• Home /
• Statewatch Database /
• Police suspended in Hackney (1)

Police suspended in Hackney (1)

01 January 1991

Police suspended in Hackney
artdoc August=1992

Two police officers, from Stoke Newington police station in east
London, have been suspended from duty following allegations of
attempting to pervert the course of justice. The action was taken
against Detective Constable Ronald Palumbo and PC Bruce Galbraith
as part of Operation Jackpot, an inquiry into corruption at the
police station, headed by Detective Superintendent Ian Russell
of the Metropolitan Police's anti-corruption squad.
The inquiry was prompted by a report from the Hackney Community
Defence association, A crime is a crime is a crime, which
detailed 143 instances of police malpractice over a period of
three years. The allegations claimed that police officers had
been involved in running drug dealers, planting drugs and
fabricating evidence. Following publication of the report a
former custody officer at the station killed himself and another
eight policemen were transferred to other stations (see
Statewatch 2:2).
Prior to his suspension Palumbo was named in early day motions
laid by five MPs at the House of Commons. One of them noted that
he had been found to be a `lying witness' by Judge Pitman in a
case involving the planting of drugs.
Twelve firms of solicitors and nineteen barristers have written
to the Home Secretary, Kenneth Clarke and the Director of Public
Prosecutions, Barbara Mills, expressing concern that `in the
criminal courts, the Crown Prosecution Service has not fully
disclosed the extent of the investigation as it relates to
particular officers, nor the extent of the doubts that which must
hang over the credibility of those officers.' There are ten
potential appeal cases, five civil actions and one referral back
to the Court of Appeal all of which contain allegations of
criminal activity by the Stoke Newington police.
The police investigation into the allegations is expected to
be completed within the next few weeks.
Guardian 23.6.92, 24.6.92; Independent 24.6.92.

Statewatch vol 2 no 4, July/August 1992

lok