UK Police Told To Use Wikipedia When Preparing For Court

Half-pint HAL tips news of UK prosecution lawyers who are instructing police to study information on Wikipedia when preparing to give expert testimony in court. "Mike Finn, a weaponry specialist and expert witness in more than 100 cases, told industry magazine Police Review: 'There was one case in a Midlands force where police officers asked me to write a report about a martial art weapon. The material they gave me had been printed out from Wikipedia. The officer in charge told me he was advised by the CPS to use the website to find out about the weapon and he was about to present it in court. I looked at the information and some of it had substance and some of it was completely made up.' Mr. Finn, a former Metropolitan Police and City of London officer and Home Office adviser, added that he has heard of at least three other cases where officers from around the country have been advised by the CPS to look up evidence on Wikipedia."

Comments

Don't believe everything you read?

[blindseer]

From the article:

Eleanor Coner, information officer of The Scottish Parent Teacher Council, said last year: "We accept that as a sign of the times, but schools must teach pupils not to believe everything they read.

That is dangerous coming from a teacher. If they teach the children critical thinking skills then it will be impossible to properly indoctrinate them.

I remember reading in my high school history book on how the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th amendments to the US Constitution assures rights to the individual but the 2nd amendment assures the states have the right to have a police force. My critical thinking skills at the time led me to question that interpretation, and I am quite certain now that the Constitution as amended does guarantee the right of the individual to keep and bear arms. Judging from my conversations with people about current events it would seem that many people had similar writings in their high school history books and did believe what they read.

Perhaps the Scottish Parent Teacher Council does not have that concern since they do not have the right to self defense codified as we do on this side of the Atlantic. The teaching of not believing everything you hear might work in their favor after the news articles on shootings and stabbings going up after the banning of the carrying of firearms and knives. No Scott would actually injure another with a weapon to steal a few quid from their wallet, right? Carrying weapons is illegal and no one would break that law, right? Never mind that theft is illegal as well.