Apropos Geezers: Red Riding

[Hammers]

Watching this excellent, excellent (in a Leonard Elmore way) TV-series again, I waxed curious whether that level of police corruption has any foundation in '70s real events (or anywhere else in the UK, for that matter). I know the Yorkshire Ripper was real but how about all the other gruesome going ons?

[Plynkes]

I haven't seen Red Riding, as my Sky Plus machine died and it had the series recorded on it. But police corruption, incompetence and abuse of power in the 70s and 80s? The very idea. How dare you, sir. This is England.

Five words: West Midlands Serious Crime Squad. He's Irish, so I reckon he must be guilty. Oh, and he accidentally fell down the stairs, sir.


I foresee heated argument and disruption of the LAF if we pursue this. It is bordering on the political, after all. 

[Adam]

I haven't seen Red Riding, as my Sky Plus machine died and it had the series recorded on it.

This is one of the programmes Channel 4 have made available for free on their website and youtube, although I can't find the youtube link so they might have taken it down from there:

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/red-riding/4od

With regard to the depiction of the Police in the programme, the corruption/incompetence/abuse was based around their involvement in organised crime (acting like a crime syndicate themselves) and trying to cover up certain serious crimes. I don't want to give too much away in case anyone decides to watch it but I don't remember it featuring any political corruption or any racism. I think if the discussion was based around corruption in the way it was depicted in the programme rather than corruption in all forms in the 1970's the thread (hopefully) shouldn't get too political.

SPOILER AHEAD:
Hammers, the only example from the series that has some basis in reality that I know of is the disabled boy who is bullied into confessing to a murder. There has been a case of that in Britain although I don't think the Police were actually trying to cover up for someone else. Perhaps the thread could end up getting a bit serious after all  .

[Hammers]

i had no notion this might be a touchy subject. You can find police corruption everywhere but the blatant and all domineering cynicism and self service of a police force portrayed in the series seems to belong to another age, Central America or Burma. Or the US. Oops! Did I say that last bit out loud?!

Dylan: thanks for the West Midland hint. Look at it as a part of the my continuous need for tutelage on Britaniana.

[Adam]

I wouldn't worry about Red Riding-style Police being too much of a touchy subject. They were more like gangsters and I don't think it featured any Police setting innocent people up due to their political or racial prejudices.

Whilst you probably will find example of individual or small groups of corrupt officers participating in crime I don't think it ever existed in Britain to the highest levels like in the series, although I think you've had a good idea using the Police from Red Riding as inspiration for some games.

[Steve F]

See also the Metropolitan Police vice squad up until the 1970s.

The idiomatic phrase is "bent copper", which has nothing to do with sexual orientation.

[Bugsda]

James Morton's book on bent coppers was just as thick as his book on Gangland, though Gangland did have a second volume.