1877: The Turf Fraud Scandal
Harry Benson and William Kurr made their living stealing fortunes from unsuspecting victims. Yet Scotland Yard was unable to catch the pair. When they were eventually caught they explained that Chief Inspector Nathaniel Druscovich and Inspector John Meiklejohn had been in their pay since 1873 and had provided information about the police investigation. The scandal caused such controversy the Detective Branch was folded into the CID.
1957: Brighton Borough Police Force
Scotland Yard detectives were sent to Brighton to investigate allegations of corruption in the force. Several weeks later Chief Constable John Ridge and two of his CID officers were arrested and charged with corruption. Ridge was acquitted but the two CID officers went to prison. The trial judge said that until there was a change in the force’s leadership he felt unable to believe any evidence from Brighton Police.
1964: The Challenor Case
The Flying Squad’s Harold Challenor broke records for making arrests – 100 in seven months. Many defendants claimed to have been beaten or had evidence planted on them. He met his match when attempting to plant drugs and a gun on Donald Rooum, who happened to be a member of the National Council for Civil Liberties. Rooum requested forensic tests be carried out on his clothes which found no evidence of possession. Challenor was charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice but was deemed unfit to plead citing mental health problems
1989: West Midlands Serious Crime Squad
The Birmingham-based squad was disbanded in 1989 after allegations of misconduct in several cases. Keith Twitchell had his manslaughter conviction quashed after 17 years after admitting to his crimes in what Stephen Solley QC called “a scenario of torture that beggars belief” – Twitchell told the court how officers had handcuffed him to a chair and placed a plastic bag over his head. In another case, George Glen Lewis was cleared of armed robbery and awarded £200,000 compensation after a court ruled he had made up his confession after being beaten by the squad. The West Midlands squad was also involved in the unsafe convictions of the Birmingham Six. No officer has ever been successfully prosecuted.
2005: AMEX scandal
Concerns were raised by a Metropolitan Police auditor in 2005 following claims that several officers were using their force American Express cards to buy personal goods. Auditors examined hundreds of unchecked expenses claims totalling £6m before estimating that up to £1m may have been stolen. Three people have been convicted and six are charged. The investigation is ongoing.
2010: Bohannan convicted
Mark Bohannan, a constable of 25 years, was found guilty of handing confidential information to his cocaine-using wife and her drug dealer Syed Imtiaz Ahmed in exchange for free drugs and money. The Met officer’s information allowed Ahmed’s large scale drug dealings to continue undetected. Bohannan was found guilty of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office.
Adam Bowie - Saturday, 13 February 2010
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