London: Over Half Of Undercover Cops ' Work Off The Books' And Are Not On National Database: *UPDATED Link

More than half of the country’s undercover police officers are not on the official database supposed to record them, according to a damning report into undercover policing published today.

 

This comes amid mounting concern over the activities of undercover police, sparked by revelations in 2011 that Metropolitan Police officer Mark Kennedy had spied on environmental protesters and had affairs with a number of them.

Allegations of undercover officers using birth certificates of dead babies are among other scandals which have since come to light.

 

And in March 2014 Home Secretary Theresa May announced a public inquiry into undercover police officers after revelations that the family of Stephen Lawrence had been spied on.

 

In the first ever inspection of undercover policing in England and Wales, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) accuses senior officers of letting down the undercover officers under their command.

 

It reveals how there are 1,229 undercover officers across the country. But the national undercover index only has 568 officers – less than half the true number.

 

This discrepancy is “entirely unacceptable” and “renders the database unsuitable to the task for which it was created,” says the report.

In general, those who go undercover “carry out their roles professionally and with great courage”. But “material weaknesses” among senior officers have resulted in “unacceptable inconsistencies in areas of critical importance, such as the provision of training and operating procedures that should assist officers to carry out their role, confident that they are acting lawfully, effectively and to the same high standards”.

The report was based on an inspection of 43 forces and other organisations such as the National Crime Agency. *http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29607736 

The report, based on an inspection of 43 forces and other organisations such as the National Crime Agency, also condemns the “culture of secrecy” and “closed nature” which acts as a barrier to scrutiny of undercover policing.

It calls for officers to not spend any longer than 10 years in undercover work, after inspectors found one officer who has served undercover for more than 20 years.

 

And undercover officers should face random drug testing, says the report: “We were concerned to be told by many undercover officers that they had not once been subjected to a random drugs test, despite the fact that the officers themselves saw such testing as an important protection for them.”

 

A “lack of effective and coordinated direction” by the National Undercover Working Group – which is responsible for the strategy and policy for undercover policing – is “unacceptable”. And a "root and branch" reform of the working group is needed.

 

Among the other recommendations in the report is a call for “psychological support for all undercover officers”.

 

Many senior officers who authorise undercover operations have no training or experience in this area, says the report. And only 25 forces have a “dedicated undercover online capability” which means “a number of police forces are missing or avoiding the opportunity to deploy and effective and efficient tactic to protect their communities from a modern threat”.

There are also concerns over the ways in which operations are authorised. In some instances sections from previous forms had been copied and pasted when applying for authorisation for new undercover operations.

In one force, this resulted in an undercover online investigator into the sexual exploitation of children “inadvertently” given permission to purchase firearms.

 

HM Inspector Stephen Otter, who led the inspection, said: “We were concerned by a generally poor level of knowledge and lack of expertise of those senior leaders who authorise the use of undercover officers. there was an unacceptable variation in the quality of the written authorisations - often with insufficient detail provided.”

Ms May, who commissioned the HMIC inspection, said: "More must be done to improve the public's confidence in undercover work. this Government has already introduced a number of measures to increase oversight and transparency in undercover policing, including raising the authorisation level for undercover officers.”

 

The College of Policing and relevant national policing leads have been asked to produce an action plan and timetable for carrying out the recommendations in the report, she added.

 

Responding to the HMIC report, Deputy Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, the national policing lead for undercover policing, said: “Police leaders have a responsibility to make sure that these operations are properly authorised, managed and overseen.

 

We support HMIC’s recommendations and are already putting them into place.”

 

He added: "Unacceptable behaviour by a number of undercover officers in the past has been brought to light and is being investigated. We have learned many lessons from these cases.

 

I want to reassure the public that undercover operations are subject to a scrupulous authorisation process and are now rigorously overseen.”

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ENDS:

 

Dublin: Inquiry Will Shed Light On Alleged Garda Misconduct: GRA

A senior member of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) says he will not "speculate" on whether Maurice McCabe was right to bring allegations of garda misconduct into the public domain.

The whistleblower's actions were vindicated in the findings of a report by senior counsel Seán Guerin published last May.

However the GRA is objecting to the delay in setting up a commission of inquiry, which the Government promised after the publication of the Guerin report

Cavan-based garda James Morrisroe, a member of the GRA executive committee, says the inquiry would bring more information to light.

"His (Guerin's) recommendations are that a commission of inquiry be set up to look into the allegations - and let's be clear about this: they're only allegations at the minute, they're not facts," Gda Morrisroe said.

When asked if he thought Maurice McCabe was right to put these allegations in the public domain, he replied: "Well that's for the commission of inquiry to sort out - it's not for me to speculate on that".
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*Sergeant Maurice McCabe is set to begin working with the Garda Professional Standards Unit tomorrow.

