27 November (Part 1) - Nick in nick
It
was Nicholas Dowling’s turn to visit Plumstead nick yesterday, the first time in
his forty something years he has ever set foot inside a police station.
His story is much the same as all the others; talk to tape for a couple of hours and sign the statement.
Like the four complainants (Mick Barnbrook, Elwyn Bryant, Peter Gussman and me),
Nicholas was impressed by the thoroughness of the investigating officer.
Whatever the outcome this officer will not be on the receiving end of the sort
of complaints that Bexley police always attract when trying to
save the Bacon of
Bexley council. Criticised by the IPCC for
breaking all the procedural rules,
attempting to suppress evidence,
kicking complaints into the long grass and admitting to
political interference.
Not that the latter can be ruled out. The next stage will probably be to
interview the alleged offenders. It was only when councillor
Peter Craske was
arrested 13 months after a crime was reported that the alarm bells rang in the
Civic Centre and a rescue operation had to be mounted.
It’s 99:1 that something similar will happen to this case. It will be too
trivial, or too expensive to prosecute or it won’t be in the public interest. If
senior council officers were subject to the law of the land there would be one
in court every week. That doesn’t happen and it is not because they are all good
upstanding citizens.