Recent Book: Our Friends …: Policing the Police
| Date | 01 July 1979 |
| Author | John Alderson |
| Published date | 01 July 1979 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X7905200333 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
OUR
FRIENDS
.. .
Edited by
PETER
HAl".
DEREK
HUMPHRY.
BRIAN
ROSF-SMITH:
Policing the Police
John
Calder.
Hardback
£6.95
Paperback
£2.95
In his
introduction
to this provocative
book Peter
Hain
believes the police are
likely to reject his
book
without
ever
having read it. I hope they
don't.
It makes
interesting and worthwhile reading for
amongst
the
paranoia
and almost
wholesale
condemnation
of the police
svstem are some relevant
comments
on
important
issues. Peter
Hain
"doth
protest too much rnethinks" and takes
the
opportunity
to grind many personal
axes. He believes
that
the police force "is
riddled with racism",
that
"community
warfare
...
often exists between blacks
and
the police",
that
they"cast
themselves
In
the role ot
detendmg
racism", and
that
in his experience
"their
attitudes reflect
the most parochial and insecure
conservatism". These
are
just a few of
selected
comments
about
the police and
there are many more.
The
sad thing is
that
he finds it difficult to express any
appreciation
and
understanding
of the
difficulties which are made for the police
by
some
of the more selfish
groups
in
society, who
demand
all
from
the police
and they are prepared to give little in
return. he does go on however to suazest
a
solution
and it should
not
surprise the
reader
that
this
amounts
to a populist
remedy. Names like George Davis.
George lnce, Liddle Towers, Agee,
Hosenbal and so on flow easily
from
his
pen as he.concludes
that
the trade union
movement offers the best solution to the
police dilemma.
The
police in his view are
"being
denied a right to dignity" and the
trade
union
movement as a whole should
"actively
encourage
the police to form
their own
trade
union, affiliate to the
T.U.c.
and be given the right to strike".
His view of the police tends to
bethat
ofa
one-eyed man.
Derek
Humphry
gives a
competent
analysis of the complaints system and
includes
many
pertinent
comments
on
police
attitude
towards complaints as
well as to
the
system
and
its
contemporary
method
of working. He
clearly regards the present set up as less
than
acceptable and is particularly
perturbed
that
the leaflet describing the
system to potential
complainants
is
"menacing"
in the way
that
it describes
the rights of a police officer to bring
action against false and malicious
complaints.
There
is no
doubt
that
his
review of procedures is
competent
and
well worth reading and one shouldn't be
surprised to find
that
in spite of all the
recent heart searching, legislation and
effort many people will
continue
to lose
confidence in the system unless further
changes are invoked.
Brian Rose-Smith grinds too many of
his political axes to give an objective
account of counter-terrorist legislation
and totally fails to
capture
the public
pressures for stricter action in their
defence. He fails to take note of the fact
that the least the politicians could have
done
after the terrible slaughter by
bombers in Birmingham was to proscribe
the I.R.A. and introduce legislation
against terrorists in 1974. After all it was
Roy Jenkins, himself agreat libertarian
who steered this legislation
through
Parliament
but
the mote in Rose-Smith's
eye obscures the objectivity of his vision.
An indication of the lack of objectivity or
naivety or plain ignorance is to be found
in his descriptionor mis-description of the
Special Branch. He goes on, "It IS
organised on a nationwide basis, with
branch
officers on provincial forces
receiving their
operational
instructions
from the
Home
Office and Scotland
Yard to which they also
report
regularly.
This makes It a self contained force and
local police authorities have little
knowledge of its
operations."
This is an
appalling falsity and such things need to
be exposed by the police accordingly.
That
the Special Branch are no
more
than
a
part
01 the
C.I.D.
01 every force
should be
understood
by all concerned.
In spite of all ,the shortcomings of this
book, thinking police officers should
read it if only to find out
what
some
people think and say
about
them.
JOHN
ALDERSON
BEN
WHIT.;\KER:
The Police in Society
Eyre
Methuen
£9.95
Every so often a
book
about
the police now. He is at pains to analyse the police
which has balance, understanding, and dilemma of reconciling freedom and
sympathy comes on to the
market
and
control
and believes
that
both
public and
Ben
Whitaker
has
done
this twice. His police have less
and
less certainly
about
first
book
"The
Police" (1964) was as
what
the police role should be.
The
vast
helpful
then
as
"The
Police in Society" is political, social and economic upheaval
307
July
1979
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