UKPoliceOnline

PM explains 'relatively honest police'...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 13:54:44 +0000

The comment was made in the context of the difficulties of building democracies in countries like Libya.
He told Sky News it was important he did not to claim to have a perfect system, after the Leveson inquiry and political scandals.
The Police Federation of England and Wales said it was satisfied by his explanation of the "clumsy" remark.
In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the G8 summit, Mr Cameron said there was still a lot of work to do in Libya to build state institutions.
He told Sky: "We... sometimes take for granted a bit in the West, you know, that you have a relatively honest police force, a standing Army, you have the institutions of government so things can get done.
"Some of these countries that were run by dictators literally had no proper functioning institutions of the state."
'Not perfect'
Questioned about the police comment, he said: "What I meant was, I'm not saying everything about our country is perfect, we've had cash for questions problems in our Parliament, we have problems following all the Leveson stuff about police who have done bad things, journalists who have done bad things and so on."
He added he did not want to "get into" the "plebgate" row involving his former chief whip Andrew Mitchell, now the subject of a police investigation - after the MP was accused of describing police as "plebs".
"All I was trying to hint in that answer is we should never say we have some sort of absolutely perfect system. The point I was making is we can sometimes not understand just how broken the institutions are in some of these countries."
But he said Libya could still be "a great success story".
The remark attracted some criticism on Twitter. But the Association of Chief Police Officers said it had no comment.
Steve Williams, chairman of the Police Federation which represents officers up to the rank of chief inspector, said: "The description was clumsy in that it has been interpreted in a way that I am sure is far from what he meant.
"I am satisfied by his further clarification that he was intending to demonstrate the differences between the West in general and unstable regimes."
The G8 summit begins in Northern Ireland on Monday and will be attended by the Libyan prime minister, Mr Cameron said.
'relatively honest police'

Unlike our relatively dishonest Politicians!

" I will make this promise: I will always back you, I will always support you, I will always fight for you."

Dale Cregan murders:

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:06:10 +0000

On arrival at Hyde police station Cregan said: "I've murdered two police officers"
Continue reading the main story

It was a seemingly routine call-out to a housing estate in Greater Manchester - the type police officers attend every day.
There was nothing to suggest it would end up in the execution-style shooting of two unarmed female police officers on the quiet estate.
Identifying himself as Adam Gartree, the caller dialled 999 telling police operators someone had thrown a concrete slab through the back window of his house on Abbey Gardens, Mottram and run off.
But, that caller was in fact Britain's most wanted man Dale Cregan, 29, who was already being hunted by police for the murders of father-and-son Mark and David Short.
Grenade on fireplace
Cregan had stayed the previous night at 30 Abbey Gardens, arriving there late at night by taxi. He had only a vague connection with the occupant, who lived there with his partner and her child.
Continue reading the main story“Start Quote

You were hounding my family so I took it out on yous”

Dale CreganAt the time of his arrest
During his trial at Preston Crown Court, Nicholas Clarke QC, prosecuting, said the family knew Cregan and were "terrified" by his presence.
On arrival, he placed a hand grenade on the fireplace in full view of the man whose house he had invaded, "should he need any reminder of Cregan's capabilities", Mr Clarke said.
They made no attempt to inform the police of his whereabouts.
The fugitive then drank beer and smoked cigars, which he sent the householder out to buy.
The following morning, Cregan was perfectly plausible in his call to police at 10:16 BST, according to police logs, as he gave a description of the bogus offender and the direction in which he fled.
Cregan appeared to end the call cordially telling the operator "Thanks very much... I'll be waiting".
Immediately paralysed
However, those final words were the catalyst for what has been described as the "darkest day in the history of the Greater Manchester Police force" by Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy.
Continue reading the main story'Shameful waste of life'

Ian Hanson, chairman of the Greater Manchester Police Federation, said officers go to calls like the one Cregan made "about seven [or] eight times a day".
"It could have been any police officer in the Greater Manchester Police force," Mr Hanson said.
"It was unprecedented and you cannot legislate against something like that.
"They were murdered for no other reason than they were police officers.
"It's an absolute shameful waste of life - there's no justification for it."
The job was passed to two female officers PC Nicola Hughes, from Diggle, Oldham and PC Fiona Bone who lived in Sale.
As the two unsuspecting officers reached the front garden of the house at 10:52, Mr Clarke said Cregan opened the door and fired at them with his pistol with an extended magazine that was fully loaded.
Mr Clarke said PC Hughes tried to run but was hit in the back below her body armour. She was immediately paralysed and fell forwards on to the path. Cregan shot at her three more times.
PC Bone, who was trapped in the garden, tried to shoot Cregan with a stun gun but fell as he fired a total of 24 bullets at her, Mr Clarke told the court.
Mr Clarke said only 31 seconds elapsed between PC Hughes switching off the police car engine and PC Bone firing the Taser - such was the speed of the attack.
Cregan then turned back to PC Hughes, who he shot in the head with his last bullet before throwing a grenade, described as his "calling card" during his trial, towards the officers and discarding the pistol.
Det Supt Simon Barraclough said: "He discharged 32 rounds of ammunition - these were all the bullets he had."
'Done two coppers'

Seconds later, he drove off at "enormous speed" in the householder's BMW, before springing yet another surprise.
Rather than making a getaway Cregan, who was the subject of a national manhunt - with a £50,000 reward for information leading to his conviction - then pulled up at Hyde police station and handed himself in.
CCTV footage shows him arriving at the police station and giving himself up.
He put his arms out to be handcuffed and told the counter clerk: "I'm wanted by the police and I've done two coppers."
He then told an officer: "I dropped the gun at the scene and I've murdered two police officers.
"You were hounding my family so I took it out on yous."
He later expressed remorse the officers he murdered were women.
"... sorry about those two that have been killed, I wish it was men," he said.

.................................

video on web site!

