Out of The Blue - Rebecca Television

OUT OF THE BLUE

INSIDE THE 43 police forces in England and Wales some extraordinary stories are struggling to see the light of day.

The careers of some good coppers appear to be suffering despite the existence of complaints departments that are supposed to protect them.

The OUT OF THE BLUE series is designed to expose some of these tales — and even up the odds in favour of decent officers.

The first story - The Untouchables - is about a group of anti-corruption detectives who claim their boss found himself on the wrong side of the law because he was too good at his job.

The second - The Dark Side: A Short History of Bent Coppers - is the unbelievable story of a war between good coppers and bent detectives in Britain's biggest police force.

Articles

The Untouchables: In 2000 a special squad was set up by South Wales Police to root out corruption inside the force.

The anti-corruption unit soon chalked up a series of successes and were beginning to win the respect of rank and file officers.

It didn’t last.

Former members of the unit claim that South Wales Police turned against them and began to target the detective who set up the unit.

REBECCA asks "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" (who watches the watchers?)

The Dark Side: There have always been corrupt police officers –
and there always will be.

But keeping the numbers to a minimum is something that the 43 police forces in England and Wales have never done well.

Since the second world war, the police have poured resources into what was once called Complaints and Discipline and is now called Professional Standards Departments.

The major battles have taken place inside Britain’s biggest force – the Metropolitan Police. But other police forces haven’t been immune to the problem.

There have been increasingly sophisticated attempts to combat corruption but the problem remains.

REBECCA charts the often murky history of anti-corruption units in London.