not right and it shouldn't happen but it does, so like it or not, it happens.

But this is Police Scotland we're talking about here. This is an organisation who like to wag their haughty fingers at us and at our behaviour. This is an organisation who love to boast about how they hold themselves to the highest standards of behaviour.

Now we find that the pot has been calling the kettle black for years. Police Scotland have been exposed as being a bunch of bullies who look down on their civilian staff colleagues simply because they are civilians. How arrogant and condescending of them.

Oh well, no surprise there.

Like every issue with Police Scotland though you always need to look just that wee bit deeper for a fuller insight.

And when you do, you come to the realisation that if officers of Police Scotland treat their own colleagues in their own offices and their own call centres as lower class minions to be looked down upon, how do you think they view and treat members of the public?

To answer that, just think back to the last time you ever had a conversation with a member of Police Scotland...about anything.

Did the police officer speak to you in a manner where he was submissive and humble towards you while holding you up above him on high esteem? Or was it the other way around where he was the authoritative one, expecting you to be submissive and humbling towards him?

Thought so.

Police officers just love the power of the uniform and love to act in an arrogant authoritative manner towards members of the public. It's their culture. They demand subservience from you and a humbling attitude from you when it should really be the other way around.

Even when they call you 'sir' when talking to you, you just know that the word 'sir' is said with a sarcastic tone - it really sticks in their throat when they say it. Police find it distasteful and disgusting when they have to show you, a member of the public, even the slightest bit of respect.

And that's why we, the public, find the way Police Scotland treat us distasteful and disgusting too - and don't want to show them the slightest bit of respect back.

What goes around comes around Police Scotland.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14238820.Police_in_Scotland_accused_of_operating__macho__culture/?ref=rss

Saturday 20 February 2016

The Coin With Many Sides

Yet again we find Police Scotland have been bending the truth to suit themselves.

In May of this year a Fatal Accident Inquiry at Paisley Sheriff Court will be held to determine the circumstances surrounding the death of 25 year old Antony Storrie from Paisley.

On the face of it there is nothing out of the ordinary about this case albeit the loss of this young man's life has been devastating to his family and they rightly need closure on exactly how and why he died. Any of us would.

From what we know so far, Antony had taken a 'legal high' before police officers arrived at his home and the speculation is that this is what caused his death - the fatal accident enquiry will hopefully determine this (by the way, as an aside, the legal high he took has now been banned so that's good).

So why is their a question mark hanging over Police Scotland in all of this?

Well, Antony was detained and arrested by police officers when they came to his house. In other words, Antony Storrie was in police custody when he died. This shouldn't really be an issue because from what we understand it was the legal high which killed Antony.

The problem is that police failed to mention at the time that he had been arrested shortly before his death.

They didn't want it known that he died while in police custody.

This is typical of what we've come to expect from untrustworthy Police Scotland.

If they're not 'talking up' incidents to make them look more serious than they really are, they're playing down their involvement in incidents when it suits them to hide things from us.

The police like to tell us how they are merely reporters - they get called to incidents and they then report what they find (to the Procurator Fiscal).

What they don't tell us is whether they report things honestly - or whether they just report what suits them to report.

http://news.stv.tv/west-central/1342086-public-inquiry-to-be-held-over-man-who-died-following-arrest/

Friday 19 February 2016

The Other Side Of The Coin

A drug dealer caught with a £5k stash of heroin has complained that police are stuck in the 1980's when it comes to valuing their drugs hauls.

He reckons the £5k stash he was caught with is only worth around £3k or maybe even a bit less.

The only reason this 'costing' issue came up at all was because his defence solicitor was trying his best to keep the value of the haul as low as possible so that his client would get a lighter sentence. A bit over the top and clutching at straws maybe but hey, that's what defence solicitors do.

While most people will look upon this story as just another scum drug dealer trying to play down his crime to minimise his sentence (which, let's be honest, it is), there's also another darker side to this story: Police trying to 'talk up' a crime in order to maximise a persons sentence.