The verdict and reactions of @GMPFederation can be seen here! https://twitter.com/GMPFederation

R.I.P. killed officers
Both PC Nicola Hughes and PC Fiona Bone died "doing the job they loved"

Riot Police In Soho

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 11:54:48 +0000

Protesters with banners have gathered at a former police station in Beak Street ahead of the two-day G8 summit in Northern Ireland next week.
The move by police came as protesters from the group Stop G8 planned a "Carnival Against Capitalism" in central London, with a march from midday followed by a street party on Piccadilly Circus at 5.30pm.
LBC 97.3's Tom Swarbrick reports from outside the building: "One hundred plus riot police are surrounding a building on Beak Street which is being occupied by protesters.
"One man is standing on the roof and has displayed a flag in opposition to the G8 meeting. Officers are attempting to evict them now.
"The protesters are due to meet en masse at Piccadilly Circus at noon."

The Metropolitan Police will use stop and search powers on any potential troublemakers and have the ability to remove masks from protesters.
The Stop G8 website provided this map, with 100 potential targets of their action, which they claim are the hiding places of capitalism.

The leaders of the world's eight wealthiest countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, are due to meet at the luxury Lough Erne resort in Co Fermanagh for the two-day conference next week.
US President Barack Obama is to visit parts of Belfast ahead of the summit.

Minor detail to protesters, they cannot hear you, BTW nor do they care!

From beat to tweet

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 14:28:34 +0000

Once used by teenagers and social media enthusiasts, it’s now a serious force for solving crime. Rod McPhee looks at how Twitter is enhancing community policing.

JUST 12 months ago, Sergeant James Main of Humberside Police only had a very faint understanding of what Twitter was. He certainly wouldn’t have considered it a crime-fighting tool.
But a year later his personal account now boasts more than 5,400 followers and his tweets have led to a number of arrests and convictions. Were it not for the social networking site, those arrests and convictions might not have been secured so quickly. They might not have been secured at all.
Initially Sgt Main, better known as @SgtJamesMain, had to be convinced. (In fact, he had to go on a crash course before he could even get started.) But, once the benefits became clear, it wasn’t long before he became a social network convert.
“I remember a CID officer asked me to put a tweet out for an appeal following quite a nasty assault,” he says.“Often she would put out a press release through conventional media, sometimes without much success.
“But within 30 minutes of putting that Tweet out in the morning, we actually had the offender’s vehicle, registration number and two names given  to us.
“The beauty of Twitter is that you’re reaching such a high number of people in such a short space of time. That’s why we have so much success and why Twitter is now, essentially, a part of everyday policing for us.
“In fact, I’ve just put out an appeal for a missing 15-year-old schoolgirl and you should see the amount of retweets we get.”
Sgt Main formed part of a trial number of Humberside officers using Twitter. Now its use has spread across the force and across the region. But he boasts one of the biggest followings.
“It has exceeded all our expectations,” he says. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say we couldn’t manage without it, but let’s just say Twitter is now part-and-parcel of our tool box.
“It costs us 30 seconds of time to compose a Tweet. And if something happens you don’t have to wait for the next day’s newspapers to get something out there, to use the general public’s eyes and ears.”
In fact, he sees it as being so vital he even checks his Twitter home page on days off, lest he miss any vital appeals or information sent in from the public.
But the biggest bonus is reaching out to young people who are a substantial presence on Twitter.
“They are a hard-to-reach group,” says Sgt Main. “We have meetings in areas where older people tend to attend, but getting younger people to come to those meetings is difficult.
“Whereas with social media you actually have that captive audience. We have quite a following now with some of the schools and students.
“As a result, that builds up a trust and a relationship. Twitter hasn’t replaced traditional methods of policing, it’s just another alternative. It’s actually enhanced traditional policing and put a human face on it. Social networking breaks down barriers and shows that we’re actually human beings under the uniform.”
PC Matt Guy, who walks the beat at Leeds University, knows only too well the importance, and the difficulties, of reaching out to young people.
He’s only been in the job a matter of months, but one of the first things he did on arrival was set up a Twitter account which he could use to interact with the student population.
“I think it’s as much a way of combating the fear of crime,” says PC Guy “It’s letting people know who we are, what we look like and where we are.
“It also reassures people that we are looking into anything and everything, all those crimes which people really care about, as much as the really big things.”
Working in an environment where PC Guy (@PCMattGuy) is surrounded by increasingly tech-savvy teenagers and 20-somethings makes Twitter a necessity
“It’s about developing a conversation with the students, whether that’s via the staff at the university or the students’ union. Because there is a problem with students not reporting crime. The other week we had a case where a group of people jumped out on passers-by in Hyde Park and tried to mug them. Unfortunately for the muggers they picked on some big rugby lads and they sent them on their way. But those lads needed to make everyone aware of that, because the next person they jump out on might not be able to look after themselves in the same way.”
Fortunately, some of the students have been forthcoming. Just a few days ago he received a tweet providing a lead into a local robbery investigation.
It’s also breaking down some of the perceptions of police as being distant and aloof – particularly among young people and, as is often the case at Leeds University, among young people from different cultures.
“I had to visit a house of Chinese students the other day,” says PC Guy. “And they seemed quite surprised to see me, which is perhaps because where they’re from if the police come knocking at your door it’s probably because you’ve done something wrong.
“And I think younger people in general think you’re going to be a bit of a Life on Mars character. But hopefully having a name, a face and a conversation with them on Twitter helps dispel that idea.”
Across the various Neighbourhood Policing Team zones in Leeds, some 2,500 people follow the activities of their local Bobbies. West Yorkshire Police alone now have a staggering 25,000 Twitter followers.
In neighbouring Harrogate, Sergeant Ed Rogerson, 31, has blazed a trail for the use of social networking in crime fighting. It all started five years ago when he created a YouTube appeal for help to find local graffiti vandals. The mini-film has since attracted over 50,000 views.
Five years later and he has almost 6,000 followers(one of the highest in the UK, no doubt the highest in the region) and his feed is regularly filled with tweets relaying multiple success stories.
But the biggest coup for Sgt Rogerson (@hotelalpha9) is the rise in his personal profile – and not for reasons of ego.
“I took a prisoner in the other day and he told me he recognised me and it turns out he actually follows me on Twitter,” he laughs. “But that’s a positive thing because it not only makes the public aware of the fact you are out and about it also makes potential offenders aware of that fact too. It’s reassurance for the general public but also a deterrent for would-be criminals.
“What’s also powerful is the broad spectrum of people using Twitter. It’s not just young people, it’s often older people who don’t always get out and about as much. But this allows you to make your presence known regardless. They can just log on and see that I am in their area, perhaps on their street. That adds to their peace of mind.
“Using Twitter is heightening that sense of community policing and I think the tagline on my Twitter page says it all: ‘I want to engage with my community in both modern & traditional ways.’”
Often seen patrolling while tweeting on his mobile, PC Rogerson is something of a local celebrity and a bit of a local hero too. Via Twitter he has regularly helped to bring in wanted persons and even returned an iPad found in Harrogate to its rightful owner – in Thailand.
He has also recently landed an arrest for criminal damage, via an appeal he put out on Twitter, and he’s just uploaded CCTV footage of a shoplifter police would like to speak to.
“I never really intended for Twitter to become some kind of crime-fighting tool, not initially,” says PC Rogerson. “It was just to let people know what I was doing.
“But interacting via Twitter has now become so normal, so widespread that it’s vital we keep up with the technology, in many ways we’re already playing catch up. And we do need to catch up because the technology is moving so fast.
“I started out using YouTube and Facebook and then moved on to Twitter, but you can bet that, sooner or later, something else will come along and supersede Twitter too.”

