The use of Latin in all things legal was once far more prominent than it is today however, even if you never actually studied Latin at school, all police officers used to learn various terms during the course of their training. Most could explain terms such as Ipso facto, and mens rea however, like many things that can be considered remotely ‘traditional’, any use of latin has probably been consigned to the training curriculum recycle bin.
In the age of young gun policy makers and the movers and shakers of public service administration, anything more than a few years old is usually considered to be “simply unworkable and certainly no longer relevant”. I used the term ‘recycle bin’ above because, most ‘new’ ideas tend to be little more than a reinvention of the wheel, change often tends to be cyclic.
For some time now, policing in the UK has been suffering from political interference and mismanagement by its leaders. Thankfully and not before time, the current police hierarchy has In flagrante delicto been caught with their pants down and are now in receipt of some robust and much-needed criticism of late…
The Case Against ACPO: Hugely unpopular with the Conservatives when they were the Shadow party, ACPO have done little since the arrival of the Coalition Government to improve the regard with which they are held. The latest report brings together many of the moments of controversy surrounding this self-serving, deceitful, profligate, political oligarchy (self-appointed non democratic organisation) who are disloyal to their rank and file officers and of doubtful value to the public at large. It contains a collection of their worst moments, scandalous revelations and perhaps most importantly, the current thoughts of influential serving police officers. (Read more)
The current management methodologies employed by ACPO equate to negligence on the part of many Chief officers. Res ipsa loquitur!
Could police leaders have suddenly remembered what policing and their job should really entail? I doubt it but ACPO are now facing a trial de novo and consequently, are having to provide new answers to justify their Raison d’être. Chief officers may hold the direction and leadership of police forces however, they should remember they are only primus inter pares.
A lot of the public noise and admissions coming out of ACPO today are ex post facto and simply voiced because, the evidence which is no longer hidden or disguised, is finally open to public scrutiny. The evidence inter alia currently available, proves the case against ACPO ipso facto. Due to the current financial climate, more than any other time, change is urgently due tempus fugit.
A message to ACPO on behalf of the public is; Si vis pacem, para bellum because your sins have found you out!
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- Call for wait on police elections (bbc.co.uk)
- Latin lessons for state school pupils aged five in language revival bid (dailymail.co.uk)
- Nearly ten per cent of police off sick or on limited duty (independent.co.uk)
- Google’s Latin Translator Falls Short (brainz.org)
Dave's Bankside Babble 
I don’t have the Latin for this, but when I think of ACPO ranks I’ve known, I think of old Sherlock;
“Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius”
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Sticking with the Sherlock idea and often applicable to police management… “The temptation to form premature theories upon insufficient data is the bane of our profession.”
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I seem to remember ‘legal Latin’ wasn’t even Latin, but some corruption of French, understood only by lawyers. I sense bureaucratic language must be similarly structured! The “ACPO thing” is sadly widespread across our organisations. I believe the rot starts with the notion of money making money, rather than work producing wealth and capital.
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