Det Supt Mick Gradwell.
THE excavation of Haut de la Garenne was a complete waste of public money, time and effort, the senior police officer who led the historical abuse inquiry for the past year has said.
Det Supt Mick Gradwell, who left the Island yesterday when his contract ended, told the JEP that there was no justification for the police excavating at Haut de la Garenne as part of the abuse inquiry.
Mr Gradwell said that there had been no hard evidence or intelligence indicating that such a search should take place.
Until that decision was made, the inquiry, led by his predecessor, deputy police chief Lenny Harper, had been run more along UK policy lines, he said.
Mr Gradwell said that once the excavation was begun, things started to go wrong and he was left with a ‘poorly managed mess’ to sort out.
• See Saturday’s JEP for full story.
Article posted on 29th August, 2009 - 3.00pm
31 Article Comments
DS Gradwell was employed by the States the same as Lenny Harper was-if there is culpability then it should rest with the States not yet another scapegoat!!!!
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Finally, someone injects a bit of sanity, fingers crossed the witch hunt will end soon… NJ.
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If what Detective Suprintendet Mick Gradwell says is right, then it obviously brings in to question ex-Deputy Chief Officer Lenny Harper’s ability as a Senior Investigating Officer. The question now must be asked, was he an accredited senior investigator? If not why did the now suspended Chief, Graham Power let him lead the investigation?
It would be pointless having an expensive enquiry into the police handling of the child abuse allegations. Nevertheless, lessons must be learnt from this sorry episode in the history of policing in the Island. In future the Home Affairs Minister must satisfy him / herself, that whoever conducts an investigation of this magnitude, is properly qualified.
Watching the investigation from across the channel, as a retired police officer and Home Office qualified detective, I was often amazed about the the media strategy used by Mr. Harper. I would have thought that he would have wanted to verify facts before passing on information to the press.
It was highly unusual for a Deputy Chief Officer to lead such an investigation and I can not understand why the job was not left to the head of Criminal Investigations and the Detective Inspector in charge of the Family Protection Team.
Doubtless over the coming months and years, we will hear more about this story and other people will proffer theories, as to why there was such a faux pas in this investigation.
Whoever is to blame, the whole sorry saga has done little to enhance the reputation of the States of Jersey Police. This is sad, because I know that the force employs many fine investigators, who have a record of solving serious and complex cases.
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Mr Gradwell’s comments lead us to believe that the HdlG enquiry had been run along UK policy lines until the police began excavating.
Is he insinuating that at a certain point police chief Lenny Harper applied his “own” policy lines?
Does he want us to believe that when a police chief decides to “dig deeper” in order to get to the truth, it is wrong?
Or is it just Mr Gradwell’s way of saying that his predecessor did a “bad” job?
As for the fact that Mr Gradwell was left with a ‘poorly managed mess’ to sort out, well, isn’t that what he was paid for?
So what’s his problem?
Was it really necessary to criticize a man whose intention was to bring people to justice?
In my opinion, the only “messy” thing here is the attack on a colleague who did what he thought was right.
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……and what’s so good about Mr Gadwell…???
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The states had a laissez faire attitude to child sexual abuse, and I don’t think it was a nice place, the dead children, will have taken their own lives later, they don’t always escape from the monsters.
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Born Warrior # 4. Det Supt. Gradwell is a highly respected detective who was responsible for the investigation into the death of the Chinese cocklers in Morcombe Bay. I am not sure what Mr. Harper’s background was. I read in the Guardian that he was deskbound for a number of years before taking up his post in Jersey – it is questionable as to whether he was au fait with current investigative techniques, or an accredited senior investigator.
To repeat,in my view the media strategy was mishandled, as Mr. Harper should have been more circumspect in what information he released to the press. He was made to look rather silly after the subsequent forensic analysis of the so called fragment of a skull and the asessment of the age of the other itmes.
