Gerry McCann's Collection of Clowns and Helpers

These images accompany the post above.

NPIA Just Another Year To Go?

If we are to believe the report further down the page the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) is set to be disbanded sometime in the next twelve months.

I say disbanded but the more likely chain of events will be that they decamp, taking their troughs, their corruption and their criminality with them and amalgamate with the equally corrupt and criminal Association of Chief Police Officers.(ACPO)

A bold statement you might think, but far from it if you consider the few pre-requisites required in order that one might confidently make such a claim.

To assess this case and come come to the only conclusion that one can; that the Doctors McCann are instrumental in the death and disappearance of their daughter, doesn't require great gifts of deduction or intellect, it requires far less; the ability to walk upright and having attained the age of six, is more than sufficient.

How strange then it must seem, given the vast collective experience of those stalwart fellows, those that make up the membership of the Association of Chief Police Officers, (list below) that what is blatantly obvious to our six year old is somehow lost on these men of rank and great experience.

I have no intention, and even less inclination to quote chapter and verse of all that has past, such things as, and though a horse of a slightly different colour, Jim Gamble's unequivocal support of the McCanns just one month after they, the McCanns were declared arguidos, persons of interest, suspects if we are to call a spade a shovel.

No I have no intention of wading through the mire of things past, but no article of this nature would be complete without making mention of the pro-active support of the McCanns by Leicester Constabulary; the link from the police website to that most grotesque abomination, that catalogue of lies, www.findmadeleine, complete with I must add, www.store.findmadeleine.

But these things, distasteful as they are, pale into insignificance compared to the find Madeleine fund. A fund as fraudulent as the proverbial nine bob note, or would that be thirty Euro note given these modern times.

So before I come to the gist of this piece, and no it's not the story of the NPIA's demise, but rather a little something from the past from Blackwatch of The Sargeants Inn, a little reminder if you will of the stance taken, and ongoing by those charged with upholding the law of this once green and pleasant land.

A refresher.

‘Missing’ conference a resounding success

Gerry McCann, the father of missing child Madeleine McCann, gave a moving after-dinner speech. He highlighted the humanity that’s essential when police and other services deal with the families of missing people.

Confirming and endorsing the NPIA's position, Chief Constable Peter Neyroud stood shoulder to shoulder with Gerry McCann.

Features - International Missing Children’s Day 25 May

Sharon Lee, Kate McCann, Esther Rantzen, Peter Neyroud, Gerry McCann, Nigel Greenhalgh (uncle of Damien Nettles) and Natasha Lee
Families and police forces involved in the investigations of the five missing children chosen from the UK attended to encourage others to not only remember missing children
but also encourage anyone with information that may help find a missing child to contact the police.
The five children were:
• Ben Needham
• Damien Nettles
• Katrice Lee
• Madeleine McCann
• Paige Emily Chivers
Source PDF

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Grooming the McCanns: Amber Alert, the Prüm Treaty and Government Interference in the McCann Case
Author Blackwatch 12/08/2009

How The Madeleine Case Supported the Extension of Amber Alert System and the EU's Prüm Treaty To The Remaining 27 Member States - And How Downing Street Obliged

In response to the question, how will the McCanns be remembered, one Mirror Forum member wrote:

“they will become a leading force in the world to get rid of the hidden evil in our society, and to out those who try to cover up for the tragedies these criminals can cause”.

For a couple who were at this time suspects in their daughter's disappearance, the statement brokered something of a paradox; just how could these two ordinary individuals who had been openly pilloried for their routine negligence transform themselves into credible figureheads for law-enforcement overnight? Within the time it took to finish one glass of wine and discover one of your children missing, the McCanns exchanged their prison-issue denims for outfits tailored to a more 'practical' design.

And what at first had sounded like a most absurd suggestion by one deluded forum member steadily acquired some semblance of authority.

