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| Police 'damaged but not broken', says annual HMIC report | Police 'damaged but not broken', says annual HMIC report |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| An annual assessment of policing in England and Wales says it has been damaged - but not broken - by scandals. | An annual assessment of policing in England and Wales says it has been damaged - but not broken - by scandals. |
| HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor said scandals and revelations had damaged public confidence and the morale of honest hardworking officers. | HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor said scandals and revelations had damaged public confidence and the morale of honest hardworking officers. |
| In his annual report to Parliament, he said it was the responsibility of chief constables to repair the damage. | In his annual report to Parliament, he said it was the responsibility of chief constables to repair the damage. |
| Mr Winsor's report identifies five events linked to allegations of malpractice, wrongdoing or corruption. | |
| 'Severely shaken' | |
| The report said: "It is very much to be regretted that the confidence of the public in their ability to trust the police has been so severely shaken by controversies which have recently achieved public prominence, and ones which have been the subject of public concern and criticism for many years. | |
| "They include those concerning Hillsborough, Orgreave Colliery, the investigation of the murder of Stephen Lawrence and how police conducted themselves afterwards, the enforced resignation of a cabinet minister as a result of the actions of at least one dishonest police officer, the sexual deception of citizens who trusted undercover police officers, and others." | |
| The report was published on the morning that fresh inquests into the Hillsborough disaster were opening in Warrington. Those hearings will look at allegations of police misconduct arising from the aftermath of the tragedy. | |
| Former miners and their families are demanding an inquiry into their claims that they were victims of miscarriages of justice after clashes with police during the 1985-85 miner's strike. The home secretary has separately announced a public inquiry into undercover policing. | |
| The report said that some of the allegations, particularly around the Lawrence case, were so serious that they already justified "severe criticism and public disquiet". | |
| 'Corrosive' | |
| "Loss of trust in the police is corrosive to the heart of the British model of policing by consent by a predominantly unarmed service. Police officers require and depend upon the consent of the community," it said. | |
| Mr Winsor said: "Controversies and revelations of a serious and negative nature in relation to the conduct of some police officers, both past and present, have hurt public confidence in the police, and the morale of the very great majority of honest, hardworking, committed and brave police officers has suffered as a consequence. | |
| "The police service has been damaged, but it is certainly not broken. It is primarily the responsibility of the leadership of the police to repair the damage." | |
| The report said that despite budget cuts forces were performing well and most had "credible plans" to balance their books. It added that forces had taken "substantial steps" to protect front line roles. |