There is every likelihood that physical and sexual abuse occurred in a number of the children’s home in the Island, but there was no need to sensationalse the reports in the media.
One can not criticise Mr. Harper’s vigour in rooting out criminals. However it would have been better if he had gone about his job in a quiet and unassuming manner, rather than courting so much publicity.
His actions will have done nothing for the reputation of the States of Jersey Police, or the Island.
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Born Warrior
I don’t think Mr Gradwell is suggesting that Lenny Harper did a bad job – he is clearly stating that he did an appalling job. The fact is that Harper poured millions of pounds of our money and the islands reputation down the proverbial toilet, on an ego-tripping wild goose chase.
As for being a colleague – this man was bought in after Harper left to sort this out and is an independent voice, as he’s now out of contract and doesn’t owe anybody anything. He probably never even met Harper and what you are suggesting is that it is “bad form” for one policeman to criticise another – that’s called a closed shop!
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Lenny harper was the best thing that happened to jersey as he brought the child abuse to the fore.
now they are queuing up to blame him for every wrong doing.
he is also correct in saying he would sooner trust a fox in a henhouse than trust the jersey authorities,which outside zimbabwe must be the most corrupt in the world.
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Gregory #6.It goes without saying, child abusers and paedophiles in particular, are amongst the worst sort of criminal. Their behaviour can have a devistating impact on their victim’s lives.
The one good thing about this whole sorry saga, is that it will highlighted the need for continuing cooperation between all agencies involved in Child Protection, including the Children’s Service, Police, Law Officers and Centenier’s Association.
There was a long history of cooperation between the Children’s Service and the States of Jersey Police and this was extolled by experts in the field of preventing child abuse, during the 1990s.
These experts came to Jersey from not only the U.K. mainland, but Europe as well, to use the Jersey system as a model.
What Mr. Harper’s investigation has done to help maintain that cooperation, Lord alone knows. I can only imagine the potential for the trust between these agencies to have diminished.
Mike # 8. You are spot on in your response to Born Warrier. Police officers should have a free hand to constructively criticise other officer’s actions, where this is justified. This will help reduce the likelihood of inapproariate practices in the future.
Everyone now needs to let the dust settle and let those responsible for Child Protection issues, to get on with the job. With the H de la G case, this should have have been done without the sensational press conferences, with what is now known to be inaccurate information.
It will be obvious to many J.E.P. readers, that verifying facts is essential to effective and just policing.
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Mr Gradwell seems to me to be objective and realistic! My main worry has been for some time that there was unecessary and damaging sensationalism being brodacast by the media. We all know how the media like to play on bad news! Some of the statements made seem to have been speculative rather than substantiated (re bodies in the cellar).
But the enquiry should be allowed to conclude soonest, bringing to justice those where possible. Sadly i fear some public money (probably millions) may well have be squandered/wasted and it remains to be seen what sort of review takes place at the end of this sad saga.
Looks like there will be some lessons to be learnt all round!
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The most appalling thing in this whole affair is that the physical and sexual abuse which occurred in HdlG was “hushed up” and hidden from the public for so many years.
So what really damaged the Island’s reputation was the “brush-it-under-the-carpet” tactics which were used in the past.
No-one seriously believes that child abuse is confined to Jersey. People are fully aware that it is a global problem.
As for spending millions of pounds, well, that’s a real shame…oh wait a minute…no it isn’t!
It is the price of “what if”!
Mr Harper went on a hunch, he was wrong but “what if” he had been right?
Child abusers must be put behind bars…and if this has a high price, then so be it.
If you really must complain about the waste of money, try doing so to the defenceless children (now forever-scarred adults) who cried into their pillows at night after being abused by their carers…I’m sure they’ll disagree.
P.S. I was not suggesting that it’s “bad form” for one policeman to criticize another, I was suggesting that it’s “bad form” to criticize someone who has already suffered public ridicule. Mr Gradwell put a knife into an open wound…totally uncalled for.