Still don’t know what Twitter is?
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that lets users send and read text-based messages of up to 140 characters, known as “tweets”.
The service was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and now has more than 500 million registered users worldwide.
Twitter has become one of the 10 most visited websites on the internet, generating more than 340 milion tweets daily and handling over 1.6 billion search queries per day.
The service now has over 10 million users in Britain alone – almost one in six people in the country. Britain is the fourth largest user of Twitter in the world.

http://www.yorkshire...crime-1-5694458

I often wonder why more Forces do not use Twitter fully!

Wetherspoon's plans branch at M40 motorway...

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 10:57:42 +0000

Opening pubs at motorway service areas would be of “concern”, a health minister warned today.

Dr Dan Poulter, a hospital doctor who is now an MP, was surprised to learn of the proposal by pub chain JD Wetherspoon.
“It’s quite an extraordinary story,” he told Sky News.
“We know that even minimum alcohol in the bloodstream can affect people’s reaction to drive.
"So that’s something that I would certainly as a doctor have some concerns over.”
He stressed local licensing committees would be able to decide whether pubs should be located on motorways.
But Wetherspoon’s defended its decision to open premises at a motorway service area, and said it would not be checking if drinkers were planning to drive.
Chairman Tim Martin said he hoped it would be the first of many such pubs on Britain’s motorway network.
Wetherspoon’s has been granted permission for a 24-hour bar and restaurant at junction 2 of the M40 at Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, which will have a licence to serve alcohol from 8am to 1am seven days a week.
The pub, which is not directly on the motorway but off a slip road, is expected to be open by Christmas.
Dr Poulter spoke out as the Home Office moves to possibly relax restrictions on alcohol sales at motorway service areas.
It has been consulting on a law currently banning the sale of alcohol at motorway service areas on public land.
But the health minister was strongly supported by road safety and alcohol awareness campaigners.
Sir Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: “Opening a bar at a service station sends out completely the wrong message if we are trying to prevent harm from alcohol-related traffic accidents.”
Carol Whittingham, founder of the Campaign Against Drink Driving, added: “I’m absolutely astounded they have got permission for this. People will be tempted to drink and drive and I can’t understand how the local authority has allowed this.”
But Wetherspoon’s played down the idea that the opening was likely to lead to drink-driving, with a spokesman saying: “We don’t see any problem.”
He pointed out that motorway drivers were already able to purchase alcohol easily if they wanted.
The company said it had received no objections to the plans after meeting representatives from Thames Valley Police and South Buckinghamshire District Council. It said the £2 million development with service area operator Extra would create 50 jobs.
Mr Martin said: “We are looking forward to opening our first licensed bar and restaurant on the motorway network.
“The company has always been innovative and this is an exciting new development for us. Hopefully it will be the first of many Wetherspoons on the motorway.”
Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Most drivers are sensible, but you have to question a policy that encourages drivers to pull off to take a break and then offers them up a pint.”
However he pointed out that Home Office figures last year showed at least seven other service areas where alcohol was served. Some of these were believed to be at hotels on private land.

Seems good idea, get pissed, drive off doing 70 MPH.

April Jones Murder:

Thu, 30 May 2013 12:17:13 +0000

Mark Bridger has been found guilty of the abduction and murder of schoolgirl April Jones.
The five-year-old vanished while playing on her bike near her home in Machynlleth, mid-Wales, on October 1 last year.
Her body has never been found despite the biggest search in British policing history.
A jury of nine women and three men convicted Bridger of abducting and murdering April, and of of unlawfully disposing of and concealing her body with intent to pervert the course of justice.Bridger in police custody after his arrest
The 47-year-old former slaughterhouse worker had denied the allegations and claimed he killed the youngster when he accidentally ran over her, but could not remember what he did with the body because he was drunk and panicking.
The jury returned the unanimous verdicts following four hours and six minutes of deliberations.
In the dock, Bridger, wearing a blue shirt and spotted tie, appeared to hold back tears as the guilty verdicts were read out in court.
April's grieving parents, Paul and Coral Jones, who have attended every day of the month-long trial, looked on from the public gallery.Bridger in handcuffs flanked by two uniformed police officers
Mrs Jones wiped tears away from her face as she heard the verdicts, which were met in complete silence.
Elwen Evans QC, prosecuting, told the trial Bridger murdered five-year-old April and then played a "cruel game" in an attempt to cover his tracks.
Drops of April's blood and fragments of bone, thought to have come from an adolescent human, were found by forensics officers at Bridger's rented cottage, Mount Pleasant, in Ceinws, Powys. It was visited by the jury in the first week of the trial.
Jurors were told that Bridger was a "fantasist" who had "a clear interest in child pornography and in child murder cases".
He had been watching a brutal rape scene from the 2009 re-make of the slasher film, The Last House on the Left, "not long before" April was murdered, it can be reported for the first time.
The jury was shown indecent images stored on a computer taken from the killer's home.
They included many extreme pictures of naked underage girls being sexually abused, as well as cartoon images featuring "monster sex" with "humanoids" abusing girls.
Bridger was also found to have decent images of April, her half-sisters, aged 13 and 16, and of the victims of "real-life" crimes including Soham victims Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.Bridger with a gun
On the day April was abducted, Bridger's girlfriend had ended their relationship and he had tried to ask out three different women on Facebook.
The youngster was playing near her home on the day disappeared with a seven-year-old friend, who told the court she had seen April get into Bridger's Land Rover.

