The Guardian (UK) http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/The_Paper/Daily/Story/0,3604,17214,00.html Murder case police 'not racist' By Duncan Campbell and Vikram Dodd Wednesday January 13, 1999 The family of the murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence last night reacted with dismay after the Police Complaints Authority cleared all officers involved in the case of racism. Only one officer will face disciplinary charges over the handling of the investigation; four senior officers who would have been charged have retired. Last night, a spokesman for the Lawrence family said: "It makes a mockery of the whole system." The PCA has recommended that Detective Inspector Ben Bullock should face seven charges of neglect of duty arising from the investigation of the murder of Stephen Lawrence in April 1993. The authority's investigation, carried out by Kent police under the Deputy Chief Constable Robert Ayling, followed a complaint to it from his parents, Neville and Doreen Lawrence. A source with knowledge of the PCA investigation said the officers who would have faced charges had they still been serving were Det Supt Brian Weeden, who headed the first murder investigation, Det Ian Crampton who initially headed the investigation for two days, Det Chief Supt Roderick Barker, who admitted before the public inquiry that he had omitted criticisms of the murder investigation in an internal police review, and Det Chief Supt William Ilsley. The authority's conclusions were made before the public inquiry under Sir William Macpherson of Cluny which was held last year. Sir William's findings and recommendations are expected to be published next month. Three senior officers will receive "formal advice" for failing to keep a log at the scene of the stabbing, the PCA concluded. They are Insp Phillip Jeynes, Insp Stephen Groves and Chief Supt Christopher Benn. Although the officers were not technically required to do this, the PCA believed that the omission was a significant failure. In response to the Lawrences' complaint about medical treatment at the scene of the murder, the PCA said that they were not convinced that officers did everything that could reasonably be expected of them in terms of first aid. Despite the fact that Stephen was losing blood, nobody took responsibility for monitoring his condition, it concluded. Senior officers were to blame for not putting effective family liaison in place from the start, the report found. The selection and training of family liaison officers should be re-examined, it concluded. On the issue of racism about which the Lawrences have long complained, the inquiry uncovered major failings but stressed that it did not set out to investigate "institutional racism". It found no evidence to prove that any officer consciously discriminated against the Lawrences. The charges will be heard by a three-person tribunal consisting of two PCA members and a presiding officer from the Metropolitan Police. PCA member Josephine Dobry said yesterday: "I felt it was crucial, in the public interest, for an independent body to be involved in the hearing and assessment of evidence which will be presented." Last night, Imran Khan, solicitor for the Lawrence family said: "The Lawrences feel that the police seem to be immune following a wholly incompetent murder investigation," said Mr Khan. "It makes a mockery of the whole system." The Metropolitan police have already instituted major changes since the Lawrence inquiry. The Commissioner, Sir Paul Condon, has made a personal apology to the Lawrence family for police failures. ************************************************************************* This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use."
