Rape Review
March 9, 2012 8:45 AM Subscribe
Did the Met betray rape victims to avoid bad PR? "Former Metropolitan Police officer -- and Lib Dem mayoral candidate -- Brian Paddick has appeared at the Leveson Inquiry, and his witness statement contains an astonishing allegation against his ex-employers.
In a section about the Metropolitan Police Service's attempt to improve its image in the media, Paddick details the "negative commentary" on Ian Blair after he took over as Met commissioner. "The Met went from being very open to being almost paranoid," he writes.
One of the consequences of this, he adds, was that he was asked to "water-down" a report critical of the Met's handling of rape cases."
From Mr Paddicks Statement to The Leveson Inquiry [PDF]: "As a result I was told to tone down the criticisms and water-down the recommendations. My original report highlighted the changes over a period of four years, 2001/2 - 2004/5. It showed a large increase in the number of allegations of rape, but a similar fall in the percentage of allegations classified as rape by the police. It also identified wide variations in the way rape was investigated by the MPS within London.
The final report only analysed performance over two months in 2005 and sidestepped any criticism of the force, saying: "Any assessment of the performance of the MPS in the investigation of rape must be placed in the wider context of the complexity of rape allegations that are reported" and "without detailed case-by-case analysis, it's not possible to determine the extent to which police performance affected the outcome of the investigation."
In terms of remedial action, I recommended a radical change in approach, supporting a "consistent, victim-centred approach to the management of rape allegations". However, the final report concluded that existing practices were adequate, saying "it is adherence to best practice that needs to be addressed to ensure a consistently excellent service is delivered across London to the victims of rape.""
From Mr Paddicks Statement to The Leveson Inquiry [PDF]: "As a result I was told to tone down the criticisms and water-down the recommendations. My original report highlighted the changes over a period of four years, 2001/2 - 2004/5. It showed a large increase in the number of allegations of rape, but a similar fall in the percentage of allegations classified as rape by the police. It also identified wide variations in the way rape was investigated by the MPS within London.
The final report only analysed performance over two months in 2005 and sidestepped any criticism of the force, saying: "Any assessment of the performance of the MPS in the investigation of rape must be placed in the wider context of the complexity of rape allegations that are reported" and "without detailed case-by-case analysis, it's not possible to determine the extent to which police performance affected the outcome of the investigation."
In terms of remedial action, I recommended a radical change in approach, supporting a "consistent, victim-centred approach to the management of rape allegations". However, the final report concluded that existing practices were adequate, saying "it is adherence to best practice that needs to be addressed to ensure a consistently excellent service is delivered across London to the victims of rape.""
According to the comments?
According to one of the comments. Which reads in full "This man has an agenda.Be careful before you treat his words as gospel.".
According to almost all of the other comments, the real situation was even worse than comes across from Paddicks' story.
posted by motty at 9:14 AM on March 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
According to one of the comments. Which reads in full "This man has an agenda.Be careful before you treat his words as gospel.".
According to almost all of the other comments, the real situation was even worse than comes across from Paddicks' story.
posted by motty at 9:14 AM on March 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
boy was I confused, because saying "The Met" to someone from the east coast of the USA means something completely different than it does to a Londoner. I was sitting here wondering why so many people were getting raped at The Metropolitan Opera in Manhattan.
posted by smoothvirus at 9:22 AM on March 9, 2012 [16 favorites]
posted by smoothvirus at 9:22 AM on March 9, 2012 [16 favorites]
So what if he has an agenda? Is it true?
posted by unSane at 9:22 AM on March 9, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by unSane at 9:22 AM on March 9, 2012 [4 favorites]
Lots of stories lately regarding British police corruption, including three decades of helping construction firms blacklist trade unionists and safety-conscious employees. I maintain my belief that if the UK government seems less f'ed-up than the US government, it's because there is a culture of secrecy concealing the f'ed-up-ness
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:26 AM on March 9, 2012 [8 favorites]
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:26 AM on March 9, 2012 [8 favorites]
For more interesting reading about UK police do a search on in-custody fatalities and how many of the hundreds of them have resulted in charges against the police involved. A person with no hands can count them using their fingers.
posted by srboisvert at 10:21 AM on March 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 10:21 AM on March 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
According to the comments Brian Paddick has an agenda on this issue.
Presumably, that's the homosexual agenda rearing its ugly head again?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 10:21 AM on March 9, 2012
Presumably, that's the homosexual agenda rearing its ugly head again?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 10:21 AM on March 9, 2012
yeah, nthing both East Manitoba and srboisvert's comments. Both have been in the Eye several times. Even worse is young offender fatalites at places like Feltham Young Offenders Centre: Report rebukes youth jail and 'Widespread racism' at facility [both BBC].
posted by marienbad at 10:26 AM on March 9, 2012
posted by marienbad at 10:26 AM on March 9, 2012
Presumably, that's the homosexual agenda rearing its ugly head again?
Well maybe, but this is also a story that is arguably spinnable against Labour and the Tories for apparently complicity in secrecy and corruption in the Met. Perhaps it's the Lib Dem agenda rearing a head like Grendel's ma never dreamed of.
posted by howfar at 11:54 AM on March 9, 2012
Well maybe, but this is also a story that is arguably spinnable against Labour and the Tories for apparently complicity in secrecy and corruption in the Met. Perhaps it's the Lib Dem agenda rearing a head like Grendel's ma never dreamed of.
posted by howfar at 11:54 AM on March 9, 2012
I wonder if his agenda is to protect women?
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 11:33 PM on March 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 11:33 PM on March 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
Well maybe, but this is also a story that is arguably spinnable against Labour and the Tories for apparently complicity in secrecy and corruption in the Met. Perhaps it's the Lib Dem agenda rearing a head like Grendel's ma never dreamed of.
He's a politician? Who cares? Is it true?
posted by Summer at 5:02 AM on March 10, 2012
He's a politician? Who cares? Is it true?
posted by Summer at 5:02 AM on March 10, 2012
He's a politician? Who cares? Is it true?
I couldn't agree more. I was just pointing out that references to Paddick having an agenda are not necessarily homophobic in nature, although they easily could be. I've actually got a lot of time for Brian Paddick, in large part because he appears to be the most honest senior copper to have served in the Met for a long time, despite the fact that he himself is claiming to have tempered honesty with discretion at least on this occasion. If I were still living in London, I'd be tempted to vote for him in May, despite the futility of that.
posted by howfar at 9:16 AM on March 10, 2012
I couldn't agree more. I was just pointing out that references to Paddick having an agenda are not necessarily homophobic in nature, although they easily could be. I've actually got a lot of time for Brian Paddick, in large part because he appears to be the most honest senior copper to have served in the Met for a long time, despite the fact that he himself is claiming to have tempered honesty with discretion at least on this occasion. If I were still living in London, I'd be tempted to vote for him in May, despite the futility of that.
posted by howfar at 9:16 AM on March 10, 2012
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posted by marienbad at 8:47 AM on March 9, 2012