Sir Norman Bettison, Wikipedia And Celebrity Policing
SIR Norman Bettison has been described as a “greedy, vain moron”. The Mail says Bettison is favourite to succeed Sir Ian Blair as head of the Met.
As such, he may be ideally suited to the job.
But Police Review magazine says the 52-year-old chief constable of West Yorkshire is unimpressed with his Wikipedia entry, which you have already seen.
The Mail reports that “image-conscious” Sir Norman has instructed staff to make sure his Wikipedia entry is not sabotaged.
A look at the page brings up the following message:
Editing of this article by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled until March 14, 2008 (UTC) due to vandalism.
Were you in the area? Did you see anything suspicious. Call Mr Bettison. Unfavourable reports may be treated in the strictest secrecy and edited.
That aforesaid appraisal of Sir Norman has been erased from his online biography. A user has deleted references to Sir Norman as “a pioneer of neighbourhood policing”, saying the article had become nothing more than a “PR piece written by the chief”.
Says an insider: “He called a meeting and said he was sick and tired of people changing his Wikipedia page. He insisted staff regularly log on to see if the entry has been changed - and make sure the words he wants are put back on as soon as possible.”
Sir Norman appears very interested in his image and keen to make the biography an autobiography.
Anorak would, accordingly, like to support Sir Norman’s appointment as Chief Constable of the Met, the UK’s premier celebrity police force.
Such an event would afford Sir Norman the chance to meet with other leading lights and discuss image issues, image rights and the media as he nicks his fellwo celebrities for drugs, drink and disorderly conduct…
Posted: 1st, March 2008 | In: Tabloids Comments (130) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
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September 8th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
TRUE FACTS: Norm imposed a new shift system on the West Yorkshire Police in March 2008, against the vote of the cops. Between that date and the end of June 2008 they force have lost 14000 man hours in sickness.
I beg the question, Who is really sick in that force, the poor cops or Norm? only one answer really
August 30th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Norman was famous in Merseyside for his vanity and arrogance. He insisted on getting his face on some collector’s cards and distribtuing them to local schools. He posed in theatrical fashion, once again failing to realise that the force - and the the local scallys who delighted in defacing them - were wetting themselves at his (and the council tax payer’s) expense. Anything to promote himself - and I see he remains shameless to this day!
August 19th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Hey Up, isn’t there anyone out there with some more dirt to dish on Norm. I was talking to a few of his cops who realy despise the man and hate him for over-riding them on a shift system they didn’t want but which he imposed on them. Apparently it’s one of his initiatives for getting him the Met job. Some leader of men eh!
August 1st, 2008 at 4:04 pm
I bet Norm is sweating now that Boris is trying to get rid of Ian Blair. Will he, won’t he be taking his ego, stockings, high heels and dyed hair to London. Perhaps so, you can get great two day breaks witha show included. That’s all he is fit for.
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Are you sure he is married? That’s quite a fancy boy moustache he has there and his hat is at quite a jaunty angle. He could be wearing stockings and high heels in the rest of this picture for all we know! Suits you Sir Norman, suits you!!
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Larry, don’t act like a child. What a sad reply, it’s like saying my dad is bigger than your dad. Read what I put. It is the truth, even if it hurts your feelings. Norm is a vain pratt. Don’t get personal with me only there are lots of others who have stated the same.
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:00 pm
And so are you Hard up and Fed up
July 19th, 2008 at 12:28 am
Bettison has been exposed before of course: he was accused of black propoganda in the House of Commons by a Labour Minister Maria Eagle MP. The people of Merseyside started a ‘Jettison Bettison’ campaign to get rid of him. He recently lost a ‘no confidence’ vote by his officers, then another one by the civilian workers here in West Yorkshire. The contrast between him and the guy he replaced, the late Colin Cramphorn, could not be more stark.
July 18th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Chenier
Aw shucks!
You’ve gone and embarrassed me
July 18th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
edit-dr,
may I compliment you on your contribution to the thread?
July 18th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Hey Larry, Lady Bettison was so wondersful, she was knocking off Norm for years behind his wife’s back. When Norm presents himself as a happily married family man at job interviews whilst knocking off the wonderful Lady B, and then transferes her to Merseyside into a cushy job to be near him I cannot see how either of them were efficient at work. I believe there are offences under the discipline code. He came back to West Yorkshire saying he wanted every officer to eat sleep, go to bed and wake up thinking police. What a bloody hypocrite. His thoughts were his next screw. Get a life Larry, this man is a vain pratt.
[rel - dr]
July 18th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I worked with Gillian B too - she was ok. Norman on the other hand is exactly as described by the Daily Mail - a greedy vain moron, [edit - dr] only interested in what he can get for himself. Don’t be fooled by his slimy charm - all a front.
Hurry up and retire you sad old fool and let some of the really good young officers coming through - men and women of integrity - replace these old [edit - dr] dinosaurs like Norman Bettison.
[rel - dr]
July 17th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Well I’m getting fed up with all the crap being said about Norman Bettison. If thats not bad enough you want to drag his wife into this, come on,whats she ever done wrong to you. Yes Lady B was a Police Officer and I worked along side her for a number of years, I found her to be a very pleasant and efficient officer. What happened in Normans marriage is none of your bloody business. It is between Norman and his ex-wife. I suggest some of you stand back and look at youself, are you a saint or not. I would say ‘NO YOU ARE NOT.’
