Select Committee on Home Affairs Minutes of Evidence


Examination of Witness (Questions 140 - 146)

THURSDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2002

MR KEVIN MORRIS

  140. If the management comes from within the same stock they are inevitably going to turn a blind eye.
  (Mr Morris) Of course that is the problem. Then you need to ask "How are they being judged". Sometimes the phrase "noble cause corruption" comes up, they believe they are doing it for the right reasons, sadly that has happened in the past. What we can do, I think we can go somewhere between the two. I do not believe tenure was right, I think that was wasteful.

  141. Tenure still applies, does it?
  (Mr Morris) Some people still think it does. Lots of my senior colleagues in ACPO are saying that it is dead now.

  142. When did it die?
  (Mr Morris) I think it faded away rather than just died.

  143. Explain to me how it works? When you are there, you are there for life, is that it?
  (Mr Morris) No, I think what we are coming to now is that officers will be judged on their performance better than they were in the past. If a job would have been up for tenure after, say, two or three years, it could have been open to competition again so that the person who was in post could apply for their own job back. If they can satisfy a board that they are still the best person for that job then they will retain it. Now that may be difficult for some to move in to but this notion that there is no movement because of that I think is wrong. The movement within CID, certainly in the places I have got experience of, was phenomenal, I wish I could have slowed it down somewhat. To be fair, some of my most experienced and absolutely dedicated officers were the ones with the longest time in the department. I never found that particular thing a problem. I did not manage a specialist squad, say a vice squad, where there may be a real need to keep the people moving.

  144. Are there any other points you want to add, Mr Morris, that you have not had the opportunity to make?
  (Mr Morris) As Sir David said if I have, I cannot think of them at the moment.

  145. When you have had your trip to America if there are any further points which occur to you please let us know. We are particularly in the market for either changes you would like to see to this Bill or else omissions, things you think should be in it which are not.
  (Mr Morris) There is one point, I confess it is stolen from a Member of the House because he put it to me "Would it be a good idea if" and I think it needs to be explored, although I am conscious with my Federation colleagues behind me that they are not happy with it. It is that the powers we are giving to some of these community wardens, perhaps we need to rethink the use of specials and how those powers can be given to people. Now I have not had time to explore the ins and outs of that but certainly I think it is worth exploring if for no other reason than it is an opportunity to see if we can improve on this 30 minute detention set up.

  146. You would want to align the powers of specials and the powers of Community Support Officers?
  (Mr Morris) It is certainly possible. Everything is doable, it is at what cost.

  Chairman: Okay. Thank you very much. The session is closed.





 
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