Crime and Corruption at The Yard: Downfall of Scotland Yard by David I. Woodland

Author:David I. Woodland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Bisac Code 1: TRU000000; TRUE CRIME / General
ISBN: 9781473857407
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2015-05-29T16:00:00+00:00

Much is made about the supposed antagonism that exists between the uniform and CID branches. To some extent this is understandable and their two functions are so different; the one more concerned with the prevention of crime through a visible presence on the streets and the latter to detect and arrest once crime has been committed. That said, there is and must be close liaison between the two and the following incident illustrates the point.

In 1969, Chelsea was plagued like other Inner London areas by a series of armed raids upon Post Offices. It soon became apparent this was the work of a team of Irishmen whose methods were quite simple but effective. Full frontal walk-in brandishing a gun, a demand for a bag to be filled and then have it away within minutes. One particular morning the team appeared in the Kings Road and were spotted by Aids keeping observation in the area. After a punch up and chase in Kings Road, two Irishmen were arrested and brought to Chelsea for interrogation. We soon established that one of the men who got away was a tall Irishman named Eamonn O’Donnell, ringleader of the gang, who hailed from Dublin’s fair city.

Chelsea was always a busy nick and when the prisoners were brought to the Station there was a problem housing them. All the cells and detention rooms were full of prisoners and suspects and I arranged for one of the men to be brought to the D.I.’s office for interrogation. Please do not believe that interrogation in London Police Stations bears any relation to the image so vividly portrayed in film and crime novels. There were no brutal beatings, no third degree or physical abuse. Yes, there may have been ‘good cop/hard cop’ scenarios but all in all it was very much a psychological contest where the objective was to seek the truth and where appropriate eliminate a suspect or elicit an admission, part admission or even revelation of a damaging fact that would convince the prisoner of the inevitability of conviction.

This could swing the balance in favour of the interrogator and induce a state of mind in the prisoner where he felt the urge in his own mind to co-operate in order to mitigate the consequences of his actions when he finally appeared at Court. All these admirable objectives needed to be achieved in strict compliance with Judges Rules. The important point to establish in this particular case was not the prisoner’s guilt. This would be achieved by witness statements and evidence from the Police officers affecting the arrest at the scene.

What I needed to establish quickly was the whereabouts of Eamonn to search his address before he had the opportunity of disposing of valuable evidence. It was at that precise moment the Station Officer told me there were two very irate Irishmen from Dublin who wished to speak to me. One of the first things we established through a quick call to Special Branch was to satisfy myself

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