Police officers should not “automatically believe” victims to avoid a repeat of the historic VIP sex abuse scandal, says a senior police chief.
Chief constable Andy Marsh, the head of the college of policing, said police had “overreacted” to criticism of the way forces had handled historic sexual abuse by too readily believing victims.
Instead, he said officers should support people who made accusations and treat them with respect but they should investigate the allegations rather than automatically accepting them at face value.
Trust but verify
Accepting allegations at face value and maliciously promulgating them under the legal protection of the HoC will be rewarded with a peerage.
That this advice is considered worthy of a news item shows how far down the rabbit hole we’ve gone on this…
This point may have been covered by the DT article but, in the early 1980’s, this young(ish) probationer was told to “assume nothing” and “challenge and question everything”. To do otherwise is, initially, incomptence, and eventually negligence.
Allegations are made for many reasons: spite; hatred; revenge for an actual or implied offence or upset; or out of sheer bloody mindedness because they can. Sometimes, one is made because a criminal offence has been committed. It is in those early stages of investigation, with as much information as possible being recorded, where the real reason for the allegation is more able to be ascertained.
I wonder how often Police officers today take official Section 18 (is it still Section 18?) statements, first making sure the alleger (allegent?) is aware of the declaration that if they make any claim which they know to be false, they may face prosecution themselves?
Is basic, investigative, Policing still being carried out of are their more officers wanting to be the next one to arrest the Chief of the Defence Staff for having sexual relations with unicorns?
Interesting that many years ago, when even I was young, the accepted principle was innocent until proven guilty. Indeed it was considered to be a shining example of British justice that it was deemed better that many offenders should escape conviction rather than an innocent person be convicted.
Now this doesn’t apply.
Wasn’t there once the ABC principle?
Accept nothing, Believe nobody, Check everything?
Trust but verify
And you still have all your own money? Miraculous!
Verify then trust. To the degree you’ve verified.