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| NEWS > 04 October 2007 |
Other related articles:
South Africa: Team to root out
The city of Cape Town says it is to strengthen oversight of its metro police, following reports of indiscipline and alleged brutality.
A task team, chaired by city manager Achmat Ebrahim, would be set up to perform this oversight, the city said in a statement on Thursday.
The team would include metro police chief Bongani Jonas, council officials with skills in areas such as industrial relations and law, and politicians.
"This will be the start of an extensive process ... to improve service delivery, discipline and operational effectiveness," the city said.
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 Article sourced from
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Scotsman - United Kingdom
04 October 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Strathclyde Police, UK
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Police rapped over boy's 59 ho
SCOTLAND'S biggest police force has been told to apologise to a woman whose 14-year-old son was locked up for 59 hours in a police cell.
The case was revealed by Jim Martin, the Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland, after the boy's mother discovered he had been detained by Strathclyde Police in September last year.
The woman, who has not been named, made a series of complaints and said the police had failed to contact her regarding the boy's detention.
Mr Martin said it was of "significant concern" that police did not identify and take steps to correct a failure in relation to the boy's detention. He said officers of various ranks had an "incorrect understanding" of child custody procedures.
"I believe it is appropriate that Strathclyde Police apologise to the complainer and her son for applying its standard operating procedure in relation to her son incorrectly and keeping him in custody for 59 hours," he said. The case is being referred to Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary.
Legal experts said officers had broken the law, as children should be kept "in a place of safety" rather than in a police cell.
After a lengthy investigation, Mr Martin said he was not satisfied that the child should have been detained in custody. He also upheld the complaint that police had failed to contact the boy's parents within a reasonable time.
The commissioner's report yesterday detailed the events that occurred early on Saturday, 2 September, 2006. At about 2:30am, two officers stopped and searched the boy and found he was carrying a knife. He was arrested, handcuffed and taken to a police station.
According to a police statement, the boy was under the influence of alcohol, unco-operative, provocative and abusive. Following the search, an inspector decided he should be held in a police cell because he was drunk and there were no toilet facilities in the detention rooms.
One of the most serious allegations was that officers had colluded to cover up an assault on the teenager by failing to report or document his injuries. But a spokeswoman for Mr Martin said such allegations did not fall within his remit, so he could not investigate.
The commissioner is responsible for scrutinising police procedures and non-criminal complaints from the public.
Last night, critics expressed concerns that the "police tsar" had no powers to investigate criminal matters, such as police corruption. John Scott, a solicitor-advocate, said the office lacked teeth and called for an independent police complaints commission.
"The commissioner's remit needs to be widened, so that we have a one-stop shop for all complaints against the police. We need a body that can deal with criminal complaints."
Strathclyde Police refused to comment on any of the allegations contained in the report, but the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland said its findings would be reviewed.
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