And this is where we get in to the murky area of how untrustworthy Police Scotland work.

While no-one is going to complain loudly when police try to throw the book at a scummy drug dealer, the real issue we should be concerned with is that embellishing the facts and playing up crimes has become standard procedure for Police Scotland in EVERY area of alleged crime.

For example, I was contacted by someone who was charged with a very minor traffic infringement. When it got to court the police officers who charged him marched in to the witness stand and told the court that the infringement had taken place near to a school. This impressed the judge immensely. The 'minor' traffic infringement was now bigger and far more concerning because the case now threw up a serious public safety element - the safety and protection of innocent children no less. Aha, send for the hangman, this mans going down!

Of course, what the police didn't tell the court was that the school had been closed down a year before. It was boarded up and completely empty.

Yeah, the police officers conveniently left that little fact out of their story.

This is not an isolated case.

The police regularly 'play up' to the court and embellish incidents in order to help their bosses in the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service get successful prosecutions and bigger penalties. I see it in the courts regularly.

Police lying on statements and stretching the truth in court happens every day. That's bad enough. But it's made even worse when you realise that it's NOT THEIR JOB to get prosecutions against the public.

The police are only supposed to be 'reporters' - they get called to incidents and are supposed to 'report' what they find to the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service. It is the COPFS job to do the prosecuting, not the police.

Many members of the public don't realise this and it's little wonder. Nowadays we are completely used to police arresting and charging members of the public and pulling out all the stops to get convictions.

But this is NOT part of their job. They should NOT be doing this.

Did you ever see the TV program '24 hours in police custody'? In the program we saw police officers high five-ing each other and celebrating after they charged someone. 'Hurrah, we got him' commented one officer to his colleague. So much for innocent until proved guilty. It's not their job to 'get' people. It's their job to 'report' people. Someone needs to remind police of that.

The police must get back to doing what they are supposed to do - helping, supporting, and protecting the public.

They need to stop seeing members of the Scottish public as targets that they can make in to criminals.

That's NOT the job of the police.

And while you're at it Police Scotland, try to be honest too - I know it's rather a lot to ask of you but we, the public, would really, really appreciate just a teensy weensy bit of honesty from you and your bosses in the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/perth-kinross/drug-dealer-claims-police-s-valuation-of-heroin-haul-is-stuck-in-the-1980s-1.921692

Thursday 18 February 2016

Cutting Costs Costs Lives

The Police Scotland single force experiment has always been about one thing and one thing only - saving money at the expense of service to the public.

Full marks to councillor Alastair Cooper from the Shetland islands safety and resilience board for speaking out directly about this and stating quite clearly that their attempts to save money costs lives.

You see, being from a small local community in a remote area of Scotland Alistair knows that his community has its own unique set of problems. Inclement weather and storms are the most obvious ones, but there are many more. He rightly has concerns that call centre staff in big cities in central Scotland cannot possibly have the essential local knowledge required to enable them to effectively deal with emergency calls from these remote areas.

I couldn't agree more.

I spent some time in the USA and I had to learn about a few strange things which were unique to living in that particular area.

For example, in the hotter southern states you should always make sure you kill a snake that bites you, put it in your pocket, and take it to A&E department with you - that way they can identify the snake and give you the correct treatment for the poison. It may sound like common sense now that you've read it, but if a police call centre handler didn't know this local information they would probably just advise you to go to the nearest A&E department - without the snake - and you could be dead by the time the hospital identify the poison.

Yes, local knowledge can save lives and not just in tropical countries.

But in the race to cut costs, our politicians and Police Scotland have missed this completely.

http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/12116-police-call-centre-closure-puts-lives-at-risk

Wednesday 17 February 2016

Is Rab C Nesbit Taking The P***?

January 2016 was not a good month for weather in Scotland as storm after storm battered our lovely country. No-one escaped the torrent of abuse from mother nature.

Even Govan police station in Glasgow had to close their front counter because of water damage.

Well, I'm guessing the water damage they experienced was caused by the weather.

