Police Scotland’s Chief Constable says that some crime stats are being ‘made up’, corroborated by Scottish Police Federation general secretary Calum Steel, Kenny MacAskill says to Lib Dem MSP, “I don’t recognise the world that Ms McInnes paints”, can’t recognise the truth either!

Dear All

The purpose of the Police is law and order.

Catching and arresting criminals is the bread and butter of what their existence should be.

However, the SNP Government is fixated by targets to show that they are active.

We employ serious officers to make sure that rank and file officers are active; therefore we really don’t need targets which can stop real police work being carried out.

Now there has been an apparent admission by Scotland’s top police officer that some stop and search results are “made up”.

Scotland’s deadbeat Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill says that the comment has been “taken out of context”.

Does anyone not understand what “made up” means?

It means bogus!!!!!!

Kenny MacAskill said he does not recognise a world where detection rates “are being manipulated”.

So, says the man who released the biggest mass murderer in modern society history and then allowed him to leave Scotland’s jurisdiction.

So, says the man who brought us the disgraceful Fitba law.

So, says the man who is destroying the right to a fair trial.

In an interview on stop and search in the Sunday Herald, Police Scotland Chief Constable Sir Stephen House said:

“Well, yeah, some of them are being made up. You’re not suggesting the majority are. Of course it concerns me.”

Any officer caught reporting misleading figures will “get sacked”.

Reprimanded would be a more suitable punishment.

House’s comments were corroborated by Scottish Police Federation general secretary Calum Steel, who said officers “are making numbers up”.

Presumably Steel’s comments will be recognized by MacAskill as being taken out of context as well.

MacAskill said:

“It is regrettable if there are occasions when police officers are not carrying out stop and searches to the usual high standards of the police. This is an operational matter for the police, but I will support the chief constable in the actions he is taking.”

So says our lame duck Minister, who qualification for ‘Justice Minister’ is that he is Alex Salmond’s pals.

Labour MSP Graeme Pearson said:

“The chief constable’s admission is corroborated by Calum Steel from the Scottish Police Federation who said: ‘Because we have this bizarre approach in terms of stopping and searching, we have police officers that are making numbers up’.

519,213 stop and searches were conducted between April and December 2013, according to Police Scotland figures.

This seems high in a country of 5 million people.

Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman Alison McInnes said:

“The Justice Secretary has regularly, and done it again today, defended stop and search by citing offensive weapons, but we know little of what constitutes positive searches and there is a real risk that the detection rates are being manipulated.”

Kenny MacAskill has outlived his uselessness and has to go.

MacAskill said:

“I don’t recognise the world that Ms McInnes paints. It seems to me that the clear outcome of a positive search is where a firearm is discovered, which is 37%. Alcohol was taken off youngsters, 37%, and indeed the significant progress and success that they have had in making Scotland a safer place from the issues that have blighted so much of our country in the carrying of offensive weapons.”

Stop and search appear to be more about targeting alcohol than serious Policing, out of 519,213 stop and searches only 166 “firearms or associated items” recovered.

So how many actual firearms were recovered leaving out associated items?

MacAskill appears to be saying that all of the 166 cases were firearms.

Time for a quote:

“I don’t recognise the world that Ms McInnes paints”.

And it also appears that he doesn’t recognize how to do his job either!

Finally, some time ago, I said that Justice requires two deputy justice ministers, one for every day law and order and the other assigned to special projects. Given MacAskill is such a liability, Scotland's 'jolly fat man' Alex Salmond should take on board my suggestion.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University