Operation Countryman - Metropolitan Police Corruption
Operation Countryman was an investigation into police corruption that ran from 1978 - 1982 [2] It was the fourth investigation into Metropolitan Police corruption in the seventies. The other three are briefly mentioned in this link on The Fall of Scotland Yard [6] . Unfortunately Countryman was another one which was derailed.
According to Steven Box, whose book extracts follow, 4 Commanders, 4 Chief Superintendents, 8 Superintendents, 15 Chief Inspectors and 6 Inspectors were suspects! [1] [1a]
The inquiry was carried out by men from outside forces but suffered obstruction from the Met Police. The Chief Constable of Dorset Constabulary, Arthur Hambleton alleged that Countryman had been wilfully obstructed by Commissioner McNee and Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Thomas Hetherington. Thomas Hetherington is a name that crops up also when child abuse cases are not followed through, including Peter Hayman [8] and Dickens delivered at least one of his dossiers to Hetherington. Spotlights links are well worth reading on this [8]
I have not had time to examine the FOI requests in depth on Operation Countryman on What Do They Know website [7]. It appears as though not much information on the investigation is left. The information was passed back to the Met police, which with the City of London Police, was one of the forces being investigated and henceforth it disappeared! The Home Office though do have some boxes of information.
Other relevance to my posts on child sexual abuse is that an an analysis of legal authorities, police and customs is necessary in ascertaining what happened as regards child sexual abuse in London. [4] [5]
Other posts relevant are cathy fox blog category Paedophilia around Piccadilly [4]. The posts on police corruption [6] will be used in the future post on how the police corruption might have affected the child sexual abuse investigations [5]
I include the 1982 Granada World in Action programme on Operation Countryman [3] obtained by Ian Puddick, but primarily this post includes a summary of Operation Countryman from Power, Crime and Mystification by Stephen Box, as well as an analysis of Police crime. You may have to click on the pages to enlarge them.
https://youtu.be/Tcr6Ol7pKUU
1983 Steven Box Power, Crime and Mystification Tavistock Studies in Sociology [1] [1a]
Please note that victims of abuse may be triggered by reading this information. These links are generally UK based.
The Sanctuary for the Abused [A] has advice on how to prevent triggers.
National Association for People Abused in Childhood [B] has a freephone helpline and has links to local support groups.
Other useful sites are One in Four [C]
and Havoca [D].
Jim Hoppers pages on Mindfulness [G] and Meditation [H] may be useful.
Hwaairfan blog An Indigenous Australian Approach to Healing Trauma [J]
Links
[1] 1983 Steven Box Power, Crime and Mystification Tavistock Studies in Sociology ISBN 0 422 76410 8
[1a] 1983 Steven Box Power, Crime and Mystification Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/041504572X?keywords=Power%2C%20Crime%20and%20Mystification&qid=1457188875&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1
[2] Wikipedia Operation Countryman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Countryman
[3] 1982 Granada World in Action (Banned) - Cleaning Up Scotland Yard https://youtu.be/Tcr6Ol7pKUU
[4] cathy fox blog category Paedophilia around Piccadilly https://cathyfox.wordpress.com/category/paedophilia-around-piccadilly/
[5] 2015 Sept 10 Cathy Fox Blog Lambeth Part 4 – Clive Driscoll The Truth about Child Sexual Abuse in Lambeth https://cathyfox.wordpress.com/2015/09/10/lambeth-part-4-clive-driscoll-in-pursuit-of-the-truth/
[6] 2016 Feb 5 cathy fox blog The Fall of Scotland Yard https://cathyfox.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/the-fall-of-scotland-yard/
[7] What Do They Know Operation Countryman https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/search/operation%20countryman/all
[8] Spotlight on Abuse - Sir Thomas Hetherington https://spotlightonabuse.wordpress.com/tag/sir-thomas-hetherington/
[A] Sanctuary for the Abused http://abusesanctuary.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/for-survivors-coping-with-triggers-if.html
[B] NAPAC http://www.napac.org.uk/
[C] One in Four http://www.oneinfour.org.uk/
[D] Havoca http://www.havoca.org/HAVOCA_home.htm
[E] SurvivorsJustice Triggers post http://survivorsjustice.com/2014/02/26/triggers-what-are-they-and-how-do-we-work-through-them/
[F] SurvivorsJustice Blog http://survivorsjustice.com/
[G] Jim Hopper Mindfulness http://www.jimhopper.com/mindfulness/
[H] Jim Hopper Meditation http://www.jimhopper.com/mindfulness/#cultivate
[J] 2016 Jan 5 Hwaairfan blog An Indigenous Australian Approach to Healing Trauma https://hwaairfan.wordpress.com/2016/01/05/an-indigenous-australian-approach-to-healing-trauma/
This is all written in good faith but if there is anything that needs to be corrected please email iicsa@cathyfox.33mail.com
cathyfox the truth will out, the truth will shout, the truth will set us free
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” – Edmund Burke
“He who does not bellow the truth when he knows the truth makes himself the accomplice of liars and forgers.” Charles Peguy