Dame Cressida Rose Dick (What do we know)

[thirdcrank]

I wonder if somebody is briefing against Cressida Dick. For the last three days the Daily Telegraph has been spinning the same line: that she won't seek the renewal of her contract when it expires ...... next year. I can't see any obvious reason for this to have emerged now: there's nothing obviously new to have prompted this. The Daily T is behind a paywall but this is similar in the Daily Mail.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... probe.html

IIRC, The Henriques investigation took place before she was appointed and Carl Beech was convicted a couple of years ago. So why now?

[Ben@Forest]

I wonder if somebody is briefing against Cressida Dick. For the last three days the Daily Telegraph has been spinning the same line: that she won't seek the renewal of her contract when it expires ...... next year. I can't see any obvious reason for this to have emerged now: there's nothing obviously new to have prompted this. The Daily T is behind a paywall but this is similar in the Daily Mail.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... probe.html

IIRC, The Henriques investigation took place before she was appointed and Carl Beech was convicted a couple of years ago. So why now?

At least part of the reason is that nobody has faced any censure for the Operation Midland fiasco - perhaps she should have done something about that? That seemed to be the tone of a report on the R4 Today programme yesterday. And it's being reported in the Guardian too... they're quoting Lady Brittan:

“I suppose as a former magistrate, indeed the wife of an ex-home secretary, I’ve always believed that a strong moral compass is essential to every public body and especially to police forces, and above all, to its leadership. I think it’s very important.

“However, it just seems to me the Metropolitan police has preferred its corporate or personal ambitions to a strong moral compass. I suppose the question I must ask myself, and maybe I ask publicly, is when and how is the corporate culture going to change?”

She is angered that no officer faced serious punishment and said: “Not a single person in this case has resigned, lost their job, been fired, demoted or disciplined. Nobody whatsoever.

“There has been a little bit of hand-wringing which does not amount to a row of beans. If, in a case like this, accountability does not involve firings or resignations at the point of responsibility, what then is accountability?”

[thirdcrank]

The investigation of complaints against the police - especially the more serious allegations - was transferred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission under Tony Blair's government. AIUI, neither the IPPC, nor it's successor the Independent Office for Police Conduct took disciplinary action. As Commissioner, Ms Dick has little role in discipline, and as an individual, she only returned to the police from the civil service after most of this was over. Indeed, everything that had happened during her original police career was known when she was appointed.

If I was looking for the driver here, I'd say CD was one of Teresa May's choices and that doesn't suit Boris Johnson.

I really have read about this in the media in the last few days, which is what prompted me to resurrect this thread. I'm still wondering why now?

[thirdcrank]

She's doomed: the BBC is quoting Boris Johnson as saying he has full confidence in her.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

She's doomed: the BBC is quoting Boris Johnson as saying he has full confidence in her.

And the media report today that somebody says (cant remember name bbc news, not commentator) this morning along the lines of " she has handled high profile jobs admirably" ..................

Actually those words are correct, my quote is acurate.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
It could be any link it's just the first one I came up with –

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -Dick.html

"EXCLUSIVE: Victims of Met Police corruption, incompetence and malpractice from Doreen Lawrence to Lady Brittan and Paul Gambaccini pen landmark letter telling Boris Johnson to ditch disaster-prone Commissioner Cressida Dick NOW "

But she's been offered an extended two year contract, By no other than our Pritti Patel.

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/uk- ... ck-5891100

"The paper reported she was offered the extension as those who could replace her were not yet seen as being suitable for the job."

Well maybe better the devil we know?

[thirdcrank]

I've been reminded of this thread by the suggestions on the Boris's missing brain thread, that Cressida Dick is somehow financially beholden to the Home Office for keeping her in paid employment.

The simple point is that anybody who's a member of the former police final salary pension scheme who works beyond thirty years service is, at best, working for virtually nothing and at worst, paying for the privilege.

CD joined the MPS as a graduate in 1983 and retired after some 32 years service in 2015. The normal police final salary pension is ⅔ and the salary of an MPS assistant commissioner isn't peanuts, so she won't have needed a supplementary income till she reached the ever-receding State Retirement Pension age. Money isn't everything, of course, and some police bosses hang on for the social status, or retire into jobs which carry it: chief inspector of this or that. CD went to a low profile secret squirrel post in the Civil Service.

