I have blogged previously that it is the
small generally unreported actions and incidents within our organisations
public and private that give a clearer indication of what kind of people we are
or becoming. Most such happenings are
behind closed doors or are considered to be insignificant at the time. When, however, large public organisations are
indeed involved the signposts to our destination as a country seem to emit a
thousand flashes. Such IMHO is the brief story of the police chief of
Northumbria.
She was taken before a panel on a charge
of misconduct or gross misconduct. And what were the elements of such a serious
a matter for any police officer let alone a Chief Constable..........? In essence she was accused of shouting at some
officers. There are some who would say that an essential characteristic of a
person in any such senior position should be one of apparent equanimity under
all circumstances. That is a matter of
opinion and is not one to which I myself
have always adhered. However what is truly bizarre about this
whole sorry episode is that having been cleared of all charges Police and Crime
Commissioner Vera Baird said: “I have written to Mrs Sim, who remains a serving
officer although she has recently announced her retirement, and directed her to
apologise to two officers named in Mr Bennathan’s report before she leaves the
force”. Presumably there was the hint of
some unpublished sanction if she spent her last few weeks in office and failed
so to do. Try as I might I cannot see that in this case justice was done and
seen to have been done. It`s a mess.
There are increasing unpleasant odours
from the upper echelons of police and other organisations especially health and
children`s services. Is it
the case that they are less often now to be swept under the proverbial carpet or
is there truly something rotten in the state of England. Certainly it`s not unlikely there was in the state of Scotland and its Labour Party
details of which I`m certain will percolate to the surface over coming months
and years.
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