For those of you who may have been waiting with bated breath... today my official letter arrived to say that my security vetting had been received and I am after all worthy - officially Police Chaplain until 31.12.2010. (Maybe I will have had enough by then?)
With the official letter came a large induction file and contained within a number of generic documents - quite routine stuff really.
What was interesting and well hidden in the 'General' section, just to make sure that you read it I suppose, was the Official Secrets form which has to be signed and witnessed. It's over half a life time since I last signed one of these and it had never occurred to me that I might have to renew my commitment to being severly punished if I could not keep a secret.
Now I know that generally speaking the Official Secrets Act is much more than a way of stopping gossip, but it made me reflect - the Police Service is a closely knit family and there are few indeed who can keep a 'gossipy' sceret for very long. It is also amazing how quickly a secret can be disseminated throughout not only a division but even the force if it is juicey enough. I must be even more careful in this close environment to maintain the confidence of the confessional.
With the official letter came a large induction file and contained within a number of generic documents - quite routine stuff really.
What was interesting and well hidden in the 'General' section, just to make sure that you read it I suppose, was the Official Secrets form which has to be signed and witnessed. It's over half a life time since I last signed one of these and it had never occurred to me that I might have to renew my commitment to being severly punished if I could not keep a secret.
Now I know that generally speaking the Official Secrets Act is much more than a way of stopping gossip, but it made me reflect - the Police Service is a closely knit family and there are few indeed who can keep a 'gossipy' sceret for very long. It is also amazing how quickly a secret can be disseminated throughout not only a division but even the force if it is juicey enough. I must be even more careful in this close environment to maintain the confidence of the confessional.
1 comment:
Well!!! we at the old G1 have not let you down - lol.
Trevor (Silver Fox)
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