The sergeant, famous for his role in exposing the penalty points scandal, has been seconded to the unit and is expected to be there for at least a week.

Investigations are continuing into a fresh batch of allegations he has highlighted with Garda management, concerning the abuse of the penalty points system.

Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe said the force's management are sending out the right signal by involving Sergeant McCabe - but their work must be transparent.

"Allegations that have been made like this are of great concern to me … I want to particularly welcome [McCabe]," he said.

"That's a very important signal, on many levels."

John Wilson, a former member of the force who also rose to prominence as a whistleblower, also claims the state is still losing millions of euro because summonses are not being served.
 

Dublin: Gardai Protect Themselves With "Blue Wall" Code Of Silence: *UPDATED

A new training programme for recruits is due to begin in the next two weeks

The officer in charge of the Garda College said she would like to think that there was no "blue wall" in the gardaí and that Templemore would produce good officers to police modern Ireland.
A "blue wall" is an unofficial code of silence where corrupt police officers protect each other from accountability and do not report a colleague's wrongdoing.

* www.independent.ie/irish-news/gardai-promise-end-to-group-think-within-force-30541620.html

* www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-19993392

* www.irishpost.co.uk/news/former-first-minister-calls-for-fresh-inquiry-into-garda-collusion-in-ira-killings

* www.saoirse32.wordpress.com/tag/garda-collusion/

Chief Superintendent Anne-Marie McMahon was speaking at the introduction of a new training programme for garda recruits who are due to begin training in the next two weeks. 

* www.buzzle.com/articles/blue-code-of-silence.html 
& * www.nytimes.com/1994/04/26/nyregion/blue-wall-of-silence-graft-shielded-behind-old-code.html 

Her comments come in the wake of severe criticism of the culture of the force and the way it has trained new members.

Chief Supt McMahon said the new programme would foster critical thinking and encourage gardaí to be more reflective, analytical and accountable.

Some 300 recruits may have been promised, but the Government has only sanctioned the recruitment of 100 new gardaí, the first in over five years.

The college has been criticised for the way students are turned into members of the force, which Judge Peter Smithwick found had a culture that puts loyalty over honesty.

The director of the college said the new course originated six years ago following a review of training in 2008, long before recent garda controversies.
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*Framing two men for a murder that never occurred. Orchestrating fake IRA bomb ‘finds’ either side of the border. Planting guns and drugs. False arrests, abuse of detainees and securing false confessions. These were the institutionalised activities in the Donegal division of Síochána that were the subject of a landmark tribunal conducted by Justice Morris. In October 2008, after six years, the Morris Tribunal completed its work. Its findings catalogued corruption, negligence, misconduct and ‘a blue wall of silence’ in an Garda Síochána, on an unprecedented scale. The reports also highlight the inadequacies of existing accountability systems that were reformed substantially mid-way through the work of the Tribunal, by the Garda Síochána Act 2005.

The findings and recommendations of the Tribunal are particularly striking in a country where public confidence in the police has historically been exceptionally high, and criticisms of the police slow to be aired. The Blue Wall of Silence questions what contribution the Tribunal has made to the accountability of the Garda Síochána, asking not just whether it has held the Gardaí involved to account, but also what impact it has had on both the accountability apparatus and broader public and political attitudes towards an Garda Síochána. Has the Tribunal fundamentally altered perceptions of the Irish police or has its work been dismissed as a blip caused by a few rotten apples? Justice Morris warned that without substantial reform the activities documented could reoccur elsewhere in Ireland. Has a sufficient level of reform been achieved? In addressing these questions the book makes a substantial contribution to national and international debates on police accountability, raising within democratic societies the crucial relationships between official inquiries, policy reform and police governance.

www.irishacademicpress.ie/product/the-blue-wall-of-silence-the-morris-tribunal-and-police-accountability-in-ireland/ 

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*HOUSTON (NNPA) - “You have the right to remain silent!”

This is the beginning phrase from the warning criminal suspects usually hear when they are being read their Miranda rights from a member of law enforcement, and prior to them saying anything that could harm them in any way and be self-incrimination.

For many current and former Houston Police Department (HPD) officers, many believe they have had to work in an environment built upon a foundation of retaliation and an unwritten “code of silence.”

For the second time in a year, a federal jury has determined that the Houston Police Department retaliated against one of its own.

After more than three weeks of testimony and jury deliberation, Officer Christopher Zamora was awarded $150,000 for compensatory damages that include emotional distress and damage to his professional reputation in the law enforcement community. The police department challenged the finding. Last December, another federal jury also ruled in favor of Officer Zamora, but a U.S. Supreme Court ruling necessitated a new trial.

Officer Zamora is the son of a retired HPD lieutenant. He and 23 other Hispanic police officers filed a lawsuit alleging discrimination within HPD against Hispanics in the promotions process.

