PJC Journal – Original

There was a
press release today on behalf of the ACPO, (Association of Chief Police Officers),
with regard to wanting the current period of detention without charge extended
to 90 days.

In the press
release by Ken Jones ACPO President, said: 

“ACPO made the
judgement in 2005 that the police should have the power to detain suspects
without charge for up to three months as a reflection of the experience of
expert investigators in the field. It was informed by the continuing trend of
increasingly complex cases, and the huge volume of material we are discovering. 

“Any discussion
must seek to develop consensus. We must all, in further developing policy in
this area and on behalf of the public, avoid polarising positions.”

This press
release shows quite unequivocally that the Police have at senior levels become
a political organisation, deciding for themselves that they should have powers,
and getting involved in party politic policy making in order to obtain them. 

Let me be very
clear about where I stand on this.

The Police forces
of this country are public servants, and are there to police the laws of this
land. They are not there to be involved in party politics, nor are they allowed
to influence politicians or policy.

Politicians do
that, and they alone.

Recent events
have indicated that all the terror related arrests to date have been the
subject of individuals or groups who have been under surveillance for periods
in excess of 6 months. 

It beggars belief
that in that six month period, enough evidence has not been gathered, along
with a detention period of 28 days in order to bring any charges.

An extension to
90 days for detention without charge requires much much more than a ‘judgement’,
as protecting my freedom does not require the loss of freedom to achieve. 

If this nation is
not to be seen by the world as a police state, if this
nation is not to be seen by its own people as a police state, then the police
forces of this nation need to begin policing, not politicking.

We know that
politicians find it convenient to use the police, to require them to make
arrests at opportune times to suit their ends, but there is no reason to deny
anyone their liberty in order to make up for lack of investigation or funding. 

The Police forces
need to be independent and separate themselves from government, and not fall
into the same category as other organs of government which have become little
more than politically motivated management consultants.
 

KEEP THE POLICE
OUT OF POLITICS.

 

 

According to
David Milliband, the debate about climate change is over, but we think that the
debate is only just beginning. 

There are
hundreds of eminent scientists around the world that disagree with many of the
fundamental findings of the IPCC report, and even more who have ripped to
shreds the Stern review. 

What I believe we
can be assured of is that the world is now headed on one of its regular cycles,
but to blame humans and make us the scapegoats for what is largely a natural
event allows politicians carte blanche to inflict repressive legislation and
punitive taxes on all of us.

We would like to
see some sensible policies coming out of government, policies that are going to
carry our race into the next millennium, and refrain from using any of these
reports for short term political and financial gain. 

Instead of
penalising people with a raft of new taxes, more effort needs to be placed by
government on the causes of greenhouse gases.

Airlines are not
to blame for the emissions from their engines, and the passengers who fly in
them most certainly are not, no more than car drivers are, they buy what is
available on the market.   

The motorist and
airline passenger pays far more of their income into the treasury already, and
to ask them to contribute further will only generate some kind of backlash, as
it did during the fuel protests of 2000.

The emphasis of
government must be placed on the manufacturers to begin to build energy efficient
engines, to change what is available to airlines and drivers. 

Oil companies
must be forced to put more and more of their obscene profits into renewable
energy sources.

Food
manufacturers and retailers must be forced and penalised into reducing by vast
amounts the level of packaging that they use, and forced to use much more
bio-degradable packaging, thereby reducing pressure on landfill sites and
making recycling easier and cheaper. 

This is where PFI can really work, with government
providing the lead.

Companies must
realise that they are going to have to get used to working on smaller profit
margins, because we wont put up with increased prices to cover their
inefficiencies. 

This will provide
a cleaner world, this will allow people to move freely about the world without
ripping their income to pieces.

Government must
not be allowed to pass the buck on this, and they cannot keep passing the responsibility
to the people and using taxes as an excuse for action. 

Its time now for
the Government to provide some action, rather than expecting us to do it for
them.