GERRY IS HONOURED AT POLICE BRAVERY AWARDS FOR A LIFETIME (WELL 6 WEEKS OR SO) OF SERVICES TO … MISSING KIDS AND STUFF ... JULY 2007

Retracing our steps to mid-July 2007 and we find ourselves standing alongside hundreds of dumbfounded uniformed officers at the Dorchester Hotel, invited from our seats by senior personnel to applaud one Gerald P McCann at the Police Bravery Awards. First we’d had the poignant video of his daughter, then the speech praising both UK Officers and the Polícia Judiciária, now we had the standing ovation. And for what? Just what were we honouring? Gerry’s contribution to ‘what’ exactly? One of the serving South Yorkshire officers receiving an award there that night described it as one of the most surreal events of his life. Sitting at his table was none other than Gerry McCann, 1500 metre junior running medallist and celebrated kidnap personality. And he wasn’t just down on the guest-list; Gerry was guest of honour. It was like having Mark Stanley - the man responsible for shutting the doors on the Herald of Free Enterprise as it left Zeebrugge - guest-of honour at the annual Maritime and Coastguard awards.

Naturally, not even this prepared us for what was to come. But just how did we get to this stage?

I HAVE A DREAM – GERRY’S EPIPHANY – FIRST WE TAKE MANHATTAN THEN WE TAKE BERLIN

In mid-June, in an interview given to the Catholic newspaper, The Tablet, Gerry McCann told of an "extraordinary experience" inside the church in Praia da Luz just days after Madeleine's disappearance:

"I had this mental image of being in a tunnel and instead of the light at the end of the tunnel being extremely narrow and a distant spot, the light opened up and the tunnel got wider and wider and went in many different directions .... I can't say it was a vision because I am not clear what a vision is but I had a mental image and it certainly helped me decide. I became a man possessed that night. The next day I was up at dawn, making phone calls."

At this point in time Madeleine has been missing, presumed abducted, for little more than 3 weeks. But in what can only be described as an epiphany or profound breakthrough, Gerry McCann is sufficiently inspired and transformed enough to pursue a totally new direction. At a time when most people in his position are coming round from the effects of a mild sedative Gerry decides to resign his position at Glenfield Hospital and spearhead a campaign on behalf of missing and exploited children everywhere. His mission starts modestly enough; a meeting with SOS Crianca, the main child welfare non-governmental organisation in Portugal and then to London for a meeting at the Headquarters of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre. And then things start getting a little giddy. Gerry visits the National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children in Washington, bonds with the US attorney general Gonzales at the justice department, grapples at the White House with the First Lady's deputy chief of staff, Sarah Armstrong and follows it up with a mid-afternoon jog up Capitol Hill for meetings with Democrat congressman Nick Lampson and Republican Senator Robert Shelby.

And then, of course, we have that ill-timed appointment in Edinburgh with Kirsty Wark who interviews Gerry at the Edinburgh International TV festival, shortly before he and his wife are declared formal suspects.

Not bad for a couple from Leicester who were presumed reckless enough to leave their daughter unattended for several nights of the week on a jolly old Summer Holiday with their mates in Portugal. There is a great deal more to this article which can be found here

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National landscape streamlined as ACPO role reviewed

29 Jul 2010

The role of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) will be reviewed by the Government but will include many of the functions currently performed by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) which will be scrapped within two years, the Home Secretary announced this week.

A new National Crime Agency, as well as encompassing the work of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and UK Border Agency, is expected to take control of the databases currently managed by the NPIA, including the National DNA Database and Police National Computer.

The Policing Minister told Police Professional this week the Government will also seek to streamline the inspection regime. Policing in the 21st Century: Reconnecting police and the people, sets out a redefined and independent inspection role for Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary but fails to mention the future role of the Audit Commission. The Conservative Party has been expected to abolish it as part of a cull of non-departmental public bodies.

Nick Herbert said: “I am reviewing and discussing the whole inspection regime. Police forces find themselves subject to multiple forms of inspection; I am looking at the whole thing.”

The consultation document sets out how ACPO will in future be expected to show strong leadership in promoting and supporting the greater use of professional judgement by police officers and staff.
President of ACPO, Sir Hugh Orde, speaking to the Home Affairs Select Committee this week about the proposed changes, said he is “deeply uncomfortable” with ACPO’s current status as a limited company, proposing its Criminal Records Office be moved into a separate department, so that ACPO can become a “policy generator”

In its new role, ACPO will share evidenced-based practice and drive future leadership of service in place of the NPIA.

