ACOMSDave

Community Journalist

Archives for September 2020

A benign Ogre – Stop and Search in Northern Ireland

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An ogre can be someone who is frightening or a ‘man’ who eats people.

So why did this come into my mind having just read an article by the BBC on “What are my rights if I’m stopped and searched?”? We as human beings have a tendency to resort to literature characters who are not real to enable us to describe a situation we are currently in or have experienced.

Firstly, I have yet again to take the BBC to task for being England/Wales centric. The article is professionally written and researched, however, to dismiss Scotland and Northern Ireland with the lines:

…The laws in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different, but there are many similarities with those in England and Wales..
shows a total lack of understanding that each of these countries is unique as is its law. I will not endeavour to speak about Scottish law as I do not live there, however, the law in Northern Ireland is most definitely coloured by the 30+ years of the ‘troubles’. This has polarised a lot of the community in terms of accepting the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland).

 

Stop & Search - A benign OgreA crowd - A benign Ogre

Now back to Stop and Search in Northern Ireland, let us do a comparison on stop and search figures:

Stop and Search Comparison

CountryYearPopulationStatistics of people stoppedRatio as per population
England & Wales291856.1m (approx)380,00019 people stopped per every 2810
Northern Ireland20181.88m (approx)28,11628 people stopped per every 2288

So, what are your rights if you are ‘Stopped and Searched’ in Northern Ireland?

According to Northern Ireland Direct, and here I will quoted directly…

Who can stop and search you?

Any police officer can stop and search you. If they are not in uniform they must identify themselves before the search takes place. The stop and search action doesn’t mean you’re under arrest or that you’ve done something wrong.
The reasons police can stop and search you
The police can stop and search you:
• if there has been serious violence or disorder in the area
• if police are looking for a suspect who fits your description
• if police have reasonable grounds to suspect you’re carrying drugs, a weapon or stolen property
• in countering terrorism

What happens in a stop and search?

If you’re stopped and searched:
• you must stay for all of the search
• police must make sure the search time is as short as possible
• the search must take place where you were stopped or nearby, unless moving you would protect your privacy
Before a search, a police officer must tell you the grounds for the search, what they’re looking for, their name (except where the stop and search is to do with terrorism) and the station they’re attached to.
If you’re in a public place, you’ll be asked to remove your coat or jacket and any headgear or gloves worn unless the search is to do with terrorism or when police believe you’re using clothes to hide your identity. They can ask you to empty your pockets and open any baggage to help the search….(https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/stop-and-search)

But there is more to be considered; what personal information am I obliged to give the officer?

According to the Citizenship Foundation, this is what you should think about:

…: I do not have to give my name or address to the police
It Depends. You only have to if the police suspect you have committed (or are about to commit) an arrestable offence.
You don’t have to answer a police officer’s questions, but someone who refuses to give their name and address may be arrested if the police officer reasonably believes they have committed an offence. You have the right not to answer any more questions until you have received legal advice from a solicitor.
In Northern Ireland, a person has an obligation to give their name and address and DOB under certain circumstance, together with the answers to some questions, under section 21 of the Justice and Security Act. Consider

Q: If you’ve not done anything wrong, do you think refusing to say your name makes you look suspicious?
Q: Do you think it’s worth having this right if enforcing it means that you could be suspected of committing an offence…

(https://smartlaw.org.uk/wordpress//content/uploads/woocommerce_uploads/2017/04/Police-powers-teachers-notes-v2.pdf)

Now consider in April 1993 the Editor of upstart (a local gay publication) stated exactly the same thing, but with the addition of reminding people if they are in doubt then give the minimum information you have to ask to see a solicitor – for Northern Ireland at this time this was really relevant for gay men, as various purges were taking place (the latest at that time being in Belvior Park) and people’s lives were being destroyed.

We all have a right to support the police forces in their given legal duty, but remember they like us are human and can make mistakes.

