#matt parr exposed

[digital-products-usa]

[ukrfeminism]

2 minute read

Police recruits with links to serious organised crime and histories of predatory behaviour have passed official vetting, a report has concluded.

Forces have accepted applicants with convictions for robbery, indecent exposure and domestic abuse. One recruit was a pimp and others were caught lying about their families’ involvement in serious crime, including drug dealing.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services said that hundreds if not thousands of corrupt officers were working in England and Wales. Forces had a risk threshold that was “too low” in their drive for recruits and, in at least one case, to improve diversity.

In the latest review lambasting the state of policing, the watchdog also uncovered a culture of misogyny and predatory behaviour.

Forces were plunged into crisis in March last year when a serving Metropolitan Police officer abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard, 33. They have also been criticised for poor clear-up rates for crimes ranging from sexual violence to burglary.

Inspectors were asked to examine vetting because PC Wayne Couzens, a firearms officer who is now serving a whole-life sentence for Everard’s murder, transferred to the Met from another force despite a link to an alleged flashing incident. He has since been charged with six incidents of indecent exposure. He has pleaded not guilty to four charges and has yet to enter a plea to the other two.

Matt Parr, the inspector who reviewed the Met and seven other forces, said that senior officers had failed for a decade to tackle predatory officers and lax vetting. Asked whether Couzens could have been blocked if earlier recommendations for improvement had been implemented, Parr said: “The shoddier your vetting system is, the greater the chance of somebody like Couzens joining you.

“Now, I can’t say that he would never have joined or been allowed to transfer. What I can say is, the tighter your standards — and if some of the recommendations we’ve made had been enacted — the chances of something like that happening are clearly reduced.”

Parr’s review found that even when the vetting process turned up “disturbing information” such as a history of discrimination or extremism on social media, or a litany of sexual misconduct complaints, applicants were accepted.

Recruits with families in organised crime have been hired in the past three years. In one force, which was not named, an applicant passed vetting despite a history of indecent exposure.

A chief constable allowed the transfer of an officer accused of sexually assaulting junior officers and a member of the public, because they felt it would “make the force more diverse”.

The review found that female officers and staff were routinely exposed to sexism and predatory behaviour. This indicates that the Met’s “anything goes attitude” and failure to sack rogue officers, reported in a review last month, are prevalent in other forces.

Of 725 vetting files reviewed, there were 131 cases in which the decision to hire had been “questionable at best”. Of those, inspectors believed that 68 should have been rejected outright.

Officers had transferred between forces despite histories of attracting misconduct allegations. There were officers with substantial undischarged debts, a corruption risk, and others who gave false information to the vetting unit. Some forces were not checking employment histories or collecting character references, and others did not do in-person interviews.

Culture of misogyny in every force reviewed

Parr, who made 43 recommendations for improvement, said forces should not risk standards to meet the demand to hire 20,000 officers, a Conservative initiative to replace those who were cut during austerity.

An “alarming” number of 11,000 female officers and staff who responded to a survey detailed allegations of harassment and serious sexual assault. They complained of senior male officers pursuing junior colleagues for sex, viewing pornography at work and stopping the cars of pretty women in a practice referred to as “booty patrol”.

The report said: “We concluded that far too many women had, at some stage in their career, experienced unwanted sexual behaviour towards them. We were left in no doubt that, in too many places, a culture of misogyny, sexism and predatory behaviour towards members of the public and female police officers and staff still exists.”

A Met review of investigations into serving officers who faced allegations of sex crimes or domestic abuse showed that only 58 per cent were investigated to the required standard.

Since the Everard case, police forces have made repeated pledges to root out rogue officers. In making a series of fresh recommendations to beef up safeguards yesterday, Parr issued a damning list of cases in which the service had failed to act over more than a decade.

A string of independent reviews over the years had given forces “ample warning” about predators in their midst and there were cases of rogue officers which should have raised red flags and been catalysts for changes.

They included Ian Naude, a Cheshire PC who was jailed for 25 years for raping a 13-year-old girl and had only joined the force “to gain the keys to a sweetshop”. Wayne Scott, who was jailed in 2013, used his position in Cleveland to carry out rapes and sexual assaults but complaints about him were ignored. Stephen Mitchell, of Northumbria police, was handed two life sentences in 2011 for being a “ruthless sexual predator” who carried out rapes and indecent assaults.

Last month it emerged that PC James Ford, who repeatedly raped a young girl, was hired even though the vetting process raised concerns about his inappropriate use of social media. Suella Braverman, the home secretary, said yesterday that the report shone a “stark light” on the problems and it was “unacceptable” that women “continue to experience misogynistic and sexist behaviour”.

Assistant Commissioner Barbara Gray, of the Met, said that “being ruthless in ridding [the force] of those who corrupt our integrity” was central to the reform promised by Sir Mark Rowley, the new commissioner.

