Long gone are the days of Dixon and dock green , yet we still expect the British plod to be everything from social worker to first aider, but surely as Policing has changed drastically since the riots of the 1980's we now just expect them to be civilly minded, respectful and truthful.
Why do the Police Lie in Court ?

There are many people including journalists who should write with caution when making allegations about the integrity of Police Officers , after all they do not have an insight into the daily lives of these officers, neither do they have an insight into the legal system as a whole. What they do have is a name that will be remembered, I recall the way in which Merseyside Police dealt with Tony Wilson for standing up to them.

The Police today have come a long way since Dixon of Dock Green, they are a law unto themselves and are increasingly seen to be getting away with MURDER, yes I mean that literally.
The more we permit politicisation of the service the more executions we will see being committed by police officers, who thus far have NEVER been challenged in UK courts.

IF we look at the present situation it’s relatively easy to see why the system is folding and in danger of collapse. The more any Government legislates against its people the more illegal they become, that is obvious, however we in England and Wales, are in a totally unique position not only within the EU but on a global scene. The collation of DNA, which has always contravened the Human Rights Act means we criminalise our citizens , no other country, sovereign power or state has thus far committed its population to such abhorrent abuses of power. Yet do we see the media requesting the DNA retrieved from innocent people being destroyed-immediately ? , NO, because it suit’s the needs of a very politically driven press.

Here we need to ask “Do Coppers lie “?

Simply, YES, why shouldn’t they, the court find it totally acceptable, look at the Menezes case, its unacceptable for any court to permit wilful lies and pass them off as a stressful account of a belief in what occurred. Blatant lies being accepted and then backed up by officers of a court for political gain denigrate British Justice to the sewer, the same leniency would not have been shown to Joe Public…..

Due to the introduction of targets and PC correctness much of the Police Service has become just a figure hugging administration service, they care little for reducing crime as that would show them for what they are -‘simple public employees’, it astounds me when watching the culmination of cases on TV how much some senior officers take it personally, how much input they give once a case has been judged, is it really necessary for the speeches they give outside the Courts, No its not! , and in cases that are later successfully appealed like Sally Clark, Colin Stagg etc , the same mouthy officers are NEVER asked why they thought it necessary to give their own views or personal opinions , or more to the point, do they retract their comments ! These type officers are why the Police Service is in such disarray today. Quite simply, THEY TAKE IT PERSONALLY, sadly this is why evidence placed before any Court must only be adjudged alongside independent corroborative evidence, if that cannot be done, then in the interests of Justice that evidence must NOT be given such credence. When it becomes personal , integrity is lost and that is fundamentally wrong. It actually flies in the face of one important tenet of British Justice…’to be proven innocent until found guilty’
In far too many cases being brought before our courts police evidence needs to be scrutinised more closely. It is not acceptable for Magistrates, stipends or circuit judges to believe in ‘the thin blue line’.
It would appear the more we arm our Police Officers, the more mistakes they make, this could be due to the wrong officers being given such high profile positions, or simply training is flawed and allows for inadequate officers to go beyond what they are capable of, they are NOT professionals, they are simple public employees drawn from within society, they are likely to be as corrupt as the next , they are as likely to be taking drugs as those they arrest and detain. We MUST review how we as a nation accept the Police, if we continue to permit them to push boundaries both legal and personal then we are in danger of sleepwalking into a Police State, some may argue we have reached that with the legislation allowing Police Officers to arrest anyone and take a sample of your DNA simply to create a national database of information that will be sold to the USA, like much of our information on banking and health. Police corroborative evidence should NEVER be treated as independent, it’s a joint affair , pocket notebooks are simply a book of lies and prevarication that in the 21st century should be removed from the courts. If video evidence is delayed or missing or shortened by the Police, cases must be discontinued immediately.

It is high time that the Police Service was reviewed, the Sheehy recommendations should be pulled from the cob-webs and given light of day, much contained within that report was excellent and would give the Police much more credibility.

The CPS must separate themselves from the Police, they should never be permitted to work so closely together, this is how a Police State begins , do we really want to continue along that very shoddy dirty path?
Finally NO Police Officer should be above the law, as seen today !

Karen Clark-Stapleton