Although Amber Rudd had succeeded Teresa May at the Home Office, I'm pretty confidant she was TM's choice. TM wanted a woman for the job (ditto Danni Cotton in the LFB) and for whatever reason, CD was preferred to Sara Thornton

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Thor ... e_officer)

CD was appointed on the now-normal five year contract. I don't know any of her personal conditions of employment but in addition to leaving the Civil Service job, it would generally involve suspension of her police pension and resuming pension contributions (11%) A second five year term means more of the same and five years nearer death on eventual retirement.

I thought that being TM's choice would ensure her contract would not be renewed under Boris Johnson, but I was wrong. I suspect there was widespread relief that that the commissioner was a woman when Sarah Everard was murdered.

FWIW, I think TM's time as Home Secretary has had far-reaching effects. One of her contributions to the austerity programme was IMO to undermine the police, in ways which went far beyond the reductions in budgets, and inevitably personnel reductions. One of her projects was police and crime commissioners. There's nothing wrong with democratic accountability but the downside is that the independently-minded people have no incentive to go after the top jobs. The likely result is chief officers who defer to their political bosses.

To get around a lack of suitable candidates, TM, or somebody advising her proposed the direct appointment of chief officers from the military or foreign police forces. IIRC one Rudy Giuliani was touted as an ideal police chief, based on his time as Mayor of New York.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudy_Giuliani

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Thats that then!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-60340525

"Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick is leaving her role after a series of damaging controversies.

Dame Cressida said she had been left with "no choice" after London Mayor Sadiq Khan made it clear to her he had no confidence in her leadership.

Last week, the police watchdog found "disgraceful" misogyny, discrimination and sex harassment among some Met PCs.

Dame Cressida, the first woman to lead the biggest UK police force, also faced criticism over the Sarah Everard case.

Her conduct was referenced in an independent report that accused the force of institutional corruption over the unsolved murder of Daniel Morgan, and before she became commissioner she was in charge of the operation that led to the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.

Speaking on BBC London hours before her departure was announced, she insisted that she had "absolutely no intention" of quitting, and that she was "seething angry" about the police watchdog's findings into the culture at Charing Cross police station."

My emphasis above.

[Carlton green]

I noticed the BBC headlines and so checked on this thread for the first time. It’s an informative thread, well I find so. The Met is a large force and for various reasons it’s had problems with recruiting and retaining good staff at all levels, well that’s my perception from the press and from chance conversations over the years.

Who will actually want CD’s job? Lots of political pressure, a political appointment (and removal), a force with many systemic issues, ongoing agro from the National Press and a job that’s possibly too big for someone to do well.

CD’s now 61 *, she’ll have a tidy pension to enjoy and if the politicians won’t support her in her work then she might well think what’s the point in staying. If she wants it then no doubt there’ll be some well paid consulting work available to her too. A case of so long and thanks for all the fish.

* https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cressida_Dick

[Stradageek]

From an insider I hear that she is not regarded as corrupt, just unable to turn the Titanic that is a police force severely tainted by corruption, misogyny, ignorance and racism.

[Marcus Aurelius]

She really screwed up with the Jean Charles de Menzes case, then got promoted way above her capabilities, and continued to screw everything she was involved in, up. I for one, am grateful she’s gone.

[Psamathe]

From an insider I hear that she is not regarded as corrupt, just unable to turn the Titanic that is a police force severely tainted by corruption, misogyny, ignorance and racism.

Most commentators I've heard (news, press) say the reasons she can't turn things round is that she has always been too supportive of her officers and failing to recognise when there are failings there. She will (almost) always deny there is an issue and if she can't accept there is an issue she stands no chance of resolving the issue. and there are quite a few "issues" that need resolving.

Ian

[briansnail]

One trigger for her departure is the reluctance to do a fuller forensic investigation into "Partygate".Her Boss is the Labour mayor.Just suppose it had been a Conservative London mayor. Might she have survived? This highlights the problem of mixing politics with functioning government officials.Oil and water.
Much of her apparent deficiencies lie outside Cressida's control.One cannot be expected to take the heat for loose cannon who explode despite the best of precautionary measures.Its to easy to point fingers.Harder to point out what she should have done differently.
I doubt she will be crying.Private security consultancy firms will vie for her services.The money is so much better .The heckling less.

[Psamathe]

C4 News (this evening 11 Feb 2022) saying she's getting a significant lump sum pay-off "well over half a million £" plus a pension of £160,000 per year.

Ian

[briansnail]

Good point.For some in her position.Estimated net worth £1m - £3m.
Clearly not stupid.