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ZBD 7
If a man walks around a hospital wearing a white coat and stethoscope, it’s very likely people will take him for a doctor.
The same goes for a man sporting the title of “Police Chief”, people are likely to take him for a competent investigator who knows all the moves.
So if, and I repeat “if”, Mr harper was over zealous in his actions and naive when it came to his press releases, then maybe the people who dressed him up in the “white coat and stethoscope” should be the ones under fire and not Mr Harper.
As for the sensationalism, I think it may have been his way of protecting this “sinister” case against interference.
For the series: It’s no good putting a gag on someone who has already “spilled the beans”…but maybe I’m wrong.
With regard to Det Supt. Gradwell being a competent and highly respected member of the police force…I have no reason to think otherwise, but a “No comment” and a quick wave would have been a more dignified farewell to Jersey.
Mike 8
My previous post was in answer to comments.
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Born Warrior # 12 Lenny Harper brought ridicule on himself, he didn’t need Det. Supt. Greadwell to do that. Nobody put a knife into an open wound, Mr. Harper brought discredit on himself by an inappropriate media strategy.
I can’t imagine that anyone reading these submissions, will disagree with you that child abusers need to be locked up. It is the job of the police to catch such offenders, but it is the job of the probation service and courts to punish them, but that can only be achieved following a successul prosecution.
Whilst I have little doubt that some horrible things occurred in the children’s homes in Jersey, we can not tar everyone in the Children’s Service with the same brush. There has to be evidence that is admissible in a court, not just anecdotal evidence.
Much of what has been claimed has not been proved. Remember in a criminal court the prosecution have to prove their case beyond all reasonable doubt – that is probably why the Attorney General dropped a number of cases.
That is not to say we shouldn’t believe a number of the accounts given by complaiants. For whatever reason, these could not be sufficiently corroborated to acheive a successful outcome.
It is said that it is better for ten guilty men to go free than for one innocent man to be convicted – I don’t entriely agree, but we should all get the spirit of the message.
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ZBD 10
re: Police officers should have a free hand to constructively criticize other officer’s actions, where this is justified…
Where justified?
Who decides the justifiability?
We all know that “closing ranks” is normal procedure in some professions, especially when there is a good chance of keeping things quiet.
I consider such “conspiracies of silence” dispicable.
Therefore, I am all for constructive criticism, especially when it translates into openly reporting those who are trying to cover up their misdemeanour/misfeasance/misconduct or even negligence.
But when things are already out-in-the-open, and the next step leads onto a plane, please tell me what is to be gained by airing one’s views.
In my opinion, Mr Gradwell’s comments were gratuitous, uncalled for and inappropriate.
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ZBD 14
I didn’t say Mr Gradwell brought ridicule on Mr Harper, I said it was “bad form” to criticize a colleague who had already suffered public ridicule.
I did not criticize the Children’s Service either, nor did I insinuate they were all tarred with the same brush, as you put it.
What I said was:
…what damaged the Island’s reputation were the “brush-it-under-the-carpet” tactics which were used in the past (no mention of “who held the broom”).
And if much of what has been claimed has not been proved, well maybe, just maybe, it is because the police were working on a very “cold case”. And whose fault is that?
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Why did Graham Power remain silent for the entire period of the HDLG investigation, which circled the world in lurid media tales of buried bodies, shackles, teeth and the rest?
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Born Warrior # 16. Recriminations are pretty pointless.
As the alleged incidents occurred so long ago, it would be very difficult to determine who was to blame, for the failure to recognise the problems that have only been made public in recent years.
You must realise that child abusers frequently make threats to their victims, so that disclosures are rarely made.
It may not be a case of ’sweeping things under the carpet’, but more likely a poor management system in the children’s homes, that failed to recognise the symptoms of abuse. In my view what was required was a system of independent monitoring of the children’s welfare – there is no evidence – that has been made public – to show this sort of system was in place.
