Category Archives: North Wales Police

Earlier today, the Police Authority chairman, Ian Roberts, announced that he had decided to refer the matter on a voluntary basis to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), saying that it was “the appropriate body to consider all aspects of this case.”

Later in the day, Deputy Chief Constable Clive Wolfendale issued a further apology, which he said was made also on behalf of Chief Constable Brunstrom. The apology is reported in full on the force’s website, but the most significant paragraph reads:

“Please allow me to make the position as clear as possible. The Chief Constable and North Wales Police apologise to the Gibney family unreservedly, wholeheartedly and with sincere regret for the distress brought to them over the past few days. People may make their own judgment about how and why the issue came into the public domain – but there is no doubt that this would not have happened had the decision not been taken to use the photographs. Accordingly we extend our deepest sympathies to the Gibney family both for their loss and this most unwelcome addition to their grief. And for any actions by which the family believe we have let them down – we are sorry.”

It remains to be seen whether this apology – which, unlike yesterday’s, properly recognises the force’s error of judgment – and the reference to the IPCC will be sufficient for the Gibney family. They may not. But I take the view that these actions by Clive Wolfendale and Ian Roberts, both men of integrity who take their responsibilities seriously, will go a long way toward restoring the reputation of North Wales Police in the eyes of the public they serve.

The meeting was restricted to the press and road safety professionals. Invitees were warned in advance that they “would be briefly exposed to harrowing images, in order that the media could better understand the full context of the Arrive Alive project”.

One of the “harrowing images” displayed was a photograph of the severed head of a motorcyclist killed on the road between Cerrigydrudion and Ruthin. Another photograph showed the headless body of the same motorcyclist lodged in the wreckage of the crash.

According to the Chief Constable’s weblog, “The invitations made it very clear, in writing, that these images were not, are not and will not be released into the public domain – a point emphasised verbally during the meeting. They were included as a minor part of the presentation to counter the continuing tendency in some sections of our society to trivialise road death.”

Now, there is no doubt that speeding is a significant contributor to death on our roads. It is a very serious issue and certainly should not be trivialised. However, it is hard to see how the display of such images to members of the press and road safety professionals could contribute in any real way to underlining the message the police were trying to put across, given that they were not to be released into the public domain. It might, indeed, be reasonable to accuse the force of sensationalism, especially when one notes that a senior officer involved in the presentation commented, “His oxygenated brain went flying down the road for 50 metres before he expired. It is horrific, I’m sure you’ll agree.”

Well, I do agree. I also don’t think that remarks such as that or, indeed, the display of the photographs themselves, were justified in terms of promoting road safety. How could they be? After all, the public were excluded from the meeting.

However, if that was the full extent of the issue, I might have been inclined to let it pass uncommented, save to bemoan a lapse in judgment. Police officers, after all, attend scenes such as that every day. We, thank God, don’t. They deserve our support and I try to give that support as much as I can.

However, there is another aspect of the matter that makes it infinitely more serious. A photograph of a t-shirt worn by the dead motorcyclist was also shown during the presentation. It was very distinctive, and had also been made public during the inquest into his death. The press were not slow to reveal that the dead man was Mr Mark Gibney, of Merseyside. It also emerged during the couple of days following the press conference that Mr Gibney’s family had not been approached by the police for permission to use the photographs.

And that is the aspect of the affair for which I believe the force deserves outright, unqualified condemnation. The distress caused to Mr Gibney’s family can well be imagined. His father, Mr William Gibney, said that he had tried his best to keep details of his son’s horrific injuries from much of the family, but now everybody knew, following the publicity over the pictures.

North Wales Police has now issued an apology. It reads:

“North Wales Police have written to the family of Mark Gibney to apologise for the distress caused by the publicity that followed the Arrive Alive closed seminar on Thursday 26th April 2007.

“North Wales Police accepts and regrets that it made a mistake in believing that description of pictures shown to this invited audience would remain confidential.

To the extent that an apology of any sort has been issued, it is a step forward. However, the apology does not indicate in any way that the force realises the true nature of the mistake it has made. The mistake was not “believing that description of pictures shown to this invited audience would remain confidential”. It was the decision to show the pictures at all, particularly without the consent of Mr Gibney’s family.

I understand that Mr Gibney’s family believe that the apology does not go far enough. I have to say that I agree with them. If anything, the apology seeks to shift the blame on to the press who were attending the seminar, a completely inappropriate response. The expression “weasel words” comes to mind.

Until the force acknowledges that on this occasion it made an appalling error of judgment and issues a full and appropriate apology, this affair will not go away. Calls for resignations will, quite understandably, continue to be heard.