................................................................................................................................................................

The ultimately fruitless search for five-year-old April Jones began as a frantic race against time to find her alive and well.

As the hours turned to days and early optimism evaporated, the focus switched to the bleak reality of recovering her body.
In those early days no one imagined they were involved in the biggest search in British policing history - with a budget to match.
Official estimates have put the bill for searching for the missing schoolgirl at £2.4 million.
Running, as it ultimately did, from October 1 2012 to April 19 2013, the search took in tens of thousands of man hours and a mountain of resources.
From the outset, the search for April was a large-scale operation with dozens of professionals and hundreds of volunteers.
Once all hope of finding her alive receded, the eager though amateur volunteer efforts were no longer appropriate.
Then the meticulous professional task of combing the rugged countryside around Machynlleth began in earnest.
Detectives identified more than 650 individual search areas, taking in more than 23 square miles of terrain.
A total of 150 officers worked together each day, regularly starting at 8am and carrying on until it was too dark to continue.
Dyfed Powys police had 23 members of staff working in the Holmes major incident room at the height of the investigation.
The Home Office Large Major Enquiry System (Holmes) is an IT network used to investigate serial killings and major crimes.
The system carefully sifts a mass of information as it comes in and ensures that vital clues are not overlooked.
It is designed to be completely compatible and consistent across all police forces in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
In addition to high tech IT, Dyfed Powys received support from more than 45 forces across the UK for searching and investigating.
The search operation eventually concluded on April 19 after running, with very few breaks, for almost seven months.
On average, 16 search teams consisting of six officers and one leader have been out scouring the countryside around Machynlleth every day.
Backing them up have been six police search advisors (POLSA) and a team of 10 highly-trained police dogs.
Up to 100 mountain rescuers have taken part in the operation over its duration, climbing rugged and potentially dangerous terrain.
The Dyfed Powys Police marine unit has led river and sea search efforts, aided by a team of kayakers and two RNLI vessels.
During the inquiry, launched in parallel with the search, police received 4,744 individual calls and messages from the public.
Officers conducting house-to-house inquiries visited 700 properties in and around the west Wales market town.
From the calls, messages and conversations received, 2,159 actions were identified for officers to follow up.
During the investigation, 1,018 written statements were taken and 2,918 exhibits were seized.
Twitter followers of the Dyfed Powys Police feed increased from 2,400 in the last week of last September to more than 12,500 in the first week of October.
Over the same period, visits to the police website rose from 18,455 unique visits to almost 100,000.

http://www.independe...rs-8637731.html

R.I.P. April Jones!

Moment gangsters on bicycles opened fire on police

Thu, 30 May 2013 11:41:36 +0000

This is the dramatic moment three thugs opened fire on an unmarked police car as they hunted down rival gang members.
Ricardo Miles, 21, Daniel Ikumelo, 23, and Adebola Alimi, 22, cycled through the streets of Hackney, east London, armed with a gun searching for enemies in a gangland feud.
When an unmarked police car pulled up alongside the trio, Miles turned and fired the .45 revolver at the officers. Fortunately the bullet hit the ground in front of the vehicle.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

The dramatic moment Ricardo Miles opens fire on an unmarked police car as he and two other gangsters cycle through the streets of Hackney looking for rivals

Ricardo Miles (left) and Daniel Ikumelo (right) are among the three gang members who have been convicted of possessing a colt calibre revolver with the intent to endanger life, possessing ammunition and possessing a knife

The gang members, including Adebola Alimi (pictured) were cycling through the streets of Hackney, east London, when the incident took place
Miles then tried to fire again, but the weapon jammed and he pointed it threateningly at officers as they sped off. They abandoned their bikes and threw away the weapon before fleeing over a footbridge on January 10 last year.
Miles, from Enfield, Ikumelo, from Islington and Alimi, from Hackney, are facing years behind bars after they were convicted of possessing a colt calibre revolver with the intent to endanger life, possessing ammunition and possessing a knife after a trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court.
They were remanded in custody ahead of sentence on July 5.
All three had denied involvement, claiming they were not at the scene of the shooting.
The court heard the trio, members of Hackney's Certified Southwold Road gang, had been looking for rivals from the Gilpin Square gang.
PC Richard Gilbert spotted the group acting suspiciously at around 11.30pm and approached them in the unmarked police care with another officer in the passenger seat.
'They were all fiddling with their waists, and I assumed they were going to drop something, or hide something, which is often the case,' he said.
'As they were doing that the male in the white produced a handgun and fired a shot towards us into the ground. There was a loud bang, a flash and then sparks just in front of the car where we were.
'I put the vehicle in reverse and tried to put some distance between us and the males in question. The male in white continued to point the gun towards us over his shoulder as they cycled away.'

More...

Jurors were played CCTV of the three males firing at the car from only metres away in Mandeville Street, Homerton before fleeing over a footbridge towards Hackney Marshes.
They also dropped a knife at the scene, less than half a mile from the Olympic Park, the court heard.
Prosecutor Julian Jones said: 'These defendants were riding out into the Gilpin Square territory with the intention to endanger the lives of rival gang members.'
They were arrested in May 2012 after a long police investigation.

After firing at the unmarked police car, the gun jams when they attempt to shoot again

The trio then attempt to flee on their bicycles as the police car reverses after being shot at

CCTV footage then shows one of the riders falling off his bike after he hits a fence and then running away
Jurors were read Blackberry phone messages between the defendants in the days after the incident saying they were 'on the run' because of 'madness'.
The messages mentioned someone taking 'a burst at the feds', slang for shooting at police officers.
There was another message sent a day after the incident from Ikumelo, to Miles, the shooter, saying 'if you have a picture of the whistle (gun) delete them all now.'

