Testimonies from the inquiry have shown big problems with the way Post Office investigators treated postmasters. In addition, the Post Office held all the information and, crucially, was the entity that investigated and then brought the prosecutions against employees, rather than the police. Postmasters say they felt a deep loyalty toward the community-centric role played by the Post Office – so much so, that some topped up company accounts with their own money to shore up discrepancies on the computer system. Many subpostmasters had served as Post Office employees for much of their careers, or had opened up postal branches with family members, particularly among many migrants of Ugandan-Indian origin who had relocated to Britain in the 1970s. Why did the faulty software go unrevealed for so long?Ī complex web of staff loyalty to the company, unreciprocated trust by subpostmasters toward management, and a culture of blame all fed the situation. The software contained faults that made it appear money was missing from Post Office branches, when all was in fact accounted for. However, years later it came to light that the problem was not wrongdoing, but Horizon. A total of 736 subpostmasters were prosecuted. Many were sent to prison, with an average of 30 subpostmasters jailed every year between 20. When the Post Office higher-ups became aware of the discrepancies, they began taking local staff straight to court, accusing them of theft, false accounting, and fraud. Staff running local branches, known as subpostmasters and mistresses, soon noticed that the computer software did not match the amount of money they had manually recorded at the end of a working day. In 1999, the British Post Office introduced a new accounting system, Horizon, to tally transactions. When the British Post Office trusted computer accounting over the word of its employees, it ended up ruining hundreds of lives on faulty data. I hope they get them, and with those answers, an enduring belief that their voice matters. Closer to home, teenage volunteers at the Hyde Square Task Force – a group focused on uplifting Boston’s Latin Quarter – made a similar impact when they discovered that prices at a major regional grocery chain were 18% higher in a working-class, minority neighborhood than in a nearby suburb. The teens have since been on the local media circuit, demanding answers. But hopelessness can give way to curiosity and action. One reporter, Lucia Lopez, told The Boston Globe that their story taught Amherst a valuable lesson: “We’re not perfect, and our system can fail, too.”For me, this is a reminder of the power that young people can wield when they’re tuned in to their community.Many studies paint a picture of increasingly depressed and disengaged American youth. It explored why the behavior continued for years despite complaints by staff and parents. A Title IX investigation is underway, and several school officials have been put on leave. But here’s a heartening piece of the story: The exposé was written by high schoolers.The nearly 5,000-word report came from a team of Amherst Regional High School seniors under the guidance of their journalism teacher and the Student Press Law Center. Then came the bombshell report.Sources allege that three middle school guidance counselors routinely identified trans students by the wrong gender, failed to curb bullying by classmates, and on one occasion, led an anti-LGBTQ+ prayer before school. The university town had long been seen as a haven for LGBTQ+ families – liberal and open-minded. The news shocked Amherst, Massachusetts, to its core.
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