28 January 201217 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Police told to reopen Chhokar case

originally by: The Independent
published: 26th January 2012

A police force has been told to reopen the investigation into the murder of an Asian man more than 13 years ago. The family of Surjit Singh Chhokar met with Scotland’s top law officer today who confirmed Strathclyde Police have been instructed to carry out further investigations into his murder under double jeopardy legislation.

Mr Chhokar was stabbed to death outside the home he shared with his girlfriend in Overtown, Lanarkshire, on November 4 1998. The murder, which has been dubbed “Scotland’s Stephen Lawrence”, sparked controversy after the failure of authorities to secure a conviction for his killing despite the arrests of three men and two subsequent trials.

5 December 201116 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Lynette White case: Police trial collapses

originally by: BBC News
published: 1st December 2011

South Wales Police says it has asked the police watchdog to investigate after the UK’s biggest case involving alleged police corruption collapsed. Eight former officers were cleared of perverting the course of justice at Swansea Crown Court after the wrongful conviction of three men for murder.

The judge ruled the officers and two other defendants, who were also found not guilty, could not get a fair trial. The case follows the murder of Cardiff prostitute Lynette White in 1988.

Files relating to complaints by an original defendant were said to be missing, and the director of public prosecutions said he was “extremely concerned”. The cost of the investigations and trials is thought to run into tens of millions. One estimate put it as high as £30m.

1 October 201116 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Rethinking the police

all credits: The Telegraph
published: 28th September 2011

When the last full-scale review of policing took place, officers did not have radios and there were more than 100 forces in England alone. The 1962 Royal Commission on the Police was established to conduct “some fundamental rethinking about the purpose of the police and how this purpose can best be served in our own generation”. Has the time come for some more “fundamental rethinking”?

There has been plenty of piecemeal reform over the years; and there is soon to be more upheaval with the introduction of elected police and crime commissioners and the creation of a National Crime Agency. But the feeling that there is a deeper malaise – a crisis of confidence – is hard to shake off.