'Today's result is the culmination of a great deal of hard work by Trident which has lead to the conviction of three dangerous offenders'
- Detective Inspector Neil Bradburn
In 2010 Miles and Ikumelo were given suspended sentences for affray after two fighting dogs were let loose in a train carriage packed with commuters at Stamford Hill station following a fight between rival gangs.
Detective Inspector Neil Bradburn, from Trident North East Shootings Team, said: 'Today's result is the culmination of a great deal of hard work by Trident which has lead to the conviction of three dangerous offenders.
'More than 1,000 London gang members are now either locked up or subject to legal restrictions as a result of activity by the Met's Trident Gang Crime Command.
'This investigation clearly demonstrates that tackling gang-related violence remains a key priority for The Met and we will continue to target and convict those who choose to carry weapons and cause harm in London's communities.'

Video on web site!

Limit on police bail

Tue, 28 May 2013 13:13:06 +0000

More than 57,000 people are on police bail in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, according to figures obtained by the BBC.
In one case a person arrested three-and-a-half years ago remains on bail.
The Law Society told BBC Radio 5 live it wanted a review of police bail practices and said there should be a statutory time limit on police bail.
The data was collated from 34 of the 44 police forces that responded to a Freedom of Information request.
Bail in Scotland is granted by the Scottish Courts Service and not by the police.
The Law Society data shows that at least 57,428 people are currently on bail. Of those, 3,172 have been waiting for more than six months for a decision on charges.
There is currently no limit on how long a person can be kept on police bail before a decision on whether to charge them is made.

There have been a number of high-profile cases of people who have been held waiting on police bail for a lengthy period.
They include former News of the World executive Neil Wallis, who was arrested on suspicion of phone hacking in 2011 and on bail for 19 months before being told he would not face any charges.
The figures include one case of a man who has not been told whether or not he will be charged, despite having been arrested and bailed by the Metropolitan Police three years and eight months ago.
The force said the man was a 45-year-old who was arrested in October 2009 on suspicion of fraud. He is next due to answer bail in August.
A spokesman for the Met said: "We are aware of the length of bail time in this case, which has been a very lengthy and complex fraud investigation."
'Review needed'
Conditions can be placed on police bail, which can include curfews and restrictions on movement and financial transactions while an investigation continues.
Neil Wallis: "21 months of hell for my family"
The Law Society of England and Wales says people are often left "in the wilderness" while police decide whether or not they should be charged with a crime.
Richard Atkinson, chairman of the society's criminal law committee, believes the limit should be set at 28 days.
He said: "I would call for a 28-day statutory maximum period for police bail. But it could be extended by applying to a magistrate.
"There, police would have to explain what stage they were at in their investigation and why a further 28-day extension of bail was necessary."
Steven, a former teaching assistant from Newcastle, told the BBC: "After I was arrested, I was on bail for five months before I was told that no further action would be taken against me."
He was arrested in connection with an allegation of sexual assault, which turned out to be false.

Richard Atkinson, of the Law Society: "There's an attitude among some officers to put off until tomorrow"
Steven said being on police bail and waiting for a decision from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) could have a big impact on the lives of those arrested.
He said: "I was suspended from my job and I was scared to leave the house because I was paranoid that people knew I was a police suspect.
"I became severely depressed and contemplated suicide. The uncertainty of not knowing when my ordeal would be over was awful."
'Ruined'
Andrew, a mortgage broker from Shropshire, was arrested with his wife in September 2010 on suspicion of conspiracy to launder money.
His bail ended this month, two years and eight months later.
The police claimed the couple had laundered money through various properties. But Andrew said the police did not communicate with them while the investigation continued and their business suffered.
Continue reading the main story“Start Quote

We've been left penniless and with a huge solicitors' bill that we can't pay”

AndrewMortgage broker
Andrew said: "We couldn't afford to operate from our office so we had to move out of that and instead to work from home.
"A condition of our bail was a restraining order on our banks and properties. We had to disclose to police all our incomings and outgoings. The court allows us to pay certain bills such as mortgages and utility bills. They allowed us £250 a week to live on outside that."
Andrew added: "We had to go to bed and wake up in our house. In that whole time we never slept anywhere else. They took our passports away from us and told us not to travel abroad. They seized the children's laptops and mobile phones and a PC from the house. The PC came back broken and two of three laptops came back broken.
"My wife and I are relieved that no charges have been brought, but our business was ruined during our time on bail. We've been left penniless and with a huge solicitors' bill that we can't pay."
A West Mercia Police spokesman said: "After detailed and lengthy inquiries into this case, a decision was recently made that the suspects should be released without charge. It is recognised that the suspects in this case were on bail for a lengthy period of time.
"This was due to the complex nature of the case, which involved the gathering of a significant volume of financial and other evidence which had to be reviewed and assessed prior to the recent decision having been made.
"Every time a person answers their bail and returns to a police station, the investigating officer must satisfy the custody officer that it is necessary for that person to remain on bail and that inquiries are being carried out expeditiously," he added.
'More with less'
Steve White, the vice-chairman of the Police Federation, said more resources were needed to speed up cases.
He told 5 live: "Resources are always going to have an impact in terms of how quickly we can get stuff done. We are still in the process of dealing with the cuts we are having to face."
Mr White said cuts to the CPS were having a knock-on effect.
"The Police Service is being asked to do more with less and there comes a point where you can't do any more or do it any quicker. The turnaround time in terms of inquiries is sometimes too long. We have to accept that," he added.
"But what do you do as a manager of a team and you have an officer with a caseload where you have several cases where you have people on bail? Do you say to that officer, 'Your priority is to get that work done' and they are not able to go out on patrol the Friday or Saturday night so you're down a person?"
Chris Eyre, Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire and national lead for forensic procurement at the Association of Chief Police Officers, said police bail was an "essential tool in securing justice".
He said: "It allows investigators to ensure every possible avenue is explored, while those arrested need not remain in custody. The huge complexity of some investigations in the 'information age' can mean this takes time.
"Hi-tech crime investigations, computer forensics, CCTV, telephony, using interpreters or gathering evidence across borders and jurisdictions can all take time and painstaking analysis."
A Home Office spokesman said: "We continue to keep police bail provisions under review to ensure they strike the right balance between protecting an individual's right to civil liberty and allowing police to carry out thorough criminal investigations."
The names of some individuals quoted in this article have been changed.

