UK: Police censor critical report
01 January 2000
A highly critical report by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CPT) into "the efficacy of existing legal remedies in cases involving allegations of ill-treatment by police officers in the United Kingdom" has been censored by solicitors representing the Metropolitan police. In an unprecedented act, empty boxes have been used to replace the deleted text in the section on civil proceedings against the police, where advice from the solicitors to the Met's Complaints and Investigation branch on disciplinary proceedings should have been. The CPT report criticises the lack of openness and transparency governing complaints against the police and the ensuing criminal and/or disciplinary proceedings, which raise "serious questions about the independence and impartiality of the procedures presently used to process complaints about police misconduct."
Although the report is based on an investigation carried out in 1997, its publication is only the latest in a number of highly critical reports following on from the Macpherson inquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence. The police action is seen as an attempt to limit the publication of findings that are critical or propose disclosure of misconduct. The CPT visited a number of police stations (Brixton, Peckham and Streatham in south London and Notting Hill, west London) and two prisons (HMP Dorchester and The Weare). The report notes, "many victims of police misconduct may have little realistic prospect of other than pecuniary redress". The CPT observe that the lack of "independent" examination of the evidence "does little to dispel the impression that police officers who engage in conduct involving the ill-treatment of detained prisoners are frequently not brought to account for their actions."
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) "Report to the United Kingdom Government on the visit to the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 8 to 17 September 1997"