Deputy Powerless

From the JEP:

http://www.thisisjersey.com/news/showarchive.pl?ArticleID=102008&year=2008&category=news

THE decision to tell the media that 'partial child's remains' had been found at Haut de la Garenne was inappropriate, according to Deputy Sean Power. He says that the police went too far when briefing journalists on 23 February after finding a skull fragment buried at the former children's home.

Am I unduly cynical, but is it because it is an election year that Mr. Power is suddenly becoming extremely vocal (having already come out with saying that we have to watch "internal enemies" as much as the UK press)? Now he is having a go at Lenny Harper, again with little or no understanding of police procedure.

It is standard police practice not to reveal everything, not to be misleading, but simply so that if witnesses come forward what they bring to the investigation is corroborating evidence, and cannot be dismissed on the grounds of "collusion" of witnesses with revealed data. If Mr. Power doesn't understand that yet, I suggest he tries asking a lawyer about it.

He also raises the subject of how they know the bone fragments come from a child, and cast skepticism upon this claim. Here speaks someone with clearly not the slightest inkling of modern forensic science and forensic archeology, who has not even bothered to ask how they know before speaking out. I suggest he tries looking under articles regarding measurement of bone protein and the like.

For instance, the article "Histomorphometric determination of formation rates of archaeological bone" notes that "Age-associated changes in bone histomorphology in extinct populations have remained essentially unchanged for at least 1,600 years. Bone formation rates determined for these populations agree with age-matched values determined for extantHomo sapiens."

In fact, as the article "Examining histology to identify burned bone" explains, it is possible to also use "examination of the microscopic internal structure" to distinguish burned from unburned bone.

In the case of the Taber child, measurement of bone protein was used to determine that that 4,000 old (radiocarbon dated) came from "fragments of a human infant skull"

Some bedtime reading on forensics would do Mr. Power no end of good, and may prevent him from engaging his mouth without having first applied his brain, instead of trying to scapegoat the police, "internal enemies" and the UK media, for historic (and fairly recent) failings in the child care system. Of course that won't get him on the front page of the JEP, but it might lead to more informed questions being asked when necessary.

For instance, he might also asking about whistle blowing mechanisms, and consider reading my notes on the huge Wale child abuse scandal, and considering how important the appropriate mechanisms for whistle blowing were considered by the eminent knight producing the government report recommendations (http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2008/04/tu-quoque.html). I am watching to see if Andrew Williamson produces anything half as good for the States.