Police force People on bail    Those over six months    Longest case

Met Police                  12,178                        910                                      1,304 days

West Yorkshire             3,979                         859                                       -

Greater Manchester     3,854                          -                                           -

Merseyside                   2,873

Northumbria                  2,304                       159                                        1,088 days

Essex                            2,170                        -                                            -

Sussex                          2,102                      147                                          628 days

Avon & Somerset          2,099                       22                                          8 months

West Midlands              2,096                       85                                           -

Police Service
of Northern Ireland      1,847                         -                                            -

Nottinghamshire          1,796                       177                                        831 days

Lancashire                  1,647                       187                         1 year 10 months 7 days

Hampshire                  1,632                          -                                                -

South Wales               1,372                         1                                          181 days

West Mercia               1,342                        28                                         363 days

Cleveland                   1,170                         -                                     Approx 2 years

Staffordshire              1,147                        82                                               -

Devon & Cornwall     1,092                         107                                      797 days

Lincolnshire              1,082                          -                                                -

Cheshire                    862                           61                                19 months 20 days

Dyfed-Powys              862                            -                                               -

Durham                     754                           -                                              -

Humberside              730                          23                                        814 days

Norfolk                      670                            33                             383 days - now resolved

Wiltshire                   667                              -                                        636 days

North Wales             658                             48                                      885 days

Dorset                     656                             61                                      25 months

Cumbria                  615                            38                                       580 days

Gloucestershire      615                              -                                             -

Northamptonshire   608                            68                                        389 days

Bedfordshire           607                            41                                       645 days

Suffolk                    504                            10                                      10 months

Leicestershire        482                              1                                       219 days

Warwickshire         356                             24                                       391 days

Total                   57,428                         3,172

Enter the water cannon:

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:28:57 +0000

Onlookers said policemen in riot helmets banged batons on plastic shields during gruelling drills.
Meanwhile colleagues played the role of a mob of rioters who were drenched with cold water fired out in short bursts.

The cannon, a custom-built Ziegler Wasserwerfer 9000, was quietly brought in from Northern Ireland ahead of the G8 talks next month.
Up to 4,000 officers are being trained to use water cannon, ostensibly so they can work alongside colleagues across the Irish Sea at the talks at the Lough Erne resort at Enniskillen.
However, with police and officials close to reaching a deal about the purchase of three cannon for the mainland, the officers’ skills will be invaluable beyond G8.

Duck and cover: Met police officers have been traveling to the training facility for the past two weeks to learn how to use the new water cannon

Practice makes perfect: The picture shows a group of Met police during the training drill which saw officers banging batons on plastic shields

Fighting fit: Officers also played the role of the angry mob and had to withstand regular soakings as their colleagues practiced using the water cannon on human targets
The Home Office has signalled it approves of introducing water cannon ‘in principle’, but staff want more details about how exactly they will be used.
Critics believe the machines are a step too far. Some police chiefs say they are unsuitable and human rights lawyers fear they symbolise a creep towards more militant policing.
Calls for water cannon climaxed after the riots of the summer of 2011, which began in London and laid waste to parts of several cities. In the aftermath, Prime Minister David Cameron said ‘nothing is off the table’ to keep order in the streets.
In a report, a senior Met officer concluded ‘water cannon would be valuable in a few rare situations’.
A fleet of six water cannon was used against stone-throwing mobs during the Ulster Troubles and in the marching season, and the machines are in use on a large scale in Germany, Northern Ireland, Belgium and other parts of Europe.

Double jet: The custom-built Ziegler Wasserwerfer 9000 is going to be available in case of riots at this summer's G8 meeting in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland

Riot: Flashback to the 2011 troubles in London's Hackney during the riots
There have been reports of them causing serious injuries, including broken bones and a ruptured spleen.
A protester was blinded in Stuttgart three years ago when he was hit full in the face by a blast of water.
The Metropolitan Police, senior Whitehall officials and the Association of Chief Police Officers all played down the prospect of introducing water cannon to British streets.
It is understood the Met wants control of two of the vehicles. Jenny Jones, a Green politician who scrutinises the Met, said the decision was being made ‘without any proper scrutiny’.
The Met said talks with the Home Office were ongoing.

And about time too!

Forced to declare friendships with journalists

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:28:37 +0000

Every officer in England and Wales will have to formally declare any friendship outside his workplace with a journalist, effectively meaning that people working in media organisations would be placed in the same bracket as criminals.

Many police forces already require their officers and staff to declare any 'associations' with criminals, suspects or private detectives.

Officers who fail to report friendships, and are judged to have concealed the relationship, could now face dismissal for gross misconduct.

The move will alarm censorship campaigners and government ministers, with fears that police forces are trying to usher in a new era of secrecy and taking advantage of the Leveson Inquiry into media standards.

Police managers are already trying to clamp down on whistleblowers and critics within forces, frontline police representatives have warned.

The change emerged in new guidelines on police relationships with the media, published by the new College of Policing, the Daily Mail reported.
The measures were first suggested when former parliamentary standards watchdog Elizabeth Filkin recommended in her report for the Metropolitan Police that extending the system currently in place for reporting associations with criminals should be extended to the media.
Senior officers must now review the names of any friends who work in the media, with police told to register their associations on a secret database.
The guidance also says that forces must name people when they are charged with a criminal offence, unless there are exceptional circumstances involved, meaning they can identify those arrested as part of inquiries when it is in the public interest or when it could help prevent or detect crime.
Prime Minister David Cameron stepped into the row last week, confirming that “making things public should be the working assumption”.
Kirsty Hughes, from Index on Censorship, said: “The default position that people who have been arrested should not be named goes against the principle of open justice that our criminal justice is based on.
“Rather than having a policy of secrecy with exceptional circumstances for naming individuals, Index believes that there should be a policy of openness with exceptional circumstances for withholding information.”

