Barry Coppinger quits a PCC

[Jonny Ingbar]

The institutional racism stuff came up in 2012/13 didn't it, but related to incidents in 1993 and earlier?

The term 'institutional racism' is widely misunderstood to mean widescale individual racism, when in fact it refers to systems and processes being unintentionally discrimitory. Clearly its still not acceptable, but then its not a term that describes overt, intentional racsim as many people think.

 

[Lefty]

The term 'institutional racism' is widely misunderstood to mean widescale individual racism, when in fact it refers to systems and processes being unintentionally discrimitory. Clearly its still not acceptable, but then its not a term that describes overt, intentional racsim as many people think.

Nothing to do with Coppinger either way then, but you think he should have defended the suggestion more vigorously?

 

[Jonny Ingbar]

Nothing to do with Coppinger either way then, but you think he should have defended the suggestion more vigorously?

Absolutely, but then its an organisation that has become so hyper-sensitive to the race issue its become impotent.

 

[Lefty]

Absolutely, but then its an organisation that has become so hyper-sensitive to the race issue its become impotent.

He took over in late 2012, but before that he was a member of the Police Authority. I'm looking on wickipedia at the Cleveland Police page at 'controversy' section.

Ignoring, for now, the 2019 damning report from HMICFRS and the appointment of Mike Veale, how much would you say the others listed below should be laid at Coppinger's door?


'In 2007 it was reported that Detective Constable Steve Pennington who was convicted of a drink driving offence in 2000, and subsequently jailed for four months, had been granted a £500,000 pay off by the force, garnering much criticism from members of the public and anti drink driving campaigns.[11]

In April 2012, Cleveland Police admitted liability for "malicious prosecution" and were ordered to pay out over £841,000, one of the largest compensation sums in UK police history. The court was told former PC Sultan Alam was "stitched up" by fellow officers after he launched industrial tribunal proceedings in 1993, complaining of racial discrimination following a series of incidents that included a Ku Klux Klan poster being left on his desk. Cleveland Police admitted that officers suppressed evidence that lead to Mr Alam being wrongfully imprisoned for conspiracy to steal motor parts and enduring a 17-year battle to clear his name.[12] Mr Alam, who was, as of 2012, considering a position in public office, did not believe that the force had improved and stated that racism had gone "underground", with ethnic minorities being denied the same opportunities as their white colleagues.[13]

In August 2012 it was reported that an unnamed officer from the force was on Police bail after being arrested on suspicion of carrying out 'substandard' work, potentially undermining 90 criminal cases and also perverting the course of justice.[14] The Independent Police Complaints Commission was apparently investigating the claims.

In October 2012 the force's Chief Constable, Sean Price, was sacked after being found guilty of deceit and misconduct. He was dismissed from his £190,000 a year job (one of the highest rates in the country for a Chief Constable), having been suspended in August 2011 on full pay.[15][16][17]

In May 2013, Cleveland Police agreed to pay a settlement of £550,000 to James Watson, a Middlesbrough solicitor who sued them for false imprisonment after being detained for almost 30 hours.[18]'

 

[Jedi boro]

To be fair if we’re naming Cleveland police scandals rob will need to order extra bandwidth for the site.

 

[Jonny Ingbar]

He took over in late 2012, but before that he was a member of the Police Authority. I'm looking on wickipedia at the Cleveland Police page at 'controversy' section.

Ignoring, for now, the 2019 damning report from HMICFRS and the appointment of Mike Veale, how much would you say the others listed below should be laid at Coppinger's door?


'In 2007 it was reported that Detective Constable Steve Pennington who was convicted of a drink driving offence in 2000, and subsequently jailed for four months, had been granted a £500,000 pay off by the force, garnering much criticism from members of the public and anti drink driving campaigns.[11]

In April 2012, Cleveland Police admitted liability for "malicious prosecution" and were ordered to pay out over £841,000, one of the largest compensation sums in UK police history. The court was told former PC Sultan Alam was "stitched up" by fellow officers after he launched industrial tribunal proceedings in 1993, complaining of racial discrimination following a series of incidents that included a Ku Klux Klan poster being left on his desk. Cleveland Police admitted that officers suppressed evidence that lead to Mr Alam being wrongfully imprisoned for conspiracy to steal motor parts and enduring a 17-year battle to clear his name.[12] Mr Alam, who was, as of 2012, considering a position in public office, did not believe that the force had improved and stated that racism had gone "underground", with ethnic minorities being denied the same opportunities as their white colleagues.[13]

In August 2012 it was reported that an unnamed officer from the force was on Police bail after being arrested on suspicion of carrying out 'substandard' work, potentially undermining 90 criminal cases and also perverting the course of justice.[14] The Independent Police Complaints Commission was apparently investigating the claims.

In October 2012 the force's Chief Constable, Sean Price, was sacked after being found guilty of deceit and misconduct. He was dismissed from his £190,000 a year job (one of the highest rates in the country for a Chief Constable), having been suspended in August 2011 on full pay.[15][16][17]

In May 2013, Cleveland Police agreed to pay a settlement of £550,000 to James Watson, a Middlesbrough solicitor who sued them for false imprisonment after being detained for almost 30 hours.[18]'

In terms of the litigation I would only say that in the majority of cases that are contested there are very much two sides to the story. In the cases where there is clear and obvious liability they're always settled before any hearing and don't make the press. I say this to demonstrate that awards don't necessarily equate to a clarity of truth.
What is clear is that Coppinger's failings are more apparent since he became PCC; he's been central in making a serious of weak, flawed decisions, designed to protect his political reputation, rather than what was best for Cleveland Police. He wasn't always alone with that, but he is a constant thread throughout.