Christopher Zamora Photo: Houstontexas.gov

According to the ruling, Officer Chris Zamora, who was not involved in the original case, was subjected to a hostile work environment and labeled “untruthful” by the HPD Internal Affairs Division and HPD command staff. Meanwhile, during the intervening 5 years, Officer Zamora received the department’s 2008 South Patrol Officer of the Year Award and was also named Officer of the Year by “The 100 Club,” a popular non-profit organization that supports families of officers killed in the line of duty.

But Officer Zamora, like any officer who challenges the system, ran into a blue wall.

It’s called the Blue Code of Silence, an unwritten rule among police officers not to rat on a fellow officer. Many feel it’s futile to challenge the blue code, because doing so could mean breaking longstanding traditions and feelings of brotherhood within law enforcement. Violating the silence could lead to being shunned, losing friends, losing back-up, receiving threats, having one’s own misconduct exposed and being terminated.

No one has to explain that to Katherine Swilley, a well-respected and dedicated officer, who served HPD for more than 20 years. Ms. Swilley received numerous “Outstanding” performance ratings and commendations from the public, her superiors, and two mayors.

She started a nonprofit organization in 2000 called Texas Cops & Kids—Cops Giving Kids Quality Time … Not Jail Time. Using mostly of her own funds, Ms. Swilley started the juvenile delinquency prevention program because of concerns about the lack of options disadvantaged youth had in some of Houston’s poorest neighborhoods.

Ms. Swilley’s community service work led to city of Houston Mayor Bill White awarding her the city of Houston’s prestigious Bravo Award in September 2005, an honor that was praised by her supervisors.

After receiving the Bravo Award, Police Chief Harold Hurtt detailed Ms. Swilley to the Public Affairs Division on special assignment in May 2006 to initiate his “Kids at Hope Program.” This is when Ms. Swilley says her career began to unravel.

In 2008, Ms. Swilley’s problems began when she reported what she believed was discrimination within the Houston Police Department’s Public Affairs Division. She cited her supervisors’ lack of support for the inner city delinquency prevention program that served at-risk youth. Ms. Swilley filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Shortly after lining the EEOC complaint, she said, the police department initiated a criminal investigation of her for allegedly misappropriating funds from her non-profit, charges that were substantiated.

Ms. Swilley says that she was unlawfully retaliated against and terminated in March 2008, actions she also links to her filing the EEOC complaint and revoking her willingness to be bound by a “Last-Chance” Compromise Waiver Agreement that required her to relinquish the rights guaranteed to her by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

She states that these separation deals include taking mental fitness tests and/or program for officers with discipline problems, forced medical retirements and/or sign “Last Chance” compromise waiver agreements to accept a lesser discipline and drop any and all discrimination complaints they may have filed with EEOC.

“I did nothing wrong, so there was no need for me to sign anything,” says Ms. Swilley. “Officers who refuse to accept these deals are terminated and removed from their careers in law enforcement followed by erroneous dishonorable discharges based on bogus charges, ending their law enforcement careers.”

Ms. Swilley states that she never would have imagined in a million years being framed on a baseless criminal investigation or being bullied and forced out of a police career that she loved and was committed to for over 20 years.

According to HPD Internal Affairs documents received by the Houston Forward Times, Ms. Swilley was terminated for “untruthfulness.” Other documents show that Ms. Swilley received an improper dishonorable discharge and additional affidavits and documents from HPD Internal Affairs investigators clearly state that the department has no evidence or proof that Ms. Swilley committed any crime or deserved to be terminated.

In the meantime, Ms. Swilley has lived in fear.

“For two years, I was under a protective order and ordered not to discuss my case, while atrocious lies were spread throughout the police department and the community about me,” she recounted. “I have had my integrity and credibility attacked and I have even been threatened with dead animals on my yard and phone calls.”

Ms. Swilley says that officers have mysteriously shown up at her home, claiming that they were responding to alarm calls or calls for help at her home. She says that suspicious vehicles have been parked in front of her home; dead animals have been found in her yard, including a dead opossum in front of her home with its throat cut. Her computer has been hacked and random shots have been fired into her home.

She goes further to say that since she filed complaints the threats have escalated, from someone ringing her doorbell in the middle of the night to someone writing the words “F@#$ Y@%” with the “F” shaped as a Swastika sign on the sidewalk in front of her home.

Not only has she lost her job, she lost her husband to cancer, while spending more than $100,000 in legal fees in order to clear her name. “Swilley is my married name and my husband fought bravely for this country in the military,” said Ms. Swilley. “My husband has a good name and before he died, I promised him that I would continue to fight to clear the Swilley name from these lies. I will not rest until his name is cleared and my reputation is restored.”

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Tammany Hall: Rules:
(Don't write, if you can speak: Don't speak if you can nod: Don't nod if you can wink:
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tammany_hall 

Keywords: gardai, templemore, garda college