Sir Hugh said: “Reform must add real value to the critical service we deliver which keeps our communities safe.

“There are a number of new elements proposed which will now require careful consideration, in particular the role of the National Crime Agency, and how greater collaboration across the service can be achieved to drive the necessary savings. Today also presents an opportunity to firmly establish ACPO as a professional leadership body, with a governance and accountability structure as we have consistently requested.”

Mr Herbert defended the decision to scrap the NPIA, saying it would produce immediate cost savings, details of which will be published in a business plan in the autumn.

Mr Herbert said de-cluttering the landscape will produce far greater value for money and reduce overheads.

Responding to the decision, NPIA’s Deputy Chief Executive, Nick Gargan, said: “The NPIA has long argued that there should be fewer national agencies. We therefore see these proposals as a positive opportunity to evolve what functions the NPIA provides in a way that continues to tackle crime, increase public safety and provide value for the taxpayer.” source

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The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO, official title The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland), established in 1948,[1] is the lead organisation for developing police policy in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In times of national need, for example terrorist attacks and civil emergencies, ACPO coordinates the strategic operational response and advises government. ACPO coordinates national police operations, major investigations, cross border policing and joint law enforcement task forces. ACPO designates Senior Investigative Officers for major investigations and appoints officers to head ACPO units specialising in various areas of policing and crime reduction. ACPO is now a statutory consultee.[3]

Scotland has eight forces and they are similarly coordinated by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.

ACPO is currently led by Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde QPM who was, until 2009, the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. He was elected as president by fellow members of ACPO in April 2009.[4]

It is funded by a Home Office grants, profits from commercial activities[2] and contributions from the 44 UK police authorities. Chief officers' work through ACPO attracts no additional remuneration.

In 1997 ACPO was incorporated as a private company limited by guarantee. As a private company, ACPO does not have to comply with the Freedom of Information Act. It is not a staff association, the staff association for senior police officers being a separate body, the Chief Police Officers Staff Association (CPOSA). (from Wiki)


President
Sir Hugh Orde OBE QPM

Vice President
Matt Baggott CBE QPM
Chief Constable of The Police Service of Northern Ireland

Vice President
Sir Norman Bettison QPM
Chief Constable, West Yorkshire Police

Vice President
Mr Tim Hollis CBE QPM
Chief Constable of Humberside

Children & Young People
Head: Ian McPherson, Chief Constable, Norfolk Constabulary

Citizen Focus
Head: Richard Crompton, Chief Constable, Lincolnshire Police

Crime
Head: Keith Bristow, Chief Constable, Warwickshire Police

Criminal Justice
Head: Tim Godwin, Deputy Commissioner, Metropolitan Police

Finance & Resources
Head: Grahame Maexwell, Chief Constable, North Yorkshire

Futures
Head: Mark Rowley, Chief Constable, Surrey Police

Information Management
Head: Miss Ailsa Beaton, Director of Information, Metropolitan

Performance Management
Head: Mr Steve Finnigan, Chief Constable, Lancashire

Equality, Diversity & Human Rights (EDHR)
Head: Mr Steve Otter, Chief Constable, Devon & Cornwall

Terrorism & Allied Matters
Chair: John Yates, Assistant Commissioner, Metropolitan Police
DCC ACPO TAM: Margaret Wood
Vice Chairs
Mr. Chris Sims, Chief Constable, West Midlands
Sir Norman Bettison, Chief Constable, West Yorkshire
Peter Fahy, Chief Constable, Greater Manchester

Uniformed Operations
Head: Mr Meredydd Hughes, Chief Constable, South Yorkshire

Workforce Development
Head: Mr Peter Fahy, Chief Constable, Greater Manchester

2012 Olympic Games
Head: Mr Chris Allison, Assistant Commissioner, Metropolitan Police

ACPO: What Country Am I Living In?

Or perhaps better put, where have I been living?

To be perfectly honest this is all new to me, and being equally honest, I'm struggling to get my head round it all.

Here we have the Association of Chief Police Officers Of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) a private limited company no less, that operates in the following manner.

