Detective Maggie Oliver denounces police failures

Yes. She is.

Yet here we are again opening up the gates of safeguarding with that that must not be mentioned

That was an incredibly powerful interview.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000d8rz

Here is the link - they seem a bit slow getting it up so it isn't live yet.

It was good to hear Maggie talk about this in her own words.

Maggie has just been on Women's Hour- She deserves a medal for her work, she's an outstanding human being.

NC for this.

DH works in the field of criminal justice and has done for twenty years, more or less.

Over the last decade, as accusations of racism became such a powerful political, cultural and social charge, narratives about racism have been used to attempt to manipulate and silence certain situations both between the system and those standing accused of other crimes, and also within in the system itself.

It is not unknown for senior individuals within the criminal justice system to use "racism narratives" to patronise and silence front line staff members, purely for the power play involved or to cover their arses -- not because anything was actually racist or the parties involved were of colour.

In some of these cases, I suspect the "fear of racial incitement" explanation is a load of old bull. They just didn't want to open a can of worms because they had no idea how to deal with multiple offenders committing sexual crimes against children in state care without creating a hideous political blowback.

The Peter Ball documentary was horrendous - and very sobering in terms of the range of establishment figures who supported him, usually with full knowledge of the evidence and his admission of guilt.

Absolutely this. Prince of Wales is exposed by this. He is a liar. Carey, Thatcher's Archbishop put in to stop the "Marxist" CofE criticising her, is either a fool or a knave.

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000dbq7/exposed-the-churchs-darkest-secret-series-1

The way people can sit there time after time and talk about “lessons learned”, and agree that vulnerable children have been failed, and we must do better etc etc - and yet learn absolutely nothing, and be completely unable to draw on any of that experience when a new scenario arises in which the players may be different and the specific way they abuse may be different but the dynamics remain the same - it’s just crazy-making.

I weep tears of blood over this. (See: the Usborne thread. The most obvious idiocies Must Not Be Spoken About.)

Christ the parallels today are disturbing. It used to be accusations of racism that silenced people with concerns. People who queried the evidence of their own eyes came up against the stone wall of the establishment. Now Stonewall is the establishment.

Yes, ScapaFlo, this.

The way people can sit there time after time and talk about “lessons learned”, and agree that vulnerable children have been failed, and we must do better etc etc - and yet learn absolutely nothing, and be completely unable to draw on any of that experience when a new scenario arises in which the players may be different and the specific way they abuse may be different but the dynamics remain the same - it’s just crazy-making.

Lessons are not learned. Blind spots remain. The trope of the “vulnerable minority” that must never be challenged or criticised, that is above suspicion, is as powerful as ever.

And girls continue to be at risk.

When will people actually learn?

Its not uncommon for whistleblowers who have been ignored and indeed suffered as the result of speaking up, to turn to more dubious figures to try and get a message across.

Its to do with having invested so much emotionally and having lost all faith in traditional authority who are supposed to have carried out that role of responsibility.

Yes. That woman whistleblower who was sent on a “racism awareness course”.

“Re-education”

Its striking how many people who spoke out were women, and how they have been penalised for it.

Anyone watching Newsnight now?

The moment any group is treated as above suspicion, predators will begin working their way into that group. It's as predictable as the seasons and anyone who claims it won't happen this time is an idiot.

The patterns are the same.

They always are. Which is why there must be no more sacred castes in safeguarding. There is always at least one group treated as above suspicion.

The Peter Ball documentary was horrendous - and very sobering in terms of the range of establishment figures who supported him, usually with full knowledge of the evidence and his admission of guilt.
The patterns are the same. A collective decision by those in power (usually men) to cover up abuse and collude with abusers.

Christ the parallels today are disturbing. It used to be accusations of racism that silenced people with concerns. People who queried the evidence of their own eyes came up against the stone wall of the establishment. Now Stonewall is the establishment.

@refusetobeasheep. Anne Cryer came up against the establishment. In this case, the liberal establishment with their cries of racism. Just as the boys who had accused Peter Ball came up against the establishment of the church, gentry and royals. It's a wall either way.

Glad someone's mentioned the Peter Ball documentary, Part Two on now.

Quite clear that Prince Charles has wriggled his way off a hook here, which if you join the dots regarding his brother, paints an unedifying picture.

MsSafina, Anne Crier was a superb local MP who really helped her constituents. That even she was unable to get this looked at shows just how deep the problem goes. We need the names of those who failed to investigate, maybe seeing names will encourage those in the future to do the right rather than easy thing.

This won't become law.

Too many lobbists with too much of a vested invested, who know they could be vulnerable in the future to a law like that...

I'll just leave this here as a reminder of what happened to people who tried to expose it.
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/our-region/west-yorkshire-and-the-dales/bradford/heartbreak-of-mp-s-lone-battle-to-tackle-sex-abuse-in-bradford-1-8285026

It might be rather challenging to get an ex post facto law passed.

So very very sad for those children. I hope the gangs are now arrested and the police, that coroner, and social workers etc etc are also disciplined.