About ten years ago the North of Scotland had its own child abduction case. A little boy was reported missing by his parents. Unlike the McCanns, the parents were not well heeled professionals. Unlike the McCanns they had not left their child unattended whilst they went out socialising. Their son was merely doing what most kids should be doing. He was out playing in a nearby park. It took police five days to find his dead body in a hedge not far from where he lived.
On the day he went missing, his parents called the police and not much was done. The Chief Superintendent liked to be in charge of pretty much everything and he wasn’t around to make any decisions.
Two missing persons, then.
One was a small boy being held by a convicted and paroled paedophile who should have been closely monitored, but wasn’t.
Another was a Chief Superintendent who was banging a woman who wasn’t his wife in a lay-by, too busy to go into work.
An enquiry later that year pointed all fingers of blame in the direction of the Chief Superintendent. Who knew how long the boy had been held alive before his horrible death? Who knew why the police couldn’t suss out that a dangerous convicted paedophile living across from the playpark in question might be responsible? Who knew how much of the lack of action was because the boy was the son of a benefit financed council estate family who had a colourful reputation?
I was telling you about the Drug Awareness Mandatory Course. I promised you all I’d write about it.
You’re thinking that maybe I’m going to belittle the efforts of a hemp wearing Dudley-DoRight-Drugs-Action-Type-Guy, aren’t you? But I’m not. That might have at least been useful.
On the day he went missing, his parents called the police and not much was done. The Chief Superintendent liked to be in charge of pretty much everything and he wasn’t around to make any decisions.
Two missing persons, then.
One was a small boy being held by a convicted and paroled paedophile who should have been closely monitored, but wasn’t.
Another was a Chief Superintendent who was banging a woman who wasn’t his wife in a lay-by, too busy to go into work.
An enquiry later that year pointed all fingers of blame in the direction of the Chief Superintendent. Who knew how long the boy had been held alive before his horrible death? Who knew why the police couldn’t suss out that a dangerous convicted paedophile living across from the playpark in question might be responsible? Who knew how much of the lack of action was because the boy was the son of a benefit financed council estate family who had a colourful reputation?
I was telling you about the Drug Awareness Mandatory Course. I promised you all I’d write about it.
You’re thinking that maybe I’m going to belittle the efforts of a hemp wearing Dudley-DoRight-Drugs-Action-Type-Guy, aren’t you? But I’m not. That might have at least been useful.
So anyway back to the Ex-Chief Superintendent. What do you do when you are forced, kicking and screaming, into early retirement by then First Minister, Donald Dewar, your reputation in tatters? Well, you write a book. Not about the little boy. No, you can't touch that one. You look around you, you see how well that chap Mr Nice is doing with that drug trafficking book. So you write your own. Except this one is from the point of view of a law enforcer (kinda).
And then you get a nice little earner pontificating over a strung out two day (TWO day!) course lecturing educational professionals about the international drug trade. These educational professionals sit hoping to God that at one point the monologue will at least lead to some informed pointers on dealing with young people in their charge who may need help with drug addiction. It does not. It is like sitting in front of a 5 hour Party Political Broadcast. And then having to come back next week to do it all again.
So “Drug Awareness” it was called. Three months worth of lectures subjecting all employees to the course. Nice work, if you can get it. As a result, all teaching staff can tell you anything you want to know about the evil that is hash, cocaine and heroin. We know how it is made, where it is made and how illegal and nasty it all is.
What we can’t tell you is how to get help for any of our students who maybe having trouble with drugs or how to tell any of the signs of being under the influence in your classroom.
But let’s face it, they probably all live in council estates and are not to be bothered about anyway. Or possibly the self proclaimed expert on drug awareness has never met a junkie, or been any where near a drug rehabilitation centre in his puff.
Maybe instead of doing all those things he was banging some woman who wasn’t his wife in a lay by, being covertly photographed by the local papers….
11 comments:
How depressing - the vanity and pointlessness of the course and of the superintendent, I mean, as well as sad demise of children.
Harrumph.
Interesting how the ex-superintendent isn't embarrassed to show his face in public. He reminds me of J R Ewing.
London Girl: "Vanity". That one word sums the whole thing up.
Gorilla: Far from being embarrassed, he actually at one point steadfastly refused to leave his post. However, it seems he still has friends who offer him nice jobs...
There was certainly nothing super about that Chief Superintendant. He always struck me as a right shifty looking bugger.
I wonder what they did with the "woman who wasn't his wife"'s guide dog while they were having their sly little bit of afternoon delight?
Was he not somewhat higher than a Chief Super - like a Chief Constable maybe?
Tomahawk: She was 26! And the wife of a millionaire car dealer. I’m guessing from both these bits of information that it was power and money that floated her boat and not looks. All the same though…eww!
Anon: I believe that he appointed himself "Supreme Being" at one point.
Here's a website you may find useful. http://www.addicted.com is a site for friends, families, and those who suffer from various addictions.
Well sounded like an incredibly fascinating and fulfilling use of your and everybody else's time.
He should be lynched, and that's just for the course never mind the poor child and his family.
Addiction Rehab: exactly the sort of advice the course should have provided. Thanks.
Wifie: He was also of the mindset that all drugs were evil and that if you tried cannabis then it was only a matter of time before you were shooting up. Which is, of course, utter bollocks. But arguing with him was counterproductive. A truly arrogant individual.
Mr Banging His Layby Lover, the fine chap who was once former Chief Constable of the Grampian region, is an old adversary of mine. We clashed many times on TV, radio and in the press. I never met anyone with such a closed mind, nor anyone in the drugs field, not even another copper, who was so blatantly motivated by a dubious fusion of Christian morality and naked self-interest.
While based in Aberdeen, Mr Oliver was a blatant self-publicist who spent more time trying to get his own coupon and his ludicrous and harmful zero tolerance views of drug use into the media than anything useful.
It comes as no surprise that he's now flogging his intellectual wares to the highest bidder. If truth b told, Mr Oliver is one of the first people I'd send on a drugs awareness course and probably one of the last I'd pay money to listen to on the subject.
Kevin: Your experience of him comes as no suprise to me whatsoever.
Personally I was disgusted at his appointment to run these courses. His views on drug abuse were, as you say, completely polemic. One suspected that if you were to question is unflinching categorisation of all illegal substances as being of the same level of intoxication (and evil) then one would have been immediately grassed on to the other Christian polemicist who hired him.
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