Bin the can!

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Like many I woke this morning to the news that Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has been killed by US forces in Pakistan (BBC News). A relief to many in the Western World no doubt, given Bin Laden’s involvement in so much terrorism… There will be no greater and immediate celebration of the fact than in the USA, given the majority of the population there hold him singularly responsible for the 9/11 Twin Towers attack. My initial thought was “oh shit!”

Once the Americans have finished celebrating their turkey shoot, with marching bands and tailgate parties, will they realise they have suffered a massive own goal? Will giving martyrdom to a fanatical islamic extremist present an even greater danger than the ones we face at present? How will Al-Qaeda actually react to the demise of their leader? As martyrdom is what many of them actually crave, won’t Bin Laden’s death actually serve to strengthen their resolve. No doubt the Obama administration already has plans in place to combat possible revenge attacks however; many are wondering, will al-Qaeda survive in the long-run?

As Roger Hardy (Islamic affairs analyst) says in the BBC article; “Since the start of the year, some experts have argued that the uprisings in the Arab world have rendered it (al-Qaeda) irrelevant. They will see Bin Laden’s death as confirming the trend. Perhaps.” He continues “the root causes of radical Islam – the range of issues that enabled al-Qaeda to recruit disaffected young Muslims to its cause – remain, for the most part, unaddressed.”

The Americans may proclaim that, removal of the global jihad focal point is ‘in the can’ however, I don’t see them receiving a sudden deluge of Facebook ‘Friend’ requests from the Muslim world.

Related Articles

• Al-Qaeda Leader Osama Bin Laden Dead (legendsarising.com)
• President Obama Announces Osama bin Laden has be Killed (sugarslam.com)
• World reacts on Twitter to Osama Bin Laden’s death (news-briefs.ew.com)
• Bin Laden killing brings anger, relief in Arab world (theglobeandmail.com)

Lady Tottington: a crystal clear winner?

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So all the politically correct rhetoric, self-nominated media awards, the stinted reading of carefully prepared press statements, and the excessive use of the word community, have all finally paid off…

The hard work has been rewarded however, The Journal also reports how the “rules were bent” to allow the appointment of Sue Sim (aka Crystal Tips) as the new Northumbria Police Chief Constable.

BBC News: The policewoman who led Northumbria Police during the Raoul Moat shootings case has been appointed its Chief Constable… (Read more)

Ms Sim became the public face of the police hunt for gunman Moat in July last year when she spoke at a series of press conferences. At that time many officers (see here), up and down the nation found her performance to be little short of embarrassing.

Now, we all know that under Labour, senior uniformed officers were taught to say “community” as many times as humanly possible, in the hope that some kind of magic spell would influence the public. It is starting to look like there is nowt else in the ACPO list of things to say during an incident… (Read more)

Since February Northumbria Police Authority, and the Home Office, have been urged to appoint Ms Sim and now they have, they’re trotting out the expected comments about Ms Sim being “widely respected” etc. She may be held in high esteem by her peers perhaps, but by her subordinates and the workforce, perhaps not. It has previously been reported how she rules her force with a ‘rod of iron’, perhaps that is the reason for the ’respect’, one that is born out of fear? She did make the BBC top Ten Female Faces of 2010 however…

BBC News Magazine: She drew praise for the human way she dealt with members of the public, especially those living in areas affected by the manhunt. But she also made headlines for a minor gaffe, when she mistakenly uttered that every stone would be left unturned in the search for Mr Moat, although some commentators detected sexism in what they thought was an unnecessary focus on her appearance.

I have to wonder, irrespective of Ms Sim being an excellent example of the Home Office approved ACPO clone, if Lady Tottington was the crystal clear winner, what must the remaining candidates have been like?  

Related Articles

• Playing the SIM Card? (bankbabble.wordpress.com)
• Raoul Moat hunt costs £1.4m (independent.co.uk)
• Shot Pc David Rathband sues force over Raoul Moat attack (independent.co.uk)
• Police leadership and training face shakeup after Home Office review (guardian.co.uk)

Mystic Ethel predicts day of long knives!

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In a past post on redundancy measures in the local police force (So much more than job losses), I commented about the real effects and wider issues of the process.

As I have said previously (21st Century Policing); it really doesn’t have to be like this however, the turkeys continue to side-step the real organisational problems. As usual, the managers are applying knee-jerk solutions for a quick fix to longer term issues.

For some time now the police (and the remainder of the public sector), has suffered from the exponential growth of mediocre management. There is also a proliferation of self-interested leadership and self-replicating bureaucratic administrative process, all of which has had a profound and negative impact upon a customer focussed service delivery. The additional (but no less important) knock on effects impacting upon morale have also been highlighted this week…

BBC: One in five UK workers fear they could lose their jobs, a survey has said. In the public sector, that figure rises to nearly one in three workers, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said. The organisation is calling on managers to demonstrate high-quality leadership in order to raise morale and engagement in the workplace… (Read more)

It was obvious, once the effects of government austerity measures finally kicked in, vast swathes of the public sector were likely to face imminent redundancy. However, a major factor in the reality of all this, and one which is understandably having a negative impact on productivity is, the underhand and deceitful way in which many leaders are wielding their knives.

BBC News: More than 10,000 uniformed police officer posts are set to disappear by the end of next year in England and Wales, Labour Party research suggests… (Read more)

Today the political posturing goes on, whilst the management of my local force have continued to say “no decisions have been made” about redundancy or control room closure proposals. All this whilst staff have been instructed to attend one-to-one meetings with their line manager and HR representative today.

Massive management and administrative effort has been applied to keeping the lid on the pressure cooker of staff worries and concerns about their job security and future financial situation. It has been all but impossible for them to get any straight or honest answers about their prospects and consequently, they have been unable to make any plans to attempt to support their families in the future. There will be little or no support for those members of staff who are made redundant. And, it is unlikely any organisational assistance will be given to help them through the transitional period to new employment.

The first meetings were held at 9am this morning, my wife’s meeting was scheduled for 12.30pm however, before even arriving at work she knows the content and her future prospects, thanks to our ‘connected’ and socially networked society!

Interesting that in excess of twelve months ago, long before the government austerity measures, ‘Ethel’ the control room domestic engineer (aka cleaner) knew that the HQ control room was set for closure… Her comments at the time were dismissed out of hand as “fictitious rumour and gossip mongering”!

Welcome to the day of the long knives methodology in police management… Maybe ‘Mystic Ethel’ can secure a new position with a tabloid newspaper?

Related Articles

• One in five workers ‘fears sack’ (bbc.co.uk)
• For public sector workers, the long wait for news about jobs is nearly over (guardian.co.uk)
• Public service announcement: The Gravy Train now standing at platform #1 is… (bankbabble.wordpress.com)
• J’ Accuse: where to point the finger? (bankbabble.wordpress.com)
• The virtual hyperbole and bathos of management bollox (bankbabble.wordpress.com)
• Two-thirds of public sector staff fear for jobs due to coalition cuts, report says (guardian.co.uk)
• “Slash and burn” OR ‘Trim and Smoulder’? (bankbabble.wordpress.com)