I think we will agree to disagree over the criticism of Lenny Harper. I believe Det. Supt. Gradwell was right to air his views. Why wouldn’t this be justified? The public have a right to know the truth and that should be the justification.
Notwithstanding this, I don’t think I would condemn Mr. Harper’s motives.I will however – based on the information that has been made public – criticise his methodology in the investigation and in particular his press strategy. Maybe he should be asked to comment on why he did things the way he did….the details should have been recorded in his written policy on the investigation.
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yes it could be called a waste of time if ‘complete’ tests have not beeen conducted on what was found…..
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I am still wondering why they can not date the teeth. In England etc, when there has been cases such as the West’s and other serial killers, they can tell how long the bodies have been there, why can’t the teeth be matched with a year?
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9. bella
I think you’ll find Harper was the worst thing to ever happen as it all now looks like a farce.
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ZBD
as a matter of interest what rank did you aspire to in Jersey Police?
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mr harper has achieved 3 convictions what more can we ask for…
So i say a big thanks
rs
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OH ZBD
Why not post under your name what are you scared of you dont even live here…
rs
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Harper brought to light what has not been allowed to be disproved in a court of law, merely dismissed by people with their heads in the sand.
There are many un-answered questions and if these question don’t get answered, they will not go away. There are far to many people ,who will not accept what is going on.
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Tony # 22. That’s for me to know and you to speculate.
For those that remember me, there have been a number of clues as to my identity, so do some detective work.
Let’s just say I didn’t reach the top, but I got a few rungs up the ladder. I had a lot of experience on the type of investigation under discussion.
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Rico Sorda and Mo # 23 & 25. Nobody can take the successes you mention, away from the police.
Notwithstanding this, please don’t denegrate what previous officers have done, in investigating numerous child abuse cases over many many years.
Nobody to my knowledge ever ignored a report of child abuse and all reports were investigated thoroughly. The allegation of a ‘cover up’ was only made in the H de la G investigation. At present none of these claims can be substantiated.
The Children’s Sercvice and Police have a long history of working together.They have had a considerable number of successful convictions to their credit, long before Lenny Harper arrived in the Island.
To claim that things were ’swept under the carpet’ was an insult to those officers who previously worked tirelessly to bring child abusers to book.
Rico, sorry to disappoint you, but for various reasons, I will maintain my anonymity. I am no longer a police officer and I am merely giving my view after 32 years experience in that role.
I must reiterate, I won’t condemn Mr. Harper’s motives – if it was to uncover incidents of child abuse. I would applaud that endeavour, if that was his intention. However I will stand by my criticism of his press strategy, in sensationalising the investigation. It was totally unnecessary and as it proved in the end, it achieved nothing.
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Well done, what a great job all of you have done at ignoring the real issues we have here and the damage it has done to the vulnerable victims of abuse past and present… and still no paedophile register.. too much mud slinging and attacks at people who are trying to keep us safe
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It is refreshing that the truth is finally being nailed with regard to this farce of an investigation and a report from an outside professional police officer authenticates that conclusively. Lenny Harper cost this Island millions and some politically motivated supporters were spun a yarn for what basically amounts to some of the worst policing ever witnessed in Jersey’s history. Sadly this charade cost us tax payers dearly and it is also sad that nobody jumped in sooner to ask one of the most important questions of the whole dig, ‘who are we looking for, what are their names’ and ‘why all the media attention for a piece of coconut’.
I wish Det Supt Mick Gradwell all the best in his retirement and I would like to thank him as a Jersey tax payer for at least cutting the chaff from the wheat in this whole silly affair and bringing it down to reality in the eyes of the public.
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#21 Bernard
that,s my opinion and nothing you say will change my mind
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I believe that Lenny Harper took the right decision to investigate the premises by escavation beneath the home. There are still many unanswered questions regarding this whole sad affair. I believe that there has been a conspiracy of silence by several prominant people in Jersey to protect not only themselves but the name of the island.
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