What Are We Paying These People For?

Lord Anderson's report described how a Prevent 'intervention provider' met Ali, then a sixth former, only once after his school raised concerns he was being radicalised. Following the meeting at a McDonalds in Croydon in January 2015 the intervention provider described Ali as a 'pleasant and informed young man' in a report. They added that Ali 'does not agree' with extremists including Islamic state and al-Qaeda, and 'has no grievances against the west or other faiths or groups'.

...because it's certainly not 'to keep us all safe from terrorism' is it? 

An unnamed Prevent counter-terrorism case officer – a Scotland Yard civilian police worker - then emailed their colleague: 'He seems to be a great person, are you still all right to do a lesson at his school, do you think it is worth it?'

A 'great person'? That's a value judgement, not one of risk posed by the subject.

Lord Anderson's report went on: 'Ultimately, the intervention provider accepted what they described as a decision taken by others that no further meetings were required.'

‘Not me, guv, big boys did it and ran away!’ 

The 156-page report also said a document describing the intervention provider's contact with Ali was 'overlooked' by the Home Office. It had been sent to civil servants in 2021 but was not provided to a previous review of the case, and has only now come to light. It was disclosed to Lord Anderson only on June 25. 

Where was it? Who failed to provide it? We’ll never find out. 

'I told the Home Office that I considered this a significant matter, and asked that checks be made to ensure that no further sources of relevant evidence had been disregarded,' yesterday's report said. 'The Home Office responded with an assurance that it has conducted a thorough search and that no additional information has been detected.'

And you accepted that assurance? 

DCC Julie Cooke, Like Most Police These Days, Doesn't Understand The Law...

...not when there's Common Purpose virtuesignalling to be done! 

Surely she didn't really say that? But yes. Yes, she did.

Is ignorance of the law a prerequisite for a police officer these days? It must be. There can't be any other explanation, can there?

Yes, Mary, There Are Issues. And They Are Yours.

It should have been a genteel afternoon singalong, with an audience of pensioners enjoying some fun, nostalgic tunes. But the well-meaning charity show erupted into a race row when one outraged audience member took umbrage at the inclusion of​...

The Horst Wessel Song? The Sex Pistol's 'Frigging In The Rigging'? 'Smack My Bitch Up' by The Prodigy?

...the classic music-hall number Camptown Races.

*blinks* 

Pianist Sarah Fisher – who was live-streaming her performance via Facebook to help isolated people deal with lockdown – was criticised for her ‘inappropriate’ choice of a song that dates from the era of ‘blackface’ minstrel shows and is famous of its ‘doo-dah doo-dah’ refrain.

 Is 'doo-dah doo-dah' another thing you're not supposed to say unless you're black, then?

While most of those watching were eager to type messages of thanks during the show, one of them – former BBC journalist Mary Stretch – was less pleased.

How did I know it'd be a BBC drone? 

Actually, we probably could have suspected given the high-handed manner in which she expressed her displeasure...

Soon a war of words was raging between Mrs Stretch, 66, and others who had tuned in. ‘Get a life,’ one audience member shot back. ‘A song is a song, nothing more. If you don’t like it switch off.’

But Mrs Stretch was adamant. ‘No, it isn’t just a song,’ she countered. ‘I know you think they are fun but there are issues.’

Only for you, love.  

‘I don’t blame Sarah at all for spontaneously picking it up and singing it in all innocence. But I hope from now on, because of what I have said, she and you won’t in the future. You might like to also consider why you should be comfortable, and demand the right to be so, when I am patently not.’

Because it's not all about you. And if you were the only one who had a problem, maybe you're the one in the wrong?

Although most of the audience had apparently enjoyed the performance, Toynbee Hall, the London-based charity which organised the show, backed the complaint.

Of course they did.  

In a message, manager Sam Crosby said that ‘to completely deny both the experiences of people of colour and the historical context of cultural artefacts, such as songs, is racist.

Oh, FFS! 

‘When these issues are raised in good faith, it’s a chance for us to learn how to be sensitive to people of colour as a group, recognise historical injustices and racist power structures, and not simply deny their feelings point-blank.’

Mary isn't 'a group', though, Sam. She's just one overly-sensitive snowflake.  

‘Any further comments along these lines will result in people being blocked.’

Ah. And clearly, so are you. 

A Thumb In The Eye Of Her Colleagues...

A Common Purpose plant in the police speaks:

Speaking after the three killers of PC Andrew Harper were jailed for manslaughter, Janette McCormick, deputy chief constable at the College of Policing, said attention was required to tackle the inequality and job prospects facing Travellers.

“There seems to be a deep-seated and accepted prejudice that demonises people from the community. You wouldn’t call any other ethnicity inherently criminal,” said McCormick, also the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Gypsies, Roma and Travellers.

It's time to look more closely at the College of Policing. Because it's proving to be one of the main reasons for the decline in trust in - and respect for - the police. 

McCormick said it was important to note that the broader link between crime and UK Traveller communities was not conclusive.

“There is no evidence to suggest we have a disproportionately high crime rate around Traveller sites,” she said.

Why not ask the people who live around traveller encampments, and see the flytipping, abuse of animals, distraction burglary, roofing scams and blatant shoplifting rates soar?

Who Are Herefordshire Council Really Working For..?

Herefordshire Council will discuss the potential resettling of least 125 refugees in Herefordshire over a period of five years when it’s (sis) cabinet meets next week.

Because it's not really the voters of Herefordshire, is it?

The council and its partners have successfully resettled 95 refugees in Hereford between 2016 and 2019.

The families have been welcomed by local people and have made a positive contribution to their local communities in a variety of ways.

None are mentioned, strangely... Wouldn't you have thought they'd have examples?

Are there any clues as to what these nebulous 'positive contributions are? Well, yes, actually. They are buried in the alternative options.

1. Not to make any further commitment to the refugee resettlement scheme at this time.

This option is not recommended as participating in the scheme broadens Herefordshire’s diversity, supporting economic and community growth and resettlement has been successful, suggesting little reason not to extend further.

There you have it. That's the 'positive contribution' they make, according to the good burghers of Herefordshire. They aren't those awful white Christian voters....

Well, voters of Herefordshire, you know what to do, don't you?

H/T: Fahrenheit211 via email

Plus Ca Change Plus C'est La Meme Chose

Criminals will no longer be called “offenders” by the probation service under a move to “reset” the language and create an “inclusive culture.”

I'd say that it's difficult to 'include' people who are behind bars, but then I remember how few of them are actually locked up!

Instead of being known as an offender, anyone under supervision will be referred to as a “person subject to probation services”.

You have to laugh, or you'd cry...

It will cover both criminals serving community sentences for low-level offences as well as prisoners released on licence to serve the remainder of their sentence in the community.

Mingling petty thieves with murderers.

As part of the reform, the term “Offender Manager” will be replaced with “Probation Practitioner”, while “Offender Management” will become “Sentence Management”.

I have other titles they could use. But, then, this is a family blog.

H/T: Service via Twitter

Is That Wise...?

Stress balls, lip balm and sunglasses worth thousands of pounds have been bought by cash-strapped police chiefs, despite claims of a crisis in funding for frontline services.

Stress balls, eh? Bit dangerous! But as it turns out, the headline's a bit misleading:

Branded merchandise such as selfie frames, furry policemen and even Tardis-style police box models are among £250,000 worth of goods purchased by Police and Crime Commissioners to boost awareness of their roles – despite frequent demands by PCCs for more government funding.

So, not 'police chiefs' at all. Just the much-vaunted extra layer of bureaucrats that were supposed to bring the actual police to heel. That worked well, eh?

PCCs say their merchandise helps to build community relations. Mrs Mountstevens’s office said: ‘Using items branded with our contact details or information about what we do and how the public can have a say is an effective way of engaging people.’

What's the point, when you ignore them just as much as the police themselves?

Once Again, They Show Us Whose Side They Are On...

...and it's not the side of the long-suffering law-abiding taxpayer:

The home secretary, Priti Patel, this month announced plans to crack down on unauthorised Traveller camps, including by making trespass a criminal offence.

But police responses to a consultation launched last year about dealing with such encampments show forces are opposed to such a move.

See...?

It's perfectly clear now who they work for. It's not me, or you. It's not objective scientific rationality either, so this shouldn't really come as a surprise.

... 75% of police responses indicated that their current powers were sufficient and/or proportionate. Additionally, 84% did not support the criminalisation of unauthorised encampments and 65% said lack of site provision was the real problem.

I wonder if 65% of police think that lack of provision of free stuff is 'the real problem' behind shoplifting, mugging and burglary?

Abbie Kirkby, advice and policy manager at FFT, said the proposed laws would make the lives of Gypsies and Travellers a misery.

Good! It's more than time they got a little back of what they dish out to others on a regular basis.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “As part of the consultation further views from police forces will be taken into consideration along with the views of local authorities, travellers and communities. It is not for us to pre-empt the outcome of these discussions.”

I sincerely hope that's civil service-ese for 'We're going to ignore the whiners' but, frankly, I doubt they are on our side either!

You Know What The Explanation Will Be, Emma...

...it'll be 'Well, who cares if we are incompetent, the process is the punishment':

Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot found Paul Bussetti, 47, not guilty after it emerged the clip that sparked outrage online may not have been his.

Another disaster for the CPS, but why should they care, when it's only taxpayer money?

Mrs Arbuthnot told Westminster magistrates: "Putting this sort of video on the internet even in a private WhatsApp group could in certain circumstances constitute a offence.

"But in this case the Crown have not discharged the burden on them, I cannot be sure the video circulated on by the crown is the one by the defendant.

"The thoroughly offensive racist remarks and images sent by the defendant and others on a regular basis cannot fill the holes in the crown's case."

Clearly, the CPS goons forgot that they can't simply say 'these are horrible people' and expect that to be all that's needed. They actually have to have a case.

Oh, and follow the rules:

She praised Bussetti's defence barrister Mark Summers QC for spotting a police interview transcript of Peter Hancock admitting to also sharing the bonfire video had not been disclosed to the defence.

More disclosure fuckups, CPS..? Weren't the recent sex case failures enough of a warning?

She said: "Had these issues been raised at half time I may well have upheld Mr Summers submission of no case.

"Had Mr Summers raised an abuse of process that too may have succeeded.

"It seems on the face of it however the very latest this morning warnings bells should have been ringing.

"It's Mr Summers keeping his wits about him who prevented potentially a miscarriage of justice."

She said she will expect an explanation over the "appalling" disclosure failings by the senior prosecutor in the case.

The explanation is staring her in the face, and if she doesn't understand this, Fahrenheit211 will tell her the plain truth; the CPS has been so corrupted by political correctness, and infiltrated by Common Purpose, that it's no longer fit for purpose.

"“...there’s a real richness and uniqueness at this school which is not commonplace in Kent.”"

Thus quoth executive head of Pilgrim's Way School Graham Chisnell.

Just 18 months ago, Pilgrims’ Way School was reeling from a damning Ofsted report, which said an “unprecedented” influx of children from a deprived London borough had contributed to its struggle.

But as the school faces a potential new intake from the same council, academy bosses say it has the space and is much better-equipped to cope with its multi-cultural pupils' background.

It'll need to be - they speak 25 different languages. And a third only speak English as a second or third language.

Its chief, meanwhile, speaks pure Common Purpose bollocks:

...he and his staff are embracing the school’s multi-cultural make-up, which he says brings a unique and rewarding learning experience for its children.

“We are now well-versed in supporting children from a variety of cultures,” he said

“To have that social diversity will be a really valuable thing for our children as they grow and learn.”

I bet if you asked him just why Kent needs this 'enriching', he'd struggle to answer...

H/T: Trickybroon via Twitter