 

External links:

 

 

Conversion Therapy – Rethink Finally

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The Growing Movement to Ban Conversion Therapy

 

 

Earlier this month I wrote an article (Gay Conversion Therapy – Government Cop Out) reflecting back on how long we have been raising this issue and why was the government dragging its feet over putting in place measure to stop young LGBTQ people from being mentally tortured?

I reflected back on Dr Paul Miller, on Stormont’s intransigence, and how the Westminster bullies (those in a position of power and trust) seemed to feel that LGBTQ people do not count and do not need to be protected.

So I welcome that the Northern Ireland Executive is going to take the lead and develop a strategy across a number of Departments to have legislation put in place to place a ban on reparative or conversion therapy by private operations.

As I said in my previous article, conversion therapy is nothing short of ‘brain washing’, the LGBTQ community and the people in it do not need to be converted, they need to be made to feel equal within society in all aspects! 

Raising Equality (US) - Openclipart

 

External links:

 

 

 

 

Ulster Museum

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Ulster MuseumUlster MuseumUlster Museum - Outside Sculpture

 

Dear Sir or Madam

I was an avid user of the museum before the lock-down, and in particular, the art galleries, and have really enjoyed the exhibitions over the last three years since my return from Spain, where I had been living for a year.

I was wondering though if it would be feasible to plan ahead and have some exhibitions to cover the areas of:

  • Chinese paintings – maybe something to rival the ‘Masterpieces of Chinese Painting: 700-1900 put on at the V&A
  • An exhibition of Henri Matisse and some of his contemporaries
  • An exhibition of Leonora Carrington’s work,
  • Willy Conor’s work based around the book Conor’s Attic, published by Ormeau Books

It is difficult to suggest areas which might be explored, as I have no idea what the current breadth of paintings and other artistic artefacts are held by the museum and its contemporary institutions which you could borrow from.

I am also very conscious of the terrible burden that the COVID 19 virus both in terms of finances and staffing, has had on institutions like yourselves.

I look forward to hearing from you in due time.

 

Yours faithfully

Dave

 

Reply:

 

Today I received a lovely reply from the Ulster Museum.

 

…

Dear Mr McFarlane

Thank you for your interest and enquiry about future exhibitions. I have copied a number of colleagues into this reply so that your ideas and suggestions can be brought to their attention. If you would like to know more about the art collection at the Ulster Museum you can explore the Art UK website. Unfortunately as I am working remotely I can’t send you a link to this site on this email however I will try to send it separately.

With best wishes

Anne

 

…

 

What made this very satisfactory is that I made my first visit to the museum since ‘lock-down’.  It was a surreal experience in that I had to book my visit first online, then on arrival, I had to queue to have my ticket validated and have the route explained as everything is one-way.

Obviously the standing exhibits have not changed, and whilst I did stop at one or two, I moved quickly on to see the art exhibitions which are always my main interest points.

 

In the main gallery, there is an exhibit of Ursula Burke ‘A False Dawn’ which is on display carried over from lock-down.  Ursula’s work explores abuses of power in the social and political realms of the West (National Museums NI) The main room consists of busts and other individual pieces on separate stands. For me, it was interesting to look at the pieces and in particular the faces of what was white males and compare against that of the one black man’s head – the difference in the facial expression does stop you in your tracks and make you think.

There was another wonderful exhibition on art which had been produced before the realm of posters, postcards, television etc as a means of educating people about exotic places.  Two striking pieces are those of Susanna Drury (fl.1733 – 1770) which she had painted of the Giant’s Causeway.  It is even more poignant as the museum has pointed out that little is know about her.

 

East Prospect of the Giant's Causeway (c.1739)

National Museums NI
East Prospect of the Giant’s Causeway (c.1739)
There was another exhibit and also the main standing one – but you need to visit and look for yourself.

 

 

The Law is the Law

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The law is the law, or is it?   According to our Prime Minister it only applies to him when it serves his needs!

I have just read ‘The Secret Barrister’s’ article “Justice League” which was published The Guardian’s Review Magazine pages 6-9 Saturday 22 August 2020.