Either that or Rab C Nesbit used the front door of the Govan polis station as a urinal after 15 pints of Tennants...

Now that's what I call water damage.

"I will tell you this boy...."


Tuesday 16 February 2016

Scots Law Loophole For Corrupt Police

I'm delighted to hear that Her Majestys Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland have completed a review in to how Police Scotland have been using biometric data - and they are satisfied that it has been used properly and appropriately.

That's good.

However one little part of their review concerns me.

HM Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland also happened to mention that there is currently no legislation in Scotland regarding the retention of photographic images and how Police Scotland are permitted to use that data.

The problem I have with this is that I know untrustworthy Police Scotland very well. They are infamous when it comes to these sort of things. Give them an inch they'll take a mile.

So although Police Scotland might be acting within appropriate boundaries for the moment (and while they knew they were being reviewed), rest assured this corrupt lot will soon be abusing their power the minute they think no-one's looking.

MSP's take note. Do something about this before the legions of crooked officers who make up Police Scotland jump all over this loophole.

And trust me, they will jump all over it, given half a chance.

https://www.holyrood.com/articles/news/exclusive-watchdog-calls-commissioner-oversee-police-scotland-use-biometric-data

Monday 15 February 2016

Ronnie Liddle Needs To Come Clean

Ronnie Liddle is a top cop. He used to be the head of the CID down at Lothian and Borders Police. Then, in 2012, he went on to lead counter-terrorism in Scotland.

Not a bad CV. I'm impressed

Except he's leaving a wee something off his CV that Ronnie doesn't want you to know.

You see shortly after that, Ronnie Liddle was seconded to the Met’s Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit (CTIU). For some reason, and I can't think why, Ronnie would like to keep that quiet.

Strange eh?

I wonder, just wonder, if it may be because his job with the CTIU involved working with police officers who spied on protest groups in Britain​? The same protest groups who undercover police infiltrated and had sex with members to gain intelligence perhaps?

Come on, come clean Ronnie.

We're not suggesting you personally infiltrated the groups and had sex with women demonstrators to get intelligence from them. We just want to know if you knew other officers were doing it and whether you condoned it and allowed it to take place?

Surely it's not too much to ask a top cop to just be honest with us, is it?

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/revealed-scots-counter-terrorism-chief-7236055#FEY8Qmx8fl15GRco.97

Phil Gormley Should Come Clean

The head of Police Scotland Phil 'Gormless' seems to want to forget about his past life before he took over as our chief constable.

I don't.

I want him to remember it. And I want him to tell us all about it - in extremely great detail please.

Because it seems that not only was Uncle Phil in charge of the Special Demonstrations Squad (SDS) - he was also involved with the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU).

Both squads used undercover police officers who had sex with members of the groups they infiltrated to gain intelligence.

Perhaps the NPOIU and the SDS are one and the same?

Perhaps Uncle Phil was the boss of one but not the other.

Perhaps he was in charge of both.

Perhaps he knew all about it.

Perhaps he knew nothing.

Either way the Scottish public would like to know the extent of his involvement because these particular police departments acted illegally. How much did Phil Gormley know (and condone)?

Then, and only then, can we decide whether we, the public, deem Phil Gormley to be a fit and proper person to be the head of Police Scotland.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14226362.Chief_Constable_faces_second_undercover__sex_spy__unit_row/

Sunday 14 February 2016

Putting The Brakes On The Whistleblower

The Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme (VDRS) may not be a name you instantly recognise but you will be aware of it's raison d'etre.

It's where police officers (usually traffic police with white around their hats) stop you in your vehicle and slap you with a ticket to get something fixed on your vehicle. They especially like to pick on you for things you could not reasonably have known were faulty - like a back brake bulb being out for example.

The largest part of a traffic police officer's time is spent targeting members of the public because this is what brings in the money for the police. No matter how insignificant something is, traffic police will still 'do' you for it and treat you like a common criminal.

