Black children in England and Wales four times more likely to be strip-searched, figures show
GuardianAug 27
The Facts
Michael Lockwood, the former UK police watchdog director general, was charged on Friday with six counts of indecent assault and three counts of rape against a girl under the age of 16, following an investigation by Humberside Police.
He is reportedly due to appear at Hull Magistrates' Court on June 28, with the head of the Special Crime Division at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Rosemary Ainslie, stressing that Lockwood is entitled to a "fair trial."
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
The UK police force has a serious problem, as officers are often revealed to be criminals living in plain sight. While the idea that such horrible events are only committed by "a few bad apples," people forget that a few bad apples, regardless, ruin the bunch. We must demand better of the police, admit that the problem is far too great to be solved internally, and see the police for what they have become — a gang network that only exists to serve and protect each other.
Pro-establishment narrative
While stories concerning the horrible acts of police officers toward women are disgusting, the size of a necessary police force in the UK is simply too large for such behavior to be completely eradicated. The concept is similar to the impossibility of ever fully getting rid of COVID. Though things can — and must — still be done to limit the issue, we must be realistic and acknowledge that, unfortunately, similar events occur in all corners of society, and no matter how hard we try, there will always be criminals around.
