You thought Cleveland Police were corrupt?

[mk1]

Then read this:

http://www.real-whitby.co.uk/not-so-mclukie-streak-in-my-view-by-nigel-ward

Now I am not easily shocked but it gave me a start.

You really could not have imagined it.

I found it whilst trying to get fat Daves age to see if it matched anything here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-19702529

The most recent arrests are of a 46-year-old Teesside man and two men aged 65 and 35 in Warrington, Cheshire.

[rabbit]

Looks like he`s aged 50 or 51, so the 46 year old is someone else.

[steveL]

At the end of all of this, Mr Price will be allowed to 'retire' on full pension . . . I'd put my money on it . . . as will all of you through your taxes.

[Chester]

For info it's not DMc who has been arrested.

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/top-police-official-held-over-80-000-card-bill-1-4976244

[steveL]

I think its time for a full public enquiry into the self-enriching culture of the public sector. Whether it's the misuse of credit cards, setting yourself up with a nice job after 'retirement', acting as a 'consultant' to sub-contractor or inflating final salary pensions during the last years of service, it all points to something very rotten going on. It's endemic and we're all paying for it.

[rabbit]

****** Hell!

No wonder the investigation has taken so much time. This has the potential to be the subject of TV documentaries, even a feature film. There`s clearly more to be revealed, but there seems to have been a lot of eating going on in Yarm (wining and dining with contractors no doubt). But I would have thought it would be the potential contractors who were paying for the nosh-ups rather than the clients.

It is worthwhile to look at the website for Reliance http://www.reliancesecurity.co.uk/

also note, there have been 2 Mc`s arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation.

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2011/11/09/councillor-dave-mcluckie-arrested-in-cleveland-police-probe-84229-29745505/

[steveL]

One of the things that really pisses me off about this whole thing is that when it all initially blew up and McLuckie first resigned from the PA, the rest of the PA, including Drummond, immediately voted him a unanimous vote of confidence.

In other words, its the old default 'wagon train' defence mechanism - when one of the guys comes under attack the the rest of the wagon drivers immediately jump to his defence even when they probably haven't a clue of the seriousness of the issue. I seem to remember Drummond commenting in the Mail about his support for McLuckie.

[mk1]

More in the Northern  Echo (don't you just wish we had such a newspaper?)

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/9960298.Inquiry_told_of___362_000_pay_off/?ref=rss

Meat:

payments made to a senior police official included a £362,000 redundancy payoff...................


payments totalling nearly £80,000 made on Mr McCarthy's corporate credit card.....................

loyalty bonus payments totalling nearly £25,000 a year...........

in the two years before his departure Mr McCarthy received total payments of just under £190,000 and just over £188,000, which includes the loyalty bonus.................

No wonder Dumbo is determined to hang on to his  position.

[steveL]

Fascinating. You pay somone £32,000 a year loyalty bonus for not going off somewhere else....then when they do bugger off....you agree to pay a projected number of loyality payments of £32,000 for the years they will no longer be there to pick it up personally.

[rabbit]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19840069

quote "Sean Price becomes the first chief to be dismissed in 35 years with the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) describing his conduct as "shameful"

[steveL]

I distinctly remember a debate in the council chamber when Mr Price's £24,000 'honorarium' payment was brought up. An 'honorarium' payment is when people want to give someone more money but have ran out of ways to do it. At the time Price was receiving a basic salary, car allowance and expenses, a retention payment to stop him going elsewhere, his kids school fees were being paid for him and he probably had access to the same corporate credit card which the previous Chief Executive appears to have found so useful.

The bit I remember most is when former Labour Councillor and Chair of the local PCT, Steve Wallace, then a member of the Police Authority, answered people's reservations about the honorarium payment with the comment that we 'were lucky to have him'
So there you go - you lucky people.

We now have a former Chief Executive arrested, a former Chair of the Police Authority arrested and on bail and the Chief Constable sacked for his 'shameful actions and attitude'.

IPCC commissioner Nicholas Long said Mr Price had "failed the public of Cleveland".
"Mr Price appeared to think his position as chief constable gave him the power to order people to do as he wished," he added.
"He has attempted to intimidate and bully staff under his leadership and mislead an independent investigation."

To quote Mr Eastwood: "Do you feel lucky today, punk?.......Well do yer......?"

[for fawkes sake]

I heard this on the BBC and noticed how they emphasised that this was all about one man and shouldn't affect the public's confidence in Cleveland Police.
I must have been reading different papers because the way it looks to me, we are  rapidly approaching the point when those senior people involved in Cleveland Police who aren't under arrest, on bail or otherwise being investigated will be in the minority.

[christine blakey]

There were seven people involved in the case of homophobia in the council, and each one has been allowed to leave with a pension, early pension or a promotion, progression elsewhere.  So wrong.

Therefore the full costs could be another seven figure sum.

[not4me]

Not sure I like the topic heading. The local cops seem OK to me; it's the branches at the top of the tree that seem to be decaying.

[steveL]

Not so much a 'Special Branch' but a 'Rotten Branch'............ ....it's the way I tell 'em.