July 14th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
The article he wrote on the ‘Health and Safety Taliban’, now safely referenced in Wiki, does not inspire confidence, I must say.
Under the guise of supporting his splendid officers, he manages to use the word ‘I’ a remarkable number of times.
And somebody really should have stopped him writing:
”I’ve done 35 years of pushing the boundaries and I’m not going to stop now.”
It makes him look like a total prat…
July 14th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I cannot see him ever getting the Met job. He would have to employ a whole division to rewrite his Wikipedia page. The man has no man management skills whatsoever. I had the misfortune to serve under him at West Yorks when he was ACC and knocking off Lady B.
July 13th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
There should be a sitcom about this joker Norman Bettison - a vain old police chief getting coppers to rewrite his wikipedia page and polish his ego for him while he tries to sue the force for a pension on top of his pay! You couldn’t make it up. I so hope he does go for Ian Blair’s job…the press coverage will be fantastic.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Big Mick, have you thought about Sir Norman’s first wife whom he dragged all over pursuing his career, whilst at the same time conducting his illicit affair with Lady B. He applied for and got the job at West Yorks, posing as a happily married, true and honest man, likewise at Merseyside. All the time he was knocking of LadyB. Perhaps someone could enlighted the public as to the rumour that he had Lady B transferred from South Yorks to Merseyside, purely to be near him for the relationship to continue behind the back of the ex Mrs Bettison. I don’t see any of this on his Wikipedia web site. How could he keep his eye on the ball whilst having such a complicated private life. Big Mick you don’t seem to grasp the bigger picture about this clown who got a knighthood for services to the police. It should have been for servicing Lady B before he ditched his poor first wife.
July 5th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
That last message brought to you courtesy of Norman Bettison’s Staff Officer!!
July 4th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Now youre having a go at his wife!!!! what kind of “men” are you? If you dislike him so much punch him in the nose, by going on about whether orr not he dyes his hair or has put a bit of weight on you sound like a load of old tarts, all those on here would whinge and whine anonymously about the guy are pathetic losers who couldnt do his job in a million years.
PS I a not a Police Officer, nor am I paid by NB to represent him in any way just sick of the way you tossers continue to snipe at a decent bloke.
PPS If you have EVIDENCE of illegality or wrongdoing expose the man. If not shut the fuck up.
Mind how you go.
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:25 am
Yes - she is an ex copper - Gillian, now Lady B. I think the strongest comment I could put on here is that she is as unpleasant as he is, and they are well matched. If you look on some of the police forums you’ll see a bit more from other West Yorkshire lads and lasses.
June 17th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Can anyone verify that ‘Lady’ Bettison is an ex policewoman? There are other things re Lady B. I have heard from cops in West Yorkshire. Hey, if you are reading Norm, perhaps you could tell us the truth, or would it tarnish your ‘image’.
ed&relaw0605
June 2nd, 2008 at 11:50 am
As a copper who worked with Bettison in Merseyside I can tell you he is one of the biggest plonkers in policing - he is another Richard Brunstrom, with the added vices of egotism and greed. I’m sure a lot more will come out when he finally retires - he looked quite frayed last time I saw him - fatter, fake tan, dyed black hair (he was going grey when he was our chief - jet black now) - so hopefully for the lads and lasses in West Yorks that’ll be sooner rather than later.
M and A
So tell us, did you like him?
May 30th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Er, a number of the conributors below are clearly police officers - check out their links - as am I. I work for Bettison in West Yorks and I can tell you he is a moron, widely disliked by officers and support staff (who have just threatened to strike), and he’s the most egotistical man I’ve ever met. And nasty with it. The Daily Mail had it right - greedy vain moron.
May 26th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I totally agree with big mick. How can Bettison be slated by people that have never been in the shoes of which his job entails?!
I think he is and has done a fine job throughout his years of policing!
May 8th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
God how you morons go on, if you could do half the job Bettison has to do, with poncing politicians, whingeing time serving coppers, and a public that have as much moral backbone as a jellyfish we should think ourselves fortunate that he didnt retire when he could have and took over WYP when it was in trouble.
One day the British public will get the police service it deserves. Then you will be glad of the Norman Bettisons of this world
April 24th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
I’ve had a response to my foi request - totally unhelpful
http://www.bradfordvision.co.uk/node/13172
April 10th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Believe it or not, Bettison’s PR people and lackeys continue to try and rewrite his page - as recently as 31st March 08 a W Yorks press person tried to remove all reference to the wikipedia story. Talk about having more ego than common sense.
April 10th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Progess (lack of) Report
It seems that while a huge team is available to polish Sir Norm’s ego that there is only one person to deal with FOI requests and she’s just got back from hols so no joy yet.
April 7th, 2008 at 7:56 am
I really feel for the Officers of WYP, having to put up with this fool. His new shift pattern is clearly not working, the bobbies cannot cope with the volume of calls coming in due to the lack of numbers of response officers available, yet the NPT and PCSOs are claiming its wonderful. (because they dont work nights).
Lets just hope that Ian Blair does retire soon…..
March 31st, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Unbelievably, Bettison’s henchmen have started trying to edit his page into a puff piece again as recently as 26th March (they use the log-in webteam3) - some people never learn!!
Vanity and ego before common sense!