Has the police watchdog learnt nothing from the Chris Kaba debacle?

The uproar following the acquittal of Police Sergeant Martyn Blake over the death of Chris Kaba exposes a deep unease with the police complaints process. Even without knowing about Kaba’s past criminal record, the jury spent barely three hours before acquitting Blake. Yet last night’s BBC Panorama documentary suggests that those in the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) – who took the original decision to refer the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – remain convinced they were right to do so. This apparent failure to learn lessons raises worrying concerns about the IOPC’s approach.

Sal Naseem, who led the investigation, appears to confirm that the very decision to announce a homicide investigation may have been motivated by the fear of public disorder. ‘It was fed back to us…that if we hadn’t done it at that time then it’s likely there would have been a level of disorder,’ says Naseem.