CONFIDENTIAL
CONF
Home Affairs Department Sounding of Public
Reaction to the Police Rejection of the
Amnesty taken on Monday, 7th November 1977
After Amnesty
Feedback from members of the City District Committees and Area Committees
1. 140 leading members from 10 City District Committees and
77 Area Committees were approached by CDOs and pledged their full support for the Government's line and condemned the further demands of a minority of the Police as "unreasonable". They said that the Governor's offer of a partial amnesty came as a surprise to them but considered that it was both generous and timely. They urged that the Police Force should accept this very generous offer and devote their time and energy to the important duties of maintaining law and order without further delay.
Feedback from MOOD Contacts
(400 MOOD respondents were contacted the morning of Monday 7.11.77)
2. They generally considered that the amnesty is an acceptable
and right judgment, considering the realities of the situation.
The announcement should also have usefully pre-empted further actions by the Police in the hope of getting Public support. The public had been sympathetic with the Police prior to the
Hutchinson House Incident and had considered that some kind of
pardon was necessary in order that the Police's morale be boosted
and that law and order be maintained. Now that Government has
made that announcement, they felt that any request for further
concessions from the Police was unreasonable. They therefore
strongly advocated that Government should adopt a hard and
firm line and not to succumb to any further threats or black-
mail tactics.
3. The public saw the announcement of the amnesty as a very sudden
measure which was apparently in contradiction with the declared policy of eradication of corruption. However, they appreciated that there must have been very cogent reasons for making the
decision.
14.