I have reported for UKPO, who is going to grass me up? :) BTW middle name is Daniel

Arrest anonymity not simple

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:11:32 +0000

Home Secretary Theresa May has told police in a letter that names should not normally be revealed at that stage.
Mr Cameron said there was a "difficult balance" between publicising arrests and respecting the privacy of suspects.
The Association of Chief Police Officers said publicising Stuart Hall's arrest did not bring victims forward.
The debate came amid concerns about inconsistent policy among forces.
Some newspapers have also claimed that not naming suspects until they are charged amounted to "secret justice".
'Long-standing debate'
Speaking to reporters during his trip to the US, Mr Cameron said: "I know some people want to connect it specifically with Leveson.
"But actually it's a long-standing debate about how to get the balance right between making things public, which as Theresa has said should be the working assumption, but also respecting privacy where that is appropriate.
"It's a very difficult balance to get right. On the one hand, sometimes making public the details of the arrest can help to bring forward evidence and bring forward potential victims. Therefore it is completely in the public interest.
"Sometimes it is right to respect the privacy of the individual because the publicity around these sorts of arrests can be genuinely life-changing. There is no simple answer to this."
Mrs May's intervention came in a letter to professional standards body the College of Policing.
The home secretary said: "I am concerned that the refusal of some police forces to name suspects who have been charged undermines transparency in the criminal justice system and risks the possibility that witnesses and other victims might not come forward.
"I strongly believe that there should be no right to anonymity at charge apart from in extremely unusual circumstances.
"I believe there should be a right to anonymity at arrest, but I know that there will be circumstances in which the public interest means that an arrested suspect should be named."
'Suspicion and speculation'
Chief Constable Andrew Trotter, who leads on media issues for the Association of Chief Police Officers, denied that the naming of BBC presenter Stuart Hall when he was arrested on charges of indecent assault resulted in more victims coming forward.
Speaking on the Today programme, he said: "Hall would have been charged anyway".
He said the case against Hall was not affected by his naming on arrest, as more victims came forward after he was charged - when he would have been named regardless.
However, Bob Satchwell, executive director of the Society of Editors, a group which campaigns for media freedom, argued that in the case of Hall "publication after arrest led to people coming forward".
He stated there had been "perhaps too many arrests" and argued that publicising the names of arrested suspects would help in "restoring confidence in the police".
He demanded greater transparency as "secrecy of any kind leads to suspicion and speculation" over the behaviour of the police.
'Force behaviour'
Warwickshire Police was criticised for initially refusing to name a retired police officer charged with theft.
The force, which later revealed the suspect's name as Paul Greaves, said it had originally changed its guidance following the Leveson Inquiry into press standards.
Mr Greaves has been charged with the theft of £113,000 from the former Warwickshire Police headquarters at Leek Wootton.
He will appear before magistrates in Leamington Spa on 22 May.
Mrs May wrote: "I understand the Leveson Inquiry might have had an effect on the behaviour of police forces.
"In fact, Lord Leveson's report did not make any substantive recommendations in relation to anonymity so I would like police forces to be aware of this fact."

So how do we keep someone`s name from media. The family might let on that member has been arrested. This is going to get complicated.

May: Life Should Mean Life For Police Killers

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:15:18 +0000

The current starting point for anyone convicted of murdering a police officer in the line of duty is 30 years.
But Theresa May told the Police Federation annual conference that the Government will change to law to increase this to a life sentence without parole.
There have been 12 direct police killings since 2000, including the murder of PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes in Greater Manchester last year.Theresa May arriving for the conference on Wednesday
Mrs May, who was heckled at last year's conference, told this year's event in Bournemouth: "To attack and kill a police officer is to attack the fundamental basis of our society.
"We ask police officers to keep us safe by confronting and stopping violent criminals for us. We ask them to take risks so that we don't have to.
"That is why I am clear that life should mean life for anyone convicted of killing a police officer."
The proposals, to be put to the Sentencing Council, were unveiled before Mrs May was due to take questions from the floor in what is likely to be a heated session.
Last year, she was booed and faced calls to resign as she told officers they should stop pretending the police were being picked on.Dale Cregan killed policewomen Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes
The question-and-answer session has already run into criticism after it emerged Mrs May would have sight of the questions in advance.
Police Federation chair Steve Williams denied the move was to allow her to "vet" questions but to ensure a "constructive debate".
Mrs May's appearance comes after a number of policing reforms were unveiled, including the start of fast-track recruitment and a cut to annual pay for new police constables.
Tensions are likely to remain high when Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Tom Winsor, the author of many of the changes, takes the stage in the afternoon.
Among other suggested reforms is a national register of sacked officers to help prevent them being recruited by other forces.
This was part of a wider set of proposals aimed at restoring faith in the police service after a series of scandals including the phone-hacking affair.
Mr Winsor, a former rail regulator, drew up his package reforms after an 18-month review which sparked outrage among tens of thousands of officers.

�20,000 compensation

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:39:24 +0000

Lee Lewis, 22, suffered multiple injuries when he crashed into a stone wall in Margam, Port Talbot, in 2008.
Five officers were given written warnings for misconduct in 2009 after disobeying orders from their control room to stop pursuing Mr Lewis.
South Wales Police said lessons had been learnt from the incident.
But the family, who were awarded compensation in an out-of-court settlement after a civil claim for negligence, told BBC Wales that this did not minimise their frustration at the way the case was handled.
Mr Lewis died 12 days after the crash in Morriston Hospital, Swansea, in May 2008, after developing blood poisoning.
Five officers were given written warnings for misconduct in 2009 after an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
It concluded they had committed disciplinary offences by disobeying orders from their control room to stop pursuing Mr Lewis, who had been seen driving without lights.
South Wales Police says it has learnt lessons from the incident and taken on board all the IPCC's recommendations.
Continue reading the main story“
The IPCC investigation concluded that none of the officers were qualified to take part in pursuit driving and that some had denied understanding the meaning of the term "stand down".
They were found to have given inaccurate information about their speeds until "black box" recorder devices from their vehicles established they were doing nearly 90mph at times.
An inquest into Mr Lewis's death in January last year found that he lost control of the Ford Fiesta he was driving - which he was said to have taken without consent from his girlfriend's mother - while attempting to turn into a service entrance at Margam Park.
The inquest found that the police officers who had pursued him did not have sight of the car at the time of the crash and that Mr Lewis was not wearing a seatbelt.
The jury recorded a narrative verdict.
'Ruined'
Peter Howells said his grandson's death had ruined his family
Peter Howells, Mr Lewis's grandfather, has called for the case to be reviewed and spoken of his frustration at the sanctions issued to the officers involved.
He added that the compensation - in the name of Mr Lewis's son Iestyn, now aged seven - did not go far enough.
"They didn't even get a speeding fine… they've had nothing, just a slap on the wrist - this isn't justice," said Mr Howells.
"When you think that one policeman had £8,000 for a flea bite. Lee's in the ground, he's gone.
"Until you've actually been through it I don't think you can understand. He was a young man, he had a young baby, and it's ruined our lives."