.....despite its important role in drafting and implementing policies that affect the fundamental freedoms of this country, ACPO is protected from freedom of information requests and its proceedings remain largely hidden from public view. In reality ACPO is no more troubled by public scrutiny than the freemasons. (1)

Update: Having completed the article, I think I must have been in a coma where this lot are concerned.

I'll bet they're not, troubled that is, they must wield enough collective power as to make the Freemasons look like the Brownies. But don't ask any questions because ACPO is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, how nice for them.

ACPO is not an organisation that is ancillary to the policy agenda of the democratically controlled Home Office. It has its own policy agenda, and that process is separate from the one operated by the Home Office or local police authorities. (2)

Am I to take it that, its own policy agenda is in part a polite way of saying that it runs it's own intelligence gathering units, yes units, not one but three, and all subject to the same accountability as the parent company?

The National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit (NETCU)

NETCU is not a public body or a formal police service – it's a private organisation that (like WECTU and NPOIU) is a functional subsidiary of ACPO. As a private company ACPO is not subject to a defined system of legislative oversight like that usually applied to organisations discharging public functions on behalf of the Government. For example, it is not covered by the Freedom of Information Act, but instead voluntarily releases information to the public as it sees fit. For NETCU there is no such formal accommodation on issues such as access to information, and in fact if you view NETCU's Policing Protest Pocket Legislation Guide it states –

NETCU is not a public authority as defined by Schedule 1 and therefore there are no obligations on NETCU to disclose information under the Act. Police forces are advised not to release this guide following freedom of information requests.

NETCU web site logos Despite this, if you view the NETCU web site what you see are the ACPO and government logos side-by-side (as shown here on the right) as if they were all part of the same national public administration system. (2)



The Welsh Extremism and Counter-Terrorism Unit (WECTU)

Formally established on 1st April 2009, WECTU is the Welsh equivalent to NETCU and it liaises between police forces and the Welsh Assembly Government. Before this date WECTU was run informally from within South Wales Police.

WECTU's role in Wales is subtly different to that of NECTU; it was set up to counter terrorism and extremism. In England the terrorism role belongs to the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) who also report to ACPO in their role of implementing the Home Office's CONTEST counter terrorism strategy (referenced earlier). Looking at the Government's terrorism agenda we might assume that the terrorism role is more important, and that WECTU is less involved with the policing of protest – but this isn't the case. (2)



The National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU)

The National Public Order Intelligence Unit was set up by ACPO in 1999, and again it is outside of the ordinary legislative oversight that such a body would be subject to if operating within the mainstream police force. It is possible that a large part of its role evolved out of the Metropolitan Police's Public Order Intelligence Unit which, although initially being set up to counter football hooliganism in the 1980s, was often seen at the policing of environmental protests through the 1990s – especially in relation to Reclaim the Street demonstrations and some of the major anti-roads protests. There have, since the inception of the NPOIU in 1999, been a number of news stories that continue to document the overtly political nature of the NPOIU's work: (2)

By showing that it can write a story when it wants, and thus making itself even more disagreeable to us as a newspaper, this from the McMail.

Britain's most powerful police body is being run as a private business with an annual income of around £18million.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), which oversees everything from anti-terrorism policy to speed cameras, was last night facing demands that it be disbanded, following a Mail on Sunday investigation into its activities which include:

* Selling information from the Police National Computer for up to £70 – even though it pays just 60 pence to access those details.

* Marketing ‘police approval’ logos to firms selling anti-theft devices.

* Operating a separate private firm offering training to speed camera operators, which is run by a senior officer who was banned from driving.

* Advising the Government and police forces – earning £32million of taxpayers’ money in the process.

* Employing retired senior officers on lucrative salaries. (3)

And of course it's all jobs for the boys, who are all linked, and a little more research would uncover far more no doubt, and as always we have the North of Ireland in the equation.





And there is much more than meets the eye where this bunch are concerned, standing ovations apart.





Links to sources and more.

1. spinprofiles.org

2. fraw.org.uk

3. The Mail

Association of Chief Police Officers. Wiki


Further reading highlighting the perils of uncountable police powers.

ACPO plods squander our tax for secret shag-pads

Controversial domestic extremists units make desperate raids to justify existence.

ACPO chiefs should be jailed.

Hat tip and lots more British Blogs - ACPO