Martin Hewitt, chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: “The confidence of the public and our staff is dependent on us fixing these problems with urgency, fully and for the long term. Police chiefs are determined to do that. A number of changes and actions are already under way to improve standards in vetting, misconduct and countercorruption, and ensure those standards are consistently followed.”

[fdabp]

Nicolo Degiorgis

Degiorgis’s book ‘Hidden Islam’ is a photobook showing the “Islamic makeshift places of worship in north east Italy” (Degiorgis and Parr, n.d.) between 2009 to 2013. Magnum Photo Agency photographer Martin Parr introduces the book, within his introduction Parr writes about how Italy allows people to believe in any religion they want too. With “1.35 million Muslims in Italy” (Degiorgis and Parr, n.d.) and only eight official mosques’ in all of Italy at the time of the books writing. I feel this is odd as Islam is the second biggest religion in all of Italy yet “Islam is still not formally recognised by the state” (Degiorgis and Parr, n.d.).

This has led Degiorgis to explore the hidden Islam within Italy, in particular North East Italy as this is where it is impossible to get a mosque built because of the “right wing Lega Nord party campaigns on an anti-Islamic platform” (Degiorgis and Parr, n.d). My view of this book is that it shows its viewers the hidden world of Muslims in North East Italy.

The cover of the book is one of the main reasons I have chosen to do an analysis on this book this is because the design of the cover is very similar to what I want to use for my book. The cover is a dust cover of a map of North East Italy spread from front to back, in the corner there is what would normally be a key but Degiorgis has made this into a table of contents. I find this to be rather odd as it the contents has no real relation to the map as he hasn’t put any marks until you get to the map inside the book where he has placed green dots with number inside , so although this is a nice idea I think I personally would have the original key if the map had provided one, although an easy way to resolve this would be to have the green dots on the front cover but then why bother having a map within the book at all.

The overall look of the book is rather pleasing to look at and reminds me of an old book, the matt paper dust cover reminds me of an old map the is rather aesthetically pleasing and makes me think of how Islam is a very old religion and for it to be hidden away says a lot about its past. This old feeling is backed by his regular book cover which although a plain and simple olive green it has ‘Hidden Islam’ etched into it, while the feel is what I would expect from an old novel which to me emphasises that this is a story that Degiorgis wants to tell people.

Apart from the cover I was drawn to this book for Degiorgis use of black and white and colour within the same book this is not often done and the photographer generally has to be very clever in the way he goes about it as it can very easily not work but in the case of ‘Hidden Islam’ I think it really has worked as Degiorgis taken images of the exterior of these hidden makeshift places of worship in black and white while shown the inside in colour but hiden these images within the book using gate folds so the viewer has to open the secret parts of the book to see the real hidden Islam, This emphasises Degiorgis’s work to where you start to begin that you’re in the subjects world and see how difficult Muslims lives are when they are being discouraged from practicing their own religion and the lengths they are willing to go to just to practice it from setting up in a “variety of buildings including lock ups, garages, shops, warehouses and old factories” (Degiorgis and Parr, n.d.).

Parr describes how Degiorgis had to negotiate access to these mosques I can imagine this being difficult as the people within the mosque would want to stay hidden, while I feel Degioris made this even harder by wanting to photograph them in full prayer, this would possibly make the mosques community more on each because if any of the right wing party were to see this book they could easily shut the mosque down. But Degiorgis has fixed this in my mind by the way he has photographed the outside of the temporary mosques as he does not so many if any distinguishable features and instead of giving the locations name he give the picture and codename.

Degiorgis’s intentions for the book are clearly supported through his strong photography as he has successfully shown the Hidden Islam within North East Italy while also keeping it hidden from the people who wish to be rid of it. Degiorgis does this by using black and white photography for photographing the exterior of the location as by removing the colour it allows Degioris to take away some of the distinguishable features making harder for the location to be found although it is almost essential that Degiorgis uses black and white for the exterior as he can use colour for the interior as these locations don’t need to be so well hidden, which gives the bonus effect of making the photos seem more lively helping the viewer to become more immersed within the book.

Hidden Islam is aesthetically sophisticated as it had to be done with such a depth hand it would be difficult for an amateur to achieve. Degiorgis uses his intelligence to keep the hidden world as secret while thoroughly documenting it. He does this by using a map as a dust cover but he has removed the key and hid the original map or a copy of it within the book, while Degioris also uses a code system to give a location to a photo while still hiding it, giving a aesthetic feeling that the book is a hidden secret. The interior of the book is rather pleasing to the eye, with its gate fold pages which are particularly well hidden and his use of black and white and colour within is a rarely occurrence that when used doesn’t always turn out that well but Degiorgis has managed to pull this off with class as it allows the viewer to see the dreariness of having to hide your own religion through black and white while also see the joys and beautiful that is available when you can express your religion in piece and comfort. The overall layout of images within the book tie in very well and you can tell there was a lot of thought put into the layout picture corresponding to its opposite that is hidden within the gatefold.