Law - it needs to be balanced
The Law – it needs to be balanced

This is a large mouthful to say, and even to write, but it is necessary to refer to this article and draw your attention to it, as for many of us the law and parliament are inseparable!  However, they are not; according to the Judges and Parliament, …The ultimate decision remains with Parliament and not the judiciary. Ultimately, the judiciary does no more, or less, under the 1998 Act than carry out its constitutional function of interpreting and applying the law enacted by Parliament. They only have such power as Parliament gave them in the Human Rights Act 1998.

The Attorney General is the link in the chain who provides guidance to parliament and the judiciary – however, a former Attorney General, Lord Mayhew of Twysden, said:

…the Attorney General has a duty to ensure that the Queen’s ministers who act in her name, or purport to act in her name, do act lawfully because it is his duty to help to secure the rule of law, the principal requirement of which is that the government itself acts lawfully.”

In his article, the Secret Barrister refers to how part of the government and also the new media seems to think that the judiciary has attempted to interfere with parliamentary actions and decision.  This is a complete fallacy, for parliament to work successfully, in order to maintain parliamentary sovereignty, be some legal limit… and that is what the judiciary provide.  Judicial review is not, as politicians would have the public believe, a tool by which judges overrule a political decision that they disagree with.  The questions that the courts decide are those of lawfulness, applying common law principles developed over centuries.

The Secret Barrister sums up by saying …if we lose judicial independence, we lose the rule of law.  The day a judge makes a binding decision affecting the rights and liberties of one of us, not on the legal and factual merits, but with a nervous glance to the press and public galleries, or with a  beady eye on political favour or punishment, is the day that the decay in our democracy turns terminal….

The day that this happens is the day that the government becomes omnipotent and Big Brother becomes the order of the day.

The government must remain accountable, and the judiciary must remain independent from government.

All Power Corrupts

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I have just finished reading an article in Open Culture which was about ‘The Story of Fascism: Rick Steves’ Documentary Helps Us Learn from the Hard Lessons of the 20th Century‘ – more than anything it shows and reflects on how power corrupts.

I then watched the documentary which is located on YouTube ‘Rick Steves’ The Story of Fascism

Over the last few years, we in the UK have watched the antics of our Prime Minister (Boris Johnson) in conjunction with those of the President of the USA (Donald Trump) with often bewilderment.

Power Corrupts

On watching this video and reading the article it is all too obvious what they have both been up to. But they are not alone, what about in Russia with their President Vladimir Putin! We owe it to ourselves and to the future people of our countries to realise what is happening, and to take steps within the law to oust these power-grabbing socio-paths from controlling the country and also from looking after their cliques in terms of money and power (all too obvious in the various quangos that Boris Johnson has set up and in the contracts that various government departments seem to have handed out).

To quote Aristotle from his Politics, Book VI, part IV…

that no one should “be allowed to do just he pleases, for where absolute freedom is allowed, there is nothing to restrain the evil which is inherent in every man.”

But put more succinctly by Lord Acton in the 19th-century…

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

But, all is not lost, according to a new study power would seem to bring out the best in some people; Katherine A. DeCelles, a professor of management at the University of Toronto and her co-authors found that peoples sens of “moral identity” shaped their responses to feelings of power. What the study seems to have found is that power doesn’t corrupt; it heightens pre-existing ethical tendencies i.e. it was people’s sens of “moral identity” – the degree to which they thought it was important to their sense of self to be “caring,” “compassionate,” “fair,” “generous,” and so on that shaped their responses to feelings of power. (By Christopher Shea SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE)

But be what it may, a egotistical leader with a power complex will still be one that is not good for any country – or lat least that is what I think!!

Big Brother and Power Corrupts

Further Reading:

  1. Are Power-Hungry People Inherently Corrupt?
  2. The Story of Fascism: Rick Steves’ Documentary Helps Us Learn from the Hard Lessons of the 20th Century
  3. Why Power Corrupts