I empathise with the jurors who decided the Pilkington case: it is impossible to make sense of this senseless episode. Yet society must ensure that the tragedy is not repeated. The jury, the Home Secretary and even the Opposition, up to a point, all blamed the police. Simon Jenkins’ piece in the Guardian savages the political Establishment’s refusal to address a democratic deficit, which has eradicated local civic leadership, a status quo that leaves the police caught between being a law enforcement force and an organisation that promotes community cohesion, a dual task that it is ill-equipped to perform.
‘Monday’s Leicestershire jury verdict on the Pilkington deaths was typical of British public opinion. It blamed the police and local officials for “contributing” to their tragic end. This was converted by the press into “letting it happen”.
Where is civic leadership in Leicestershire? It is as invisible this week as when Fiona Pilkington was suffering her torment.
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