Personally, I think that Degiorgis edit is strong as his images do not look out of place on his cream-ish coloured paper while he has also edited the images, so the colour images are slightly dull so that they don’t look out of place alongside their black and white counterparts but still bring the interior shots of the building to life.

Degiorgis book is a hard hitting wordless expose on the lives of Muslims living in northern Italy that have to hide their lives from a seemingly racist political party the impact that this book could have on the way people see how other people are being treated for practicing their religion which could lead onto, for lack of a better word, an uprising which could change this for the better.

In conclusion I think Degiorgis has created a strong aesthetically pleasing book that cleverly explores a hidden world lying within northern Italy from the off the book king of looks like a set of images that would work as real estate images that is until you realise the gate folds that bring you into a world of colour that invites the viewer into the world but is desaturated enough to make you think that the world needs to be kept a secret which is a particularly strong skill to possess. I would recommend this book to people that enjoy photo book in particular because of the amount of thought you can visibly see that has gone in creating the book that would most likely not have been possible if the Degiorgis did not own his own printing company.

[ukrfeminism]

Scotland Yard is to be placed under special measures by the police watchdog over concerns about “serious or critical shortcomings” after a series of scandals, The Times has learnt.

The decision by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) means that the Metropolitan Police has been earmarked as one of the country’s failing forces.

The watchdog confirmed its decision, which marks the first time the Met has been placed into special measures.

It means the force will be under enhanced scrutiny, required to report to inspectors more regularly and could be asked to meet specific crime-fighting targets.

It places the Met in further chaos at a time when it is struggling in a leadership vacuum and fighting to improve public trust after a series of misconduct scandals. Dame Cressida Dick retired as commissioner in February when Sadiq Khan withdrew his support, saying he did not believe she had the ability to restore confidence.

The Times understands that inspectors have previously considered the drastic step after scandals including the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer and misconduct issues including the Charing Cross scandal where officers joked about rape and racism. The watchdog had, however, wanted to give the Met time to come up with a cogent plan and improve the situation.

However, it has now decided more scrutiny was required given that an upcoming PEEL assessment, an annual inspection into the force, will be damning.

Sir Stephen House, the acting commissioner, will be required to work with Khan to produce a remedial plan which the inspectorate will assess.

The decision is believed to have been recommended by Matt Parr, the region’s inspector, and ultimately approved by Andy Cooke, the chief inspector of constabulary.

Priti Patel, the home secretary, said she backed the decision and expected “immediate action” to be taken.

She said: “I expect the police to get the basics right. It is clear the Metropolitan Police Service is falling short of these expectations which is why I support the action that HMICFRS has taken today to highlight their failings – and I expect the Met and the London Mayor to take immediate action to begin addressing them.

“The process to recruit a new Commissioner is well underway and I have made clear that the successful candidate must demonstrate sustained improvements in the Metropolitan Police Service in order to regain public trust both in London and across the country.

“The new Commissioner will need to deliver on the public’s priorities for the police – making our streets safer, bearing down on crime and bringing more criminals to justice, while continuing to recruit thousands of new officers to protect local communities.”

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said that he welcomed the extra scrutiny and it was a “crucial first step” in delivering reform and improving performance. He pledged to work with the watchdog.

“Unlike many others, I have long been clear that wide-ranging reforms are urgently needed for the Met to regain the trust and confidence of Londoners – which is so vital to policing by consent,” he said.

“A series of appalling scandals have not only exposed deep cultural problems but have damaged the confidence of Londoners in the capital’s police service.

“The decision by the HMIC to now move the Met into special measures has laid bare the substantial performance failings by the force.

“As I have been saying for some time, Londoners deserve better. That’s why we now need to see nothing less than a new contract forged between the police and the public in London. This means root and branch reforms and systemic change to the Met’s performance and culture.”

Although HMICFRS does not use the term special measures, inspectors acknowledge that is the effect, and raise issues that are a “cause for concern”.

The forces in the most trouble are escalated to “engage” status, rather than the ordinary inspection status of “scan”, and are required to present a remedial plan and undergo more scrutiny.

A spokeswoman for HMICFRS said: “We can confirm that we are now monitoring the Metropolitan Police Service through our Engage process, which provides additional scrutiny and support to help it make improvements.”

Greater Manchester Police is already in special measures after it failed to record 80,000 crime reports.

The Home Office has been informed of the decision to put the Met into special measures, a senior government source said.

The decision presents a headache for the next commissioner who must pitch themselves as a reforming leader who can fix the serious internal culture problems. Sir Mark Rowley, the former head of counterterrorism, and Nick Ephgrave, an assistant commissioner, are the two candidates left in the running.

In a statement, the Met said: “We recognise the cumulative impact of events and problems that the Met is dealing with. We understand the impact this has had on communities and we share their disappointment.

“We are determined to be a police service Londoners can be proud of. We are talking to the Inspectorate about next steps.”