Tom Winsor – Neil Wilby Media

Police watchdog claims that disclosing dates of inspections will inhibit its ability to function

On 12th September, 2021, an information access request was made to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Police, Fire and Rescue Services. It was headlined ‘Planned HMICFRS inspections at Greater Manchester Police’. The text of the request was plainly expressed: Please disclose, by way of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the following: (i) the dates andContinue reading “Police watchdog claims that disclosing dates of inspections will inhibit its ability to function”

When the ‘cover-up’ becomes the story

“Hi, Mabs. Ian Hopkins speaking.” So began the search for a new member of the most troubled command team in British policing. Even before the post was advertised. In footballing parlance, Chief Superintendent Maboob “Mabs” Hussain from the neighbouring West Yorkshire force (WYP) had been “tapped up”. Hopkins, the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) chief constable, ultimately,Continue reading “When the ‘cover-up’ becomes the story”

Mystery of the ‘missing’ peer review

An important part of an investigative journalist’s armoury is the Freedom of Information Act, 2000. The essential principle being that public authorities, unless they can provide a good, and lawful, reason not to do so, must disclose information, upon request, by a member of the public. Or, indeed, a reporter chasing down an ‘exclusive’. ‘PublicContinue reading “Mystery of the ‘missing’ peer review”

A cuckoo in the nest?

For the second time in just over a month, two days spent in the austere halls of Royal Courts of Justice gave further, and, at times, quite remarkable, insight into the inner workings of five different policing bodies: The Police Federation, a police force Misconduct Panel, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, a Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC’s) officeContinue reading “A cuckoo in the nest?”

Much ado about nothing?

An employment dispute that began in a glass fronted office block close to the Meadowhall Shopping Centre in Sheffield, was, eventually, played out in the hallowed halls of the Royal Courts of Justice on London’s Strand eleven months later. It was no ordinary job, however, and the offices were those shared by the South Yorkshire PoliceContinue reading “Much ado about nothing?”

‘Bad on their merits’

In April 2012, David Crompton stepped out of the shadow of Sir Norman Bettison and took up the post of chief constable of South Yorkshire Police (SYP). It is a matter of public record that, after being rejected in the first round of applications, and interviews, by the South Yorkshire Police Authority, he walked intoContinue reading “‘Bad on their merits’”