Be honest, do you know anyone who checks both their rear brake lights every time they get in to their car? I don't. The idea that you would ask someone to stand behind your car looking at your brake lights while you pump the brake pedal every time you leave the house, stop to buy a newspaper, or leave a supermarket car park, is absurd. You don't do it, I don't do it, even police officers themselves don't do it. It's a nonsense.

Don't misunderstand me, safety is important and I'm quite happy for police to stop us and advise us about things like a faulty brake light, but we should not be made in to criminals because of it.

Alas, this isn't the way it works though. So whether we like it or not, the sad fact is that drivers who have any defects whatsoever with their vehicle can fully expect a haughty finger to be wagged in their face from that most boring and motley crew of corrupt coppers - the Scottish traffic police.

And now we discover that your chances of getting that haughty finger wag from Mr Plod - white-top variety - depends very much on where you live in Scotland.

Because in some areas of Scotland you can expect to get pulled over and ticketed more than in other areas.

For example 55 drivers got ticketed for broken headlights in Tayside last year compared with 4484 in Forth Valley.

The only reason we know this shocking statistic is because a couple of coppers in the know privately spilled the beans about it to one of their colleagues - and that colleague then blew the whistle on it.

So will untrustworthy Police Scotland use their resources to fix this unfairness and treat all members of the public, no matter where they reside in Scotland, equally and fairly?

Or will they use their resources to hunt down the whistle-blower and nail him or her up on the station wall?

You don't really have to ask do you?

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/police-whistleblower-reveals-postcode-lottery-7228260#ZK7p2dPA17JmXfXW.97

Saturday 13 February 2016

Don't Expect Police To Help When You Call 101

It was good to read the article by Maurice Smith in the Herald Scotland (see here).

Maurice has discovered, like me, that the calls you make to the Police Scotland 101 number are pretty much a waste of time. You shouldn't expect police to actually do much, if anything, about your call.

101 is really just a number where a call handler on the other end of the line takes a note that you've called and records the incident - nothing actually gets done.

I realised this some time ago when I called 101 to advise police in Glasgow that some kids were throwing stones off the bridge over the busy M8 motorway. A broken windscreen at 70mph could easily cause a dangerous pile up - it could lead to deaths.

Now you may wonder why I called 101 and not 999? Well, it was a very busy motorway so I had a reasonable expectation that lots of other drivers would have reported the same incident too. Either way, the 101 call handler would escalate it to a 999 urgency if it hadn't already been done.

So, I made the call, the 101 operator made a note of my call...and I never heard another word from police again.

Nothing.

Did police investigate? Humm, I don't know.

Did they catch the culprits? Humm, I don't know.

What I do know is that all they appear to do at 101 is make a record of calls that come in. That's pretty much it.

I remember when 101 was hailed as a new and exciting method of communication for the public to get in touch to the police. The idea was that 999 would be for emergencies and 101 for non emergencies, help, and advice etc. The new 101 number was supposed to help prioritise calls, channel them to the right place, and therefore increase police efficiency and improve their service to the public.

What a load of rubbish.

As is always the case with untrustworthy Police Scotland, we now discover that the 101 'idea' was purely intended to make it seem like they were doing something to improve communications with the public. In reality they have effectively done nothing.

Except pull the wool over the Scottish publics eyes - again.

Friday 12 February 2016

The Free Police Force

The home secretary Theresa May has called on the public to help police with investigations in to cybercrime.

Strange thing is the police already have an army of public volunteers to help them, including thousands of special constables. So why would she want even more members of the public to get involved with helping police?

The answer is obvious.

Cheap labour.

And cheap labour doesn't come any cheaper than free.

She's cutting police budgets all over the country and is looking for a bit of free labour to take up the slack.

However I agree with idea - but not for the reasons the home secretary thinks.

You see, the more members of the public who get involved with police, the more they'll see the unjust way the police operate and the corrupt things they do.

Good, honest, decent, members of the public who would not normally have any interaction with the police will see the way our police officers behave - and they'll be shocked.

