Comments on: The beginning of the end?

By: thud

thud — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:28:52 +0000

I like your note of optimism, I too feel that all is not lost and we can move towards some semblance of sanity if as you say people of sufficient stature step up.

By: Hogday

Hogday — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:01:01 +0000

As one who watched helplessly as a similar character got away with all manner of disgraceful, dishonest behaviour protected, at his own smug admission and I quote him: `by the spade up my sleeve, get it?` I feel no satisfaction at this shameful escapade’s conclusion. Relief maybe? No, not even that. For me this marks another nadir of police management. Is the only way up, or will it just continue to bump along in the rut it’s created?
(I posted this at Leviathan’s place, but my sentiments fit your post as well)

By: Bill Quango MP

Bill Quango MP — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:28:21 +0000

The blame was laid squarely at Blunkett’s door this morning on the radio. The home secretary insisted the police stop their investigations into Mr Dizaei. Look how upset Jacqui smith was when Ian Blair was booted out by Boris.Yet he clearly should have gone much sooner for his misjudgments, let alone his politicking ways to gain favour with the government.
The police, and particularly the Met allowed itself to be taken over by human resources and is exactly as your post suggests, something that happens everywhere for no good reason.

By: Blue Eyes

Blue Eyes — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:57:23 +0000

Spot on. It’s collective punishment: one lawyer/social worker/copper made a terrible mistake therefore everyone must be controlled more closely by the politicians. WRONG. Hang those who are negligent or incompetent out to dry and let the rest learn from the mistakes of the past but while being allowed to get on with their work using their own intelligence. Surely that is what being a professional (as opposed to a menial) is all about?

By: asquith

asquith — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:48:54 +0000

I was talking to a jobseeker about how hopeless the Job Centre is because they are not only obsessed with protocol, there’s also the fact that a lot of employees especially lower-level employees don’t even know what protocol is anyway.

I remember that I was once on the dole & I completely agree. When I found a job it was through my own efforts, not their “help”, & I’d be amazed if their expensive schemes were in any sense efficient.

I have been thinking about some culprits.

Professionals tend not to have much discretion, especially if they work in the public sector. Well, why? Partly because of managerialism but also, I think, something else to do with the “culture” of this country.

If professionals enjoyed more discretion we can get a fairly good guess what would happen. Most would do a perfectly good job, driven by their own conscientiousness. A large minority would do a rubbish job, be it because o unreasonable demands, lackings in the training system or the fact that they are just not much good at the job.

But a few people, under such as system, would get things very badly wrong. You’d then get tabloid “newspapers” berating them & making ill thought out demands for “action” to be taken. (Well, actually, very carefully thought out in terms of selling as many copies as possible but not in policy terms).

I remember the Baby P petition because I had a second job sorting illegible mail & for some oh so obscure reason I just can’t figure out, a lot of the envelopes to the letters sent in in support of it were incoherent, 7 I did a bit of thinking about it. I thought to myself, is this really going to help anyone? Have this lot really considered what they’re doing?

When this kind of manufactured outrage is never far away, you wouldn’t really expect higher-ups to let people get on with their jobs.

By: Blue Eyes

Blue Eyes — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:55:23 +0000

“It’s always been my belief that Socialists believe that human affairs can be reduced to mechanical interactions, and that these can be tweaked like a pinking engine”

EXACTLY! Have we had this conversation before?..

By: Mark Brentano

Mark Brentano — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:10:23 +0000

“Britain, thanks to the left-wing lawyers and their cheerleaders and due to the unwillingness of others to resist the change, has become a machine. Procedure and policy are paramount, outcome irrelevant.”
Exactly. It’s always been my belief that Socialists believe that human affairs can be reduced to mechanical interactions, and that these can be tweaked like a pinking engine. Short-term suggestions? Disband the Black Police Officers Association and make the police accountable to the local people particularly at the interview stage – as I believe still happens in the States.
Fantastic post.

By: dickiebo

dickiebo — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:52:44 +0000

It’s all so simple, really. Our country, like most others, is governed by politicians. Politicians ARE liars. So, the truth becomes nothing more than an inconvenience. Now, if only we could find enough politicians worthy of their high office…..then things could change! Gosh, don’t hold your breath!

By: patently

patently — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:21:14 +0000

Yes, they’ll ask “how did this happen?”. They’ll have an internal enquiry, then they’ll create a new rule to stop it happening again. Then they’ll announce that “lessons have been learned” and that “procedures have been put in place to prevent a recurrence”.

Then we’ll wait a few years and some other stupidity will happen.

What is needed is a change in mindset. We need to stop telling these people that they are institutionally racist and start pointing out that they are institutionally stupid.

By: JuliaM

JuliaM — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:33:10 +0000

“But might there be light at the end of the tunnel? Dizaei’s situation is surely so egregious that people must sit up and ask: how was this allowed to happen?”

And they’ll ask it right up until there’s another celebrity scandal to distract their attention…

People don’t really want to look at the system for too long. They might not like what they see. So, they don’t.