Investigation concludes that Dorset Police money
making activities are increasing injuries and deaths
This is a terrible thing to say, but as this comprehensive
investigation over many years indicates that it is true, it is absolutely right
to say it in order to try to bring it to an end.
One of the factors that supports this is that during the
investigation I have become aware of a number of other accomplished real world
engineers and business people with safety responsibilities and proper, extensive
training and understanding of formal safety requirements, and similar concerns,
and we all know that if we had behaved as the Dorset Authorities have, we would
probably have been fired and maybe even locked up by now.
I’ve also been contacted by someone with wider and somewhat
staggering concerns about Dorset Police. Years ago, I’d have considered him
crazy, but now, it’s simply another perfectly fitting piece of the puzzle:
http://www.dorsetpolice.tv/ . But surely, we could not have such failures in
a UK police force? Yes we could, just look at Hillsborough or Orgreave. But they
wouldn’t get away with it, other organisations wouldn’t allow it? Yes they
would, those other organisations, such as councils and the DfT, are just as bad.
Two more pieces of the puzzle slide into place.
What you see demonstrated above is a basic part of a proper
investigation: not only do you look for the factors that support your result,
you look for those that don’t. I have and I have been completely unable to find
any. This principle is of course completely missing if you look at anything that
Dorset Police has produced (which is almost nothing) during this investigation.
Things looked bad when the investigation of Dorset Police
started many years ago, and everything that has come up since has sadly backed
up these suspicions.
With the final complete point blank refusal under formal
complaints procedures to deny or explain a SINGLE ONE of the many very serious
concerns over the years and presented formally in this complaint
http://www.dorsetspeed.org.uk/news/sog102.aspx, by Mike Glanville, Chair of
the DSRSP, and now from the (ex) Chief Constable Martin Baker, the Chief
Executive of the Dorset Police Authority Martin Goscomb, and above them, the
Chairman of the Professional Standards and Diversity Committee Colin Weston, and
the Chairman of the DPA Michael Taylor, there is absolutely nowhere further to
go. How can we possibly have ended up with such people in such senior positions
of responsibility prepared to simply try to sweep such important issues
indicating serious and dangerous multiple failures under the carpet?
Dorset Police have been given every opportunity possible to
demonstrate that these concerns are wrong and that it is in fact operating in
the best interest of the public but the persistent refusal to do so can now only
mean that it knows it is not and this is how it intends to continue operating.
Just to recap, here are some of the apparent failures of
Dorset Police which have been put to them on multiple occasions and that they
have flatly refused to deny or explain:
- unacceptable, irresistible interests by "road safety" staff
in making money (to keep their jobs)
- perverting the course of justice
- misuse of resources, not using them how they will have the
best life saving potential
- misuse and dishonesty about use of public money
- refusal to respond at all to serious, legitimate concerns
- breach of statutory duty of care
- failure to carry out proper risk assessments
- active refusal to communicate with staff about the
distraction / danger caused by cameras
- failure to carry out FOI obligations properly
- demonstrating multiple conflicts with fundamental
principles of safety and ethics
- silencing of any Police staff prepared to properly
communicate
- attempting to cover up all these and other problems by
refusing to communicate about them
And more recently, in a desperate attempt to keep use of
“driver awareness course” profits secret after nearly 2 years of refusal for
various irrelevant reasons (including simply trying to ignore FOI requests),
even going as far as lying to the Information Commissioner in order to persuade
it to agree that simple questions about finances are vexatious, so they don’t
have to answer them.
Even before a motorcyclist was killed resulting from the
presence of a speed camera, Dorset Police had been made aware of the dangers
they cause over and over again but they chose to dismiss such dangers as
“speculation” presumably so they could carry on using enforcements where they
conflict with normal safe driving the most, in order to make the most money,
rather than where they could possibly have a safety benefit (near schools at
busy times, etc).
Even now, there is absolutely no proper independent evidence
(from anyone whose job does not depend on enforcement cash) suggesting safety
benefit and answering the concerns, on the Dorset Road Safe website, or anywhere
else. When Dorset Road Safe comments on statistics, any reduction is due to them
(and there has been a significant downward trend for many years due to many
things, recession, priced out younger drivers, better car design, etc, etc) and
any increase is due to something else (weather, etc).
It could not be more clear that all that everyone is thinking
about in the Dorset Authorities about traffic enforcements is the money, and
that this priority is entirely incompatible with and totally prevents any
impartial or effective thinking about safety. This terrible distortion can only
result in higher accident, death and injury counts than we would have if those
with the responsibility were thinking about safety. The greed is therefore
resulting in deaths and serious injuries that would not be occurring without it,
this is the conclusion.
This is not just about the Police. Of course, the structure
is bewildering, there is Dorset Police, the DPA, Dorset Road Safe, Dorset
Strategic Road Safety Partnership, Councils, etc. all with their snouts in the
trough, all keen to see the money flow continue and in an easy position to
consider any complaint as “someone else’s problem” in apparent blissful and
deliberate ignorance of the actual unfortunate end results, by the way, I just
googled that and found a very interesting website,
http://www.snouts-in-the-trough.com/ .
The incompetence of the councils (who by the way, set speed
limits) is also simply staggering, I have provided plenty of information about
Poole and Bournemouth Councils on road safety decisions and they of course also
refuse to discuss the issues as any communication will result in progress, and
the only progress that is possible is realisation of the incompetence and waste.
Then of course there is the DfT who are totally useless, also refusing to answer
serious concerns, and basically having nothing to do with it (“it’s a matter for
local authorities”) rather than taking any responsibility for it and with no
interest whatsoever in the fact that local authorities don’t have the basic
skills or even aptitude to do safety work.
So it all fits together perfectly – these authorities really
can be as bad as I and others have found them to be as they don’t have to answer
to anyone. They don’t have to be efficient or effective as expensive / dangerous
mistakes can just be soaked up by the endless amounts of public money (put
traffic lights on a roundabout that doesn’t need them probably resulting in
increased accidents – never mind, we’ll just tell them we’re saving, say
£300,000 a year, we could never justify it but it doesn’t matter because we can
just ignore any complaints that come in and carry on making more mistakes).
And it seems consistent with other things that happen in this
country – the DfT were found out by Richard Branson (mess up a train contract,
no worry, we’ll just take £40m from the plebs to pay for it), the MPs were found
out about their expenses, the bankers were found out (why on earth did we bail
them out – just think about how the 100s of billions could have been spent). How
many other things have we not yet found out that are ruining the country? Do you
know what 100 billion looks like if you write out all the 0’s? £100,000,000,000.
If everyone just picked up something that was wrong and tried
to do something about it, the world would be so much better a place. This is
what motivates me to uncover the failures of the local authorities in my area.
And the way in which the Dorset authorities are behaving in
the face of these concerns is now becoming just as, if not more serious than the
original concerns themselves, just as perverting the course of justice is a more
serious offence than speeding, (if you try to get someone else to take your
points).
Although it is clear that the Dorset Authorities will never
face the facts and start undoing this damage without significant further
pressure, I have plenty more to do and will continue until we see better honesty
and competence in those we are meant to have trust in.
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