They'll then talk loudly about our broken justice system and hopefully encourage other members of the public to join them in calls to demand a complete overhaul to fix it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35354139

Thursday 11 February 2016

The Answer To Everything

One of the recommendations made after the M9 tragedy is that staff in police call centres should be issued with 'boogie boards' - an electronic scribble pad - on which they can make notes.

Up until now the call centre staff have been using pretty much anything they can get their hands on such as pencils, bits of paper and Word documents.

The idea now is when an important call comes in from the public, never again should a police call centre employee forget to pass it on to his/her colleagues.

But the idea is really no better than the flawed system they had before.

This so-called solution is just typical of Police Scotland's response to criticism. Rather than actually doing something about the problem, it's more important to them that they are seen to be doing something about the problem.

And there are two obvious problems with their 'boogie board' idea.

First, no matter what type of note-taking system you decide to use, absolutely nothing can be done when the call centre handler doesn't write down the note and pass it on. A bit obvious that one.

Second, the 'boogie board' notes will be saved electronically so they are at the mercy of a computer system, hard drives, operating systems, bugs, crashes - ahhhh, what could possibly go wrong?

But hey, at least untrustworthy Police Scotland are happy. They've been seen to be doing something and that's what's most important to them.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/police-scotland-considers-virtual-notepads-for-call-handlers-1-4007852

Wednesday 10 February 2016

Who Do Glasgow City Council Work For Again?

Residents of Kelvingrove in Glasgow should be applauded.

They have spent 20 years transforming a piece of neglected wasteland in to a community park. They have planted seeds, renovated buildings, and built tree houses, to make it in to a lovely place the whole community can enjoy.

Well done all of you.

Those same residents are also voters and, as such, elect councillors to their local council - Glasgow City Council - to represent them.

So what are those councillors doing for the people of Kelvingrove at the moment?

Flying the flag for the community's wonderful efforts?

Hailing them as a beacon of community spirit?

Supporting them by maybe giving them some left over bits n bobs from the parks department?

Eh, no.

Instead Glasgow Crooked City Council have threatened the community with legal action and are sending the bulldozers in to make way for privately owned developers to build on the land.

I'm confused.

We, the public, elect councillors to represent us and work for our benefit - that's why they are called 'public representatives'.

So when we, the public, tell them we want a bit of green space in our community (and we're willing to work, create, and pay for it ourselves), why would our elected representatives who we sent to Glasgow City Council to represent us, ignore our wishes and instead take a decision to destroy that community park and threaten the constituents with legal action?

In other words, why would Glasgow City Councillors choose to give their support to a multi-million pound property company rather than their constituents?

I can't think why, can you?

http://www.thenational.scot/news/glasgow-city-council-angers-campaigners-after-approving-plans-for-flats-on-citys-community-created-north-kelvin-meadow.12920

Tuesday 9 February 2016

Gone Fishing

Police Scotland have been criticised by concerned residents in Peebles about the length of time they take to respond to emergency calls.

There has been a number of disturbances in the town centre recently but by the time untrustworthy Police Scotland finally turn up, the culprits have long gone.

So where are our inefficient boys in blue when the people of Peebles need them?

No-one knows.

Could they be sitting by the River Tweed with a fishing rod perhaps?

Because according to the people of Peebles, a salmon is the only thing Police Scotland seem to be able to catch these days.

http://www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk/news/local-headlines/concern-over-slow-police-response-in-peebles-1-4005868

Monday 8 February 2016

I Say Officer, Are You Drunk?

Figures out last week show that Airdrie and Coatbridge (two neighbouring towns near Glasgow) are the drink driving capital of Scotland.

Faced with these shocking statistics it would be safe to assume that Police Scotland will now be out in force in this area with their breathalysers. And quite right too.

I'm tee-total, I don't drink. But I don't pontificate to anyone who does enjoy a drink. That's their business, not mine.

But it does become my business when someone drinks and gets behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. They then put my life at risk and the life of every other member of the public.

