A-Infos (en) Cash call for shamed police force

["Peregrine (David)" <peregrine@cybergal.com>]

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The following is an article from today's edition
of Britain’s main liberal newspaper, The Guardian.

Cash call for shamed police force 
--------------------------------------------
By Martin Wainwright
Friday May 29, 1998 

A fiercely critical report on a police force accused of bizarre
initiation rites and sexual harassment was published by the
Government yesterday, condemning "management malaise" and
"sham" equal opportunities policies, and calling for "significant
investment" to effect meaningful change. 

The chief inspector of constabulary, John Stevens, called for a root
and branch review of the organisation of North Yorkshire police,
which has faced a series of expensive sexual harassment cases in the
past five years.

The report, which found a near absence of good communication in
the force, said "unprecedented" numbers of officers asked for
interviews with Mr Stevens' team.

He was called in to oversee an audit of the force after the
retirement of the former chief constable, David Burke, who left
with disciplinary allegations against him unresolved.

The findings were welcomed by the new chief constable, David
Kenworthy, who said he had drawn similar conclusions during his
first four months in command. The police authority chair, Liberal
Democrat councillor Angela Harris, described the report as
"detailed, wide-ranging and a help with working towards a better
police service."

The inspectorate was called in after the exposure of initiation rites
and sexual harassment at Harrogate police station in 1992, and the
payment of an estimated £500,000 in an out-of-court settlement to a
former detective there, Libby Ashurst. A second woman officer
was later paid compensation in a similar case, and the force was
accused of excessive secrecy and failing to take equal opportunities
seriously.

Mr Stevens acknowledged that Mr Burke began an overhaul of
personnel management, but said greater resources are needed to
make it more effective. The report said: "Without significant
investment, it is unclear whether the force could support a
meaningful change to its organisational culture.

"Nowhere is this more required than in the area of equal
opportunities, yet Her Majesty's Inspector was disappointed to find
little evidence of commitment, let alone investment."

The report also warned that few officers have any confidence in
training and grievance procedures, and specified that "there is a
clear and unequivocal under-representation of female officers in
ranks above constable and in specialist posts".

It added that rumour is the most widely used form of
communication in the force, and that good practice has resulted
more from individual initiative than management.

Mr Kenworthy said the report would be useful to help bring about
change, adding: "It's going to take some time to achieve, but
whatever happened in the past, the force can now move forward."

Mrs Harris said: "I am confident we will now work towards
creating the infrastructure for a better and more effective police
service."

Phil Willis, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and a prominent
critic of the force's management failings, described the report as a
"damning indictment" of the old regime and its senior management
practices.

Chronology

August 1993 North Yorkshire police presents a draft policy
document to the police authority, outlining steps to stamp out
sexual harassment. 

June 27, 1996 Internal police federation report states that sexual and
racial harassment and bullying are rife within the North Yorkshire
force.

September 1996 Det Con Libby Ashurst, 27, upset at treatment by
several CID officers at Harrogate, leaves the force. She receives
£130,000 and a pension of £18,000. PC Amanda Rose, who worked
in same office, reportedly received £10,000.

September 25, 1996 PC David Anderton is asked to resign after
being found guilty of four disciplinary charges, one of which was
sexual harassment.

January 8, 1998 Disciplinary proceedings launched against NYP
Chief Constable David Burke over his apparent "neglect of duty"
while overseeing complaints of sexual harassment.

January 19, 1998 Action against North Yorkshire Police collapses as
PC Ingrid Lowe, 25, declines to give evidence at an industrial
tribunal to back up her claims of sexual harassment at Scarborough
police station.

January 22, 1998 Former chief constable claims police authority
sacked him before he could explain his role in tackling sexual
harassment, and threatens legal action.



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