So - Its Not Just Harper Who’s Mad About Haut de la Garenne Scandal

Retired DCO Lenny Harper’s scathing comments about the Jersey legal system really didn’t come as a surprise to most folks.

The Guernsey Press has now contacted the Jersey police and has been told by a police spokesperson, “The police view is that what was described as ‘the top end of the judicial system’ is slowing matters down by sitting on crucial files and refusing to allow charges to be brought.”

The editorial goes on to say: For an independent police force to be openly critical of a supposedly independent prosecution service, trust and confidence must have broken down to a significant degree.

If something as serious as alleged child abuse and even homicide that has been painstakingly uncovered in the full public gaze could be hampered by the establishment, the thinking will run, what else has been covered up in the past?

Such suspicion – whether valid or not – exist here, especially among victims of child abuse.

Perhaps an independent inquiry into the whole Jersey investigation is the only way of demonstrating that the islands can do these things properly.

Det. Supt. Mick Gradwell will take the reins from Lenny Harper and lead the investigation into the former Haut de la Garenne children's home.

Gradwell has 30 years experience and has worked on several large-scale investigations.

He was invited to become a member of the European Homicide Working Group and in 2006 he won the highest national Criminal Justice award – the Justice Shield.

The Guernsey Press
Lancashire Evening Post