So I look forward to seeing all those drunk drivers from Airdrie and Coatbridge sitting in the dock with lengthy bans and hefty fines.

What I probably won't see in the dock though is police drunk drivers.

Because as Sheriff Dickson commented last year, there's a culture of cover up in Police Scotland. And it's so rife that when a police officer drinks and drives you can expect his police colleagues will turn a blind eye (see here).

If you're in and around the Airdrie and Coatbridge area keep your wits about you.

If you see a police car straddling the white line...keep well back.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/drink-driving-capital-scotland-airdrie-7211759

Sunday 7 February 2016

Mel Gibson Gets It Wrong

Thank goodness we live in a democracy where we, the public, can go to a polling booth and choose our members of the Scottish parliament to represent us and run our country for our benefit.

Thanks goodness that when Police Scotland break the law, our elected MSP's, acting on our behalf and for our benefit, can call them in to explain themselves and hold police to account.

Except they can't.

Untrustworthy Police Scotland have refused a FOURTH invitation to appear before a committee of MSP's to explain themselves over the spying scandal.

Looks like we waved goodbye to democracy a long time ago in Scotland.

And if living in a police state is where the police can break the law and do what they like to the public and we have no come-back against them, then the only conclusion can be that we're living in a police state here in Scotland, or at the very least some sort of convoluted version of one.

Think about this for a moment dear readers:

Do we, the Scottish public, fear the police...or do the police fear us?

Your answer will tell you whether we live in a democracy or a tyranny.

Someone please call Mel Gibson and tell him he got it wrong.

It would seem they can take our freedom after all.

https://www.holyrood.com/articles/news/justice-committee-refuses-back-down-over-police-spying-rule-breaches

Saturday 6 February 2016

Upside Down Cake Anyone?

The calls for untrustworthy Police Scotland to change their stop and search culture continues.

Hardly a day passes by where there isn't someone somewhere frustratingly trying to encourage Police Scotland to change their wicked ways.

It always falls on deaf ears.

Because the real issue is the fact that police officers in Scotland genuinely seem to feel it's entirely acceptable to stop and search members of the public in order to achieve targets. They see it as just part of their job - it's just 'they way we've always done things'. They don't think about whether it's actually right or fair.

Police don't seem to 'get' that they should exist to help the public, support the public, and keep the public safe.

Police do not exist in order to target the public and try to make them in to criminals in as large numbers as possible.

So how the hell did our whole police force end up operating upside down?

Well, somewhere along the line, rank and file police officers consciously or unconsciously began serving their political masters instead of the public.

And although many rank and file police officers didn't notice this reversal creeping in (because their masters introduced it slowly), it certainly didn't happen by accident. It's been by design all along.

Those higher up in Police Scotland have known for years that their first priority (to the public) needed to change drastically if they are to protect themselves, their jobs, and their generous pensions. Police are human beings and are just as greedy as other human beings out there.

So, over the years, the public eventually found themselves viewed as fair game by the police.

Don't believe me? Next time you see a police car in your rear view mirror ask yourself whether it makes you feel safe - or whether it makes you feel intimidated. That'll give you your answer.

The corruption at Police Scotland, egged on and encouraged by their colleagues in the Crown office, is only going to get worse so long as rank and file officers don't even know they're being corrupt and blindly accept it all as being just part of the job.

Get used to it. It ain't gonna change any time soon.

http://www.deesidepiper.co.uk/news/local-headlines/call-for-police-stop-and-search-culture-change-1-4006343

Friday 5 February 2016

Dear Sir, After Thorough Investigations...Goodbye

The father of missing boy Allan Bryant has publicly criticised Police Scotland for failing to find his missing son. He has made an official complaint to Police Scotland's Professional Standards Department (the unit who investigate complaints against police), calling the police search for his son 'a joke'.

He complains that while police come to his house and talk a good game, essentially they do nothing.

Well spotted Mr Bryant. Welcome to the club.

Mr Bryant will get nowhere with his complaint - because the police investigate themselves. And just like their friends in the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service, police will not investigate his complaint. Instead they will use all the resources at their disposal to find a way to dismiss it.

Sure, some time will pass during which Mr Bryant will be told they're still investigating. They're not. They're doing nothing. They're simply passing time to make it look like they're doing something.

Ultimately Professional Standards will respond to Mr Bryant to tell him his complaint is not being upheld.

He can rest assured that the Police Professional Standards department of untrustworthy Police Scotland are experts at doing nothing and covering up for their fellow officers when faced with complaints from the public.

Because they learned from the best - their friends at the corrupt Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service who have been doing it for years.

And still getting away with it to this day.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/fife/missing-allan-bryant-father-puts-in-formal-complaint-about-police-investigation-into-son-s-disappearance-1.920464

Thursday 4 February 2016

Friends In High Places

There have been a number of headlines recently involving Lord Janner some of which involve untrustworthy Police Scotland.

It is alleged that in the 70's Lord Janner brought a young boy to Scotland to abuse and when that young boy made allegations against him to Police in Edinburgh, no charges were ever brought against him.

It is claimed that failures by police and prosecutors resulted in not one, not two, but three chances to arrest Lord Janner being missed.

I don't believe that the three chances to arrest and charge Lord Janner were missed due to failures by police and prosecutors.

I believe the three chances to arrest and charge Lord Janner were missed due to his connections with police and prosecutors.

Now that's a rather different thing altogether.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14214403._Three_chances_missed__to_charge_Lord_Janner_over_sex_abuse_claims__as_Police_Scotland_prepare_report_on_historic_allegation/

Wednesday 3 February 2016

Undercover Boss

New chief constable of Scotland Phil 'Gormless' is facing further calls to clarify his involvement with the infamous Special Demonstrations Squad who's undercover officers had sex with women demonstrators to gain intelligence information from them.

Phil isn't saying too much about it at the moment. In fact he has been extremely tight-lipped about the whole thing and doesn't seem to want to answer questions.

So let me answer for him instead.

He was their boss.

There you go, wasn't so difficult after all eh.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/calls-for-new-police-scotland-chief-to-clarify-met-undercover-claims-1-4005803

Tuesday 2 February 2016

Corruption? What Corruption?

At last the Counter Corruption Unit of Police Scotland which investigates corruption in the police is being put under review.

Hurray. About time too.

Heading the review is a man called Stephen Whitelock.

So who is he?

A judge maybe?

Perhaps one of the PIRC 'high heid yins'?

Emm, no.

He's a former detective...

...who was in joint charge of the Strathclyde CID from 2005 to 2008 which presided over the botched Emma Caldwell murder enquiry AND previously worked with four of the officers who illegally spied on journalists ...

The phrase 'up to his neck in it' springs to mind.

You can sympathise with Police Scotland in some way I suppose. After all it must be nigh impossible to try and find one single honest officer in their organisation who isn't mired in some sort of scandal, corruption, and controversy.

Nevertheless, with these types of people in charge of 'investigations' there's no prizes for guessing how this is all gonna work out and to who's benefit.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14210096.Police_spy_probe_hit_by__conflict_of_interest__allegations/

Monday 1 February 2016

101 or 999

A new Police Scotland campaign has been launched to educate the public on when they should dial 999 and when they should dial 101.

For those who don't already know, 999 is for emergencies, 101 is for non emergencies.

While they're at it, perhaps untrustworthy Police Scotland could advise how long they anticipate it'll take them to answer the phone when we dial 999 and 101, and when they do answer, how long it'll take officers on the ground to respond.

Now that would be really useful.

Months ago I called 101 and reported kids throwing stones off a bridge on the M8 Glasgow motorway and hitting windscreens of vehicles travelling at 70mph. The call was answered in a few seconds so that was good.

However months later I still haven't heard whether police actually responded to the incident.

I wonder how many broken windscreens or serious accidents have happened there since?

What good is it telling the public where and when to call Police Scotland if they're not going to bother responding to us when we do call them?