Describing his grandson as a "loveable rogue," Mr Howells added: "All I can do is try to put right the wrongs."
'Learning process'
Aberavon MP Dr Hywel Francis is supporting Mr Howells' call for a fresh look at how the case was handled by South Wales Police.
He has recently met with South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Alun Michael and is urging him to agree to Mr Howells' request for a meeting.
Continue reading the main story“Start Quote

While I understand the family's position, I can see no grounds for further action in this case”

Alun MichaelSouth Wales Police and Crime Commissioner
He said: "Both the family and I would like to ensure that Mr Michael looks into the case to ensure that proper processes and procedures were followed by South Wales Police following the sad death of Lee Lewis.
"I need to have clarification on that, the family needs to be reassured, as I do, that lessons have been learnt and procedures that were followed at the time are no longer in place and that there's been a learning process by the whole of South Wales Police."
Mr Michael said in a statement that, having reviewed the case with senior officers, he was "satisfied with the thoroughness of the investigation".
"I feel great sympathy for the family of Lee Lewis. While I understand the family's position, I can see no grounds for further action in this case."
A spokesman for the IPCC said that police pursuit guidelines had been enshrined in law since the incident and that "this will go a long way to ensuring that police pursuits are carried out correctly".

Something really sticks in my throat on this one!

A lovable rouge! He stole cars, hardly a good description.

"The inquest found that the police officers who had pursued him did not have sight of the car at the time of the crash and that Mr Lewis was not wearing a seatbelt."
Do Police now have to check that the Offender is wearing a seatbelt before pursuit begins? Seatbelts might have been why some are being stopped in the first place.

Gary McCourt sentence 'scandalous'

Fri, 03 May 2013 18:56:35 +0000

Gary McCourt, 49, from Edinburgh, was found guilty last month of killing Audrey Fyfe, 75, in August 2011.
The Cyclists Touring Club branded his punishment "scandalous", while prosecutors are considering whether the sentence was too lenient.
McCourt was found guilty in 1986 of causing another cyclist's death by reckless driving.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court had heard how McCourt, who was also ordered to carry out 300 hours of community service, told police he "clipped" Mrs Fyfe's back wheel at a junction.
The cyclist, who was not wearing a helmet at the time, died two days after the collision, between Portobello Road and Craigentinny Avenue on 11 August, 2011.
Audrey Fyfe was killed whlie on her bike in August 2011
Reacting to the sentence, Mrs Fyfe's widower, Ian, told BBC Scotland: "I feel with him having killed two cyclists already he shouldn't be allowed to drive for life and I don't think that is unreasonable.
"How many times is he going to have to kill someone before he is banned for life?
Sheriff James Scott spared McCourt a prison because there were no aggravating factors, such as drink or drug abuse.
He said the collision between McCourt and Mrs Fyfe was caused because he had "momentarily" lost concentration, adding: "I take into account that the accused has repeatedly expressed genuine remorse for causing the death of Mrs Fyfe.
"I take into account that the accused has been ill and has suffered from depression and that he displays signs of post-traumatic stress disorder."
McCourt was jailed for two years after the death of 22-year-old George Dalgity in 1985
The sheriff said Mrs Fyffe "wasn't to blame in any way for the accident", but added: "She was not wearing a safety helmet and that in my view contributed to her death."
A spokesman for the Crown Office said it would "give careful consideration as to whether the sentence was unduly lenient".
Peter Hayman, of the CTC, added: "This 300 hours of community service and only a five-year ban as a sentence is scandalous and goes against the efforts to encourage cycling."
McCourt was jailed for two years after 22-year-old Edinburgh man George Dalgity was killed as he cycled along the city's Regent Road, on 18 October 1985.

" 300 hours of community service" well that will teach him!

ThinkBike #ThinkBiker

Misconduct hearing online!

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:08:01 +0000

Misconduct Hearing

Matters assessed as meeting the threshold for gross misconduct are taken to a misconduct hearing. Unless directed to be heard in public by the IPCC these matters are heard in private by a panel of three, most typically chaired by an officer of ACPO rank who is assisted by an officer of superintending rank and a lay assessor who is appointed by the Mayor’s office for Policing and Crime.
The officer has the right to be legally represented. The facts will be heard by the panel often with the assistance of live witnesses to enable the panel to make a determination. If the officer is found to have committed gross misconduct the available sanctions are:

Dismissal with notice
Dismissal without notice
Final Written Warning
Written warning
Management advice

Odd this, if I got dismissed it would not end up online, I see no reason Officers should be any different. Where is their right to privacy?

Winsor: Police technology 'must get better...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:59:04 +0000

The Police Service must urgently improve on the “next to useless” kit issued to many frontline officers, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary has said.
In his first public address since taking the role in October, Tom Winsor (pictured) told his audience that “primitive” technology was the second most common complaint he heard from officers – after the volume of mental health incidents – while visiting them in forces.
He said: “On one visit, a constable handed me the PDA which he had been given two years ago, since when half of its functionality had been removed.
“I had not seen one of these in 10 years. It was next to useless. This has to change. Officers at the front line deserve better.”
Mr Winsor said the collaboration landscape on technology was “in places slow and patchy” but said he welcomed the College of Policing's work to improve the digital kit issