PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Hear this! This is a huge important story that deserves a lot of attention. Britain's largest police force abandoned its policy of automatically believing victims in favour of a traditional investigative approach. (Why have I seen or read so little about it?) The force attempted to accommodate public demands for a pro-victim approach after some of its members were found to have cut corners in order to get convictions, presumably in order to satisfy public pressure. Kudos to Commissioner Cressida Dick for for reverting to traditional methods of investigation. In her words, “It is very important to victims to feel that they are going to be believed. Our default position is we are, of course, likely to believe you but we are investigators and we have to investigate.” This is most refreshing as many police forces in North America - including the New York Police Department - are buckling under pressure to abandon traditional, proven methods of investigation that are respectful of the presumption of innocence in favour of unproven methods such as forensic Experiential Trauma Interviews (FETI) which carry a dangerous risk of wrongful prosecutions and convictions.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Britain’s biggest police force has abandoned its policy of automatically believing victims after a series of flawed inquiries into alleged sex crimes, The Times can reveal. Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, said she had told officers they must have an open mind when an allegation is made and that their role was to investigate, not blindly believe. “You start with a completely open mind, absolutely,” she said. “It is very important to victims to feel that they are going to be believed. Our default position is we are, of course, likely to believe you but we are investigators and we have to investigate.”
STORY: "Metropolitan Police ditches practice of believing all victims," by reporter Fiona Hamilton, published by The Times on April 2, 2018.
SUB-HEADING: "Rethink after failed sex crime inquiries."
PHOTO CAPTION: "Cressida Dick, Metropolitan Police commissioner, said officers must enter investigations with an open mind;"
GIST: "Britain’s
biggest police force has abandoned its policy of automatically
believing victims after a series of flawed inquiries into alleged sex
crimes, The Times can reveal. Cressida Dick, the
Metropolitan Police commissioner, said she had told officers they must
have an open mind when an allegation is made and that their role was to
investigate, not blindly believe. “You start with a completely
open mind, absolutely,” she said. “It is very important to victims to
feel that they are going to be believed. Our default position is we are,
of course, likely to believe you but we are investigators and we have
to investigate.” The issue has become one of the most fraught for the police service since a national policy instructed officers to believe alleged
victims automatically. It was aimed at encouraging people to come
forward with the confidence that they would be taken seriously,
particularly in sexual abuse cases. The
guidelines were put in place after revelations in 2011 that police had
failed to properly investigate abuse allegations, including by victims
of the former BBC presenter Jimmy Savile, who was revealed after his
death to have been Britain’s most prolific paedophile. However, the Met
was later severely criticised after its detectives placed their faith in
a man known only as Nick, declaring that his uncorroborated claims of a
Westminster abuse ring were “credible and true”. The Crown Prosecution
Service is considering whether Nick will be charged with perverting the
course of justice after his claims were shown to be false. Sir
Richard Henriques, a retired judge, identified failings in Operation
Midland and said that the instruction to believe a victim’s account
should be withdrawn. It undermined the principle of suspects being
innocent until proven guilty, he said in 2016. Ms Dick took the
helm at Scotland Yard nearly a year ago, after the collapse of Operation
Midland. Asked if she was rethinking the belief policy, she said:
“Rethink? I’ve rethought. I arrived saying very clearly to my people
that we should have an open mind, of course, when a person walks in. We
should treat them with dignity and respect and we should listen to them.
We should record what they say. From that moment on we are
investigators.” She said that the police had been criticised for
not being open-minded enough. It was important to encourage victims to
come forward and she wanted to “go on raising confidence”. She
said: “Our job in respect of investigations is to be fair, to be
impartial, and where appropriate to bring things to justice — and of
course to support victims, but it isn’t all about victims.” The
Met has also been criticised after a series of rape trials collapsed
because evidence was not properly disclosed to the defence. Ms Dick said
the issue was being reviewed but added that disclosure legislation was
not fit for purpose in the digital age when mobile phones contained
“tons and tons” of data. She said that the MeToo movement had
thrown a spotlight on the issue of sexual abuse but cautioned: “Speaking
as a cop, opposed to a citizen, I’m interested in crime. If it’s a long
time ago, or it’s very trivial, or I’m not likely to get a criminal
justice outcome, I’m not going to spend a lot of resources on it. “And
what might be a misunderstanding between two people, clumsy behaviour
between somebody who fancies somebody else, is not a matter for the
police.”"
KEY FACTS: "Operation Midland Claims made by “Nick” about a Westminster abuse ring were labelled “credible and true” before they were investigated; Liam Allan Wrongly accused of 12 counts of rape last year when police failed to find crucial evidence among 57,000 text messages; Isaac Itiary Spent four months in jail charged with six counts of sexual activity with a child before all charges were dropped."
KEY FACTS: "Operation Midland Claims made by “Nick” about a Westminster abuse ring were labelled “credible and true” before they were investigated; Liam Allan Wrongly accused of 12 counts of rape last year when police failed to find crucial evidence among 57,000 text messages; Isaac Itiary Spent four months in jail charged with six counts of sexual activity with a child before all charges were dropped."
The entire story can be found at:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/police-ditch-practice-of-believing-all-victims-jsg6qd2ws?_ga=2.4565683.1226337836.1522755644-1799632850.1522755644
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/c
