Two bungling police officers who failed to find Tia Sharp's body while they searched her grandmother's New Addington home will not face the sack, a Met source has revealed.
The constable and "supervising" sergeant – part of a team of officers who scoured the loft because sniffer dogs were not trained to – have escaped with a "minor" telling off, despite the blunders making it harder for experts to establish the 12-year-old's cause of death.Splendid! No doubt Inspector Gadget will find time to crow about this, as he watches the reputation of the police sink even lower in the eyes of the public…
A police source told the Advertiser: "It is the most minor form of discipline. This is at the bottom of the scale.
"It's like when you go to court, you can get life imprisonment or you can get an absolute discharge. It is a telling off but it's a minor one. Nobody's job is at threat."
The source added: "It strikes me as odd, that when a policeman makes a mistake people want to sack him, but when a news reader gets their lines wrong nobody complains."Yes, well, when Kay Burley or the like makes some huge error it’s amusing or infuriating, but hardly ever does it result in a failure to find a dead body or have the potential to jeopardise a trial!
Despite widespread public anger over the bungles, New Addington councillor Tony Pearson said tougher disciplinary action against the officers is not necessary.
He said: "It will never change the investigation. It was difficult for everyone concerned and the key for the family is to make sure there is justice for Tia, not to have a witch hunt on individuals."It’s not a ‘witch hunt’ – it’s ensuring that those who fail to do the job for which our taxes are taken from us are properly dealt with.
But changes have since been made to the force's official search guidelines since her body was found in The Lindens roof space, wrapped in a sheet and plastic bag, on August 10.A great big 42-point font warning saying:
HAVE YOU CHECKED THE LOFT???
I assume.
30 comments:
I presume. In English, if that is your target language. Ever considered a career as a "Special"?
Never mind Kay (Hurley) Burle, what about Philip Schofield? His stupid, yet deliberate action on live television could have cost the reputation, standing in the community, or even (in a weaker man) his life. What happened? He apologised and he (ant ITV) will share a fine of £125,000, which is just little bit more than 30 seconds income for ITV and a bit more for Schofield's salary. Why hasn't he and the of ITV been sacked? Why haven't the MPs who buy a second home at taxpayers expense, rent it out to another MP and then claim allowances for renting a place because theirs is being being rented out? In any other occupation, this would be classed as major fraud! Yet still, these parasites are allowed to make our laws. Journalists who make 'suggestions' about a person's character,staying just this side of the law, yet having devastating effects on that person, escape with a token fine paid by the paper. Why haven't they been sacked? Dogging footballers, drug taking pop stars, the list goes on. Yes, Police officers do make mistakes and when they do, they become the targets for every self-important twonk who is quick to criticise but couldn't do that job as long as they had a hole in their a&se!
The easiest way to explain such disgraceful incident is that it and so many others are the result of structural failings within the police service and in this case the Met Police. Such failings have come about from a whole host of imposed changes aided and abetted by a self interested senior layer best represented by ACPO.
There is much that may come out about this particular investigation - that should; then again maybe nothing will.
I'm sure people ask how such a stupid thing could happen in an era of supposed greater awareness accompanied by increased supervision, not just from within along with a staff increasingly more truly representative of the society it serves than ever. trouble is, you can do all the online training packages, have all the right mentors and networking clubs but you can't beat proper recruitment, selection, training and above all else...EXPERIENCE! You get my drift?
Over to you MTG.
Sack everyone for a minor mistake and you will be policing the streets yourself Julia.
The bottom line is that that poor girl had been dead for days. If she was found the first time or the 100th time it made no odds to the case.Why not concentrate on the piece of scum that killed her instead of a minor mistake made by police?
PS Idiot at the top-I "presume" your claim of standing for PCC election in Wales or Yorkshire was a lie?Do explain.
Cops are useless twonks who can baerly read or spel.
They can only dish out traffic fines.
@ ranter
I take no issue with honest, fair comment/opinion. That plod have proved a huge disappointment to long suffering taxpayers, is something to bear in mind before reacting (predictably) to citizen comments.
In W Yorks, a new era of plod irrelevance has slowly resulted in the victims of crime choosing to bypass police altogether. Here, good short-term results are obtained by dealing directly with local criminals. The training, commitment, competence, reliability and experience of plod therefore counts for nought.
It is a shocking state of affairs when a list of circumstances where police intervention is unwanted, grows by the day. Presented with the lesser of two evils, most citizens would support permanent anchorage of plod to his/her radiator and keyboard.
Did you go and see Mr Big in Huddersfield to get your lawnmower back Melvin? What did you have to give him to find it? Your first born or your thesaurus?
Glad to see the word radiator has come back,I was missing it.
You will 'no' when to reply to me, WC Jaded. I will use simple words and the comment will be addressed to you.
Wasn't the Godfather actually filmed in Huddersfield?
Make me an offer I can't refuse.
You know the police system is broken, not beyond repair but seriously damaged. Our police have shied away from dealing with Islamic child abuse, have allowed the flags of banned genocidal terrorist organisations to be flown, who have ignored the criminal but helped to criminalise speech. The police have ceased to police by consent.
The police along with the criminal justice system harbour the guilty but give no succor or ease to the innocent. They have ceased to do as the words over the old main door of the Central Criminal Court say: "defend the children of the poor and punish the wrongdoer.'
Jaded, speaking of Huddersfield:
Looks like another bearded savage grooming problem looming
http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2012/11/15/men-in-white-van-stalking-lone-girl-pupils-outside-mirfield-schools-86081-32234836/
Bungled searches were very common in dealing with missing from homes. There was one at Soham. In the De Troux case in Belgium cops sealed hidden kidnap victims to their doom. I'd leave these two cops alone - it's the lying and deeper incompetence we need rid of.
"Ever considered a career as a "Special"?"
Where would I find the time?
"Never mind Kay (Hurley) Burle, what about Philip Schofield?"
Well, I don't put him in the same bracket, but your point is well made.
"...the result of structural failings within the police service and in this case the Met Police."
And it seems no-one has a plan to resolve this. Bernie Two-Dads least of all...
"The bottom line is that that poor girl had been dead for days. If she was found the first time or the 100th time it made no odds to the case."
It might have made a vast difference to the post mortem, and therefore the upcoming trial!
"The police have ceased to police by consent."
Quite so.
"Bungled searches were very common in dealing with missing from homes. There was one at Soham."
Welcome back, ACO! I wasn't aware of the one in Soham.
As in the Dutroux case, several US searches have also failed to find captive victims. It's rare, but it happens.
Julie Baby all that curtain twitching must be time consuming therefore you are excuplated from the Specials. You can both read & write a distinct disadvantage in policing;)
No time for blogging Goggins,you must be too busy planning your next assault on the polls.Or resurrecting your blog-taken down by the Man?
WPC Jade don't you know stalking is now illegal? Pity about Bone & Hughes eh?
I can't stalk you on your blog anymore and I did try and look out for you during the PCC elections,what's a fan to do?
I PRESUME that you weren't allowed out of the asylum to register to stand?
Slow day at the nick dear? As the sole intelligent voice Dr MG is not here I shall head off. Toodle Pip;)
Head off where? To the hustings?
Questions not answered as always.You would make a good politician,if you ever stand of course.
Jaded provides comedy value if nowt else.
"The bottom line is that that poor girl had been dead for days. If she was found the first time or the 100th time it made no odds to the case.Why not concentrate on the piece of scum that killed her instead of a minor mistake made by police?"
A perfect example of the thought processes of the modern police force. Everything revolves around them; the rest of the Universe but a minor inconvenience to be ignored or dealt with under Section 5.
As Julia points out above, the delay could well impact the trial. Even possibly leading to the accused being freed. The delays also allowed the accused/family opportunity to pointlessly parade themselves in front of the world's media. Innocent folk's homes were searched. Hundreds of hours of police time spent fruitlessly watching CCTV recordings. Thousands of man hours wasted searching everywhere the body wasn't.
But of course none of this matters because your home wasn't turned upside down, you weren't questioned, your time wasn't wasted, you aren't paying the police overtime and accommodation bills.
A minor mistake? Certainly, but one with real consequences.
Perhaps if the accused had tweeted something inappropriate about Tom Daily he'd have been apprehended sooner?
Let's get a few facts straight-from a position of strength as opposed to you keyboard warriors and general police experts.I know this case well (not just from Daily Mail snippets).
1)The girls body was not in her home,it was in the grandmothers.
2)The first two or three searches would have been cursory at best.
3)The neighbour told police he had seen her leave the day she disappeared.
4)We have no power to search an address without a warrant or making an arrest.
Of course they were paraded in front of the media,it's a police tactic to look for body language and inconsistencies in their stories.
But you are all kings of hindsight aren't you and none of you have ever made a mistake.
PS It's Tom DALEY, a stupid comment and completely unrelated to this story.Please feel free to mention Hillsborough/Tomlinson/Duggan to make your point.
Get a check up, jaded. PMT every week is a sure sign of abnormalities.
Let's get a few facts straight-from a position of strength as opposed to you keyboard warriors and general police experts.
You might perhaps have flourished your opening with "By the power of Greyskull", you know, to add more impact, authority?
I know this case well (not just from Daily Mail snippets).
"Not just"? Good to see the police utilising every resource available to them. If HOLMES2 is down, the tabloids will fill in the blanks I suppose.
1)The girls body was not in her home,it was in the grandmothers.
The very place she was last seen alive. And according to Coppering 101, the FIRST place that should have been searched... very thoroughly.
2)The first two or three searches would have been cursory at best.
Would have. Ermmm, don't you know? And why cursory? We all know the modern cop is more interested in a voyeuristic rifle through the girls/families personal processions than looking for an actual body or captive. Admit it, the cops spent longer checking out her Facebook page and phone messages than they did the house? Am I wrong?
3)The neighbour told police he had seen her leave the day she disappeared.
Yeah, and if you were a cop (and I'm seriously doubting you are) you'd know there is more to this witness/statement than is commonly known at the moment. In any case, it was a single supposed sighting not corroborated by any other and in fact counter to witness/CCTV evidence demonstrating the opposite.
4)We have no power to search an address without a warrant or making an arrest.
Absolute rubbish. First off, the police didn't need any powers... they merely had to ask permission of the householder. A refusal would have been suspicion enough to take further steps. And how cumbersome is it to obtain an entry warrant? The flippin gas man can get one without any problem. Are you saying the police cannot?
Yet another indicator of how the police think/operate these days. They've forgotten they police with consent and most people will happily comply when asked. Instead the default position now is how can we force our will upon someone? Is there a law we can use, and if not how can we get one?
Of course they were paraded in front of the media,it's a police tactic to look for body language and inconsistencies in their stories.
Or, the police could have searched the property top to bottom and have had the case wrapped up by teatime. Still, that would have ruined a damn good game of cops 'n' robbers wouldn't it?
But you are all kings of hindsight aren't you and none of you have ever made a mistake.
Of course we are, that's the luxury of not being paid squillions of taxpayers money and then expected to produce results. Nor do we hold ourselves in such high self esteem, appearing often times to lord it over those we pretend to serve.
It's not so much the police's actions but the attitude that is rubbing the public up the wrong way. And trust me, from our armchairs we have a much better read on this than the average cop on the beat and certainly none of those wearing uniforms dripping with buttons and braid have a clue.
PS It's Tom DALEY, a stupid comment and completely unrelated to this story.Please feel free to mention Hillsborough/Tomlinson/Duggan to make your point.
I made the point very well which your juvenile response merely confirms.
I stand corrected on my spelling and duly recognise your fully paid up membership of the spelling police. You'll be sargent before you know it ;-)
John,
Whatever I write will not change your opinion and it's not my job to do so.I feel like I am hitting my head against a brick wall on here sometimes.
The reason I know about this case is because it is local to my station and we were fully briefed by the murder squad.However i'm sure you know more than them.
I have never once said that we never make errors,some of them make me cringe.When we are getting unfairly criticised I come on here to try and give some balance.If the stick is deserved as it sometimes is then fair enough.
As for the spelling-that was childish but I have had stick from the experts previously about mine and I couldn't resist!
Many thanks for the surch advise, Jaded.For someone wot wood struggel too find her own cavity apertures with both hands and a SatNav,it wos much appreshiated.
"1)The girls body was not in her home,it was in the grandmothers.
The very place she was last seen alive. And according to Coppering 101, the FIRST place that should have been searched... very thoroughly."
That's a very good point, though I think your Coppering 101 is sadly now out of date for our modern age...
"And how cumbersome is it to obtain an entry warrant? "
As we have seen from previous posts about police searching the wrong houses, clearly not very...
"I feel like I am hitting my head against a brick wall on here sometimes."
Well, Jaded, now you know how some of us feel visiting the rabid police-can-do-no-wrong-ever blogs.
As a weary and near to retirment Officer, i might aswell throw my two pennorth in.
Times have changed, i feel we are now led by blog, podcast or tweet as opposed to tough ex-military types who ran a disciplined tight ship. The battle to turn us 'thick racist thugs' into touchy, feely types has come at a price.
For all the negative 'anti-police' comments i read on here, i'm still happy with the reltionship i have with my public. I do my best as do a lot of others.
I have had some good results against burglars, rogue traders and that ilk. On the flip side i have made some errors. I won't list them all, but it is sad that we are all condemned on the mistakes of a few.
I have kept my friends outside the job and i hear of numerous tales of balls-ups in the private sector. Greed and poor service for the benefit of profit.
I don't know the ins and outs of this case, i'm a northerner. I can relate to a similar experience as a young serviceman. My corporal and me were assigned to look after some offices on base. We walked round checking all doors and windows were shut. We got to one building and there was a huge pile of scaffolding, trailers and all sorts preventing us from getting to check a fire door. So we ignored it assuming it was safe and locked.
Well, you can easily guess it wasn't and i had one of the biggest bollockings of my life and told to never let it happen again. It was a bad experience, but it taught me.
I know people like their pound of flesh, but i hope those concerned learn from it. I'm all for culling public sector who don't perform, just not going to hold my breath for the bankers to set an example.
And to all the anti-police, i'm sorry you feel that way. I wish i had the power, control and direction to do something about it. But i could not sell my soul to climb the ladder to the top. There are a lot of good people in the police, i will be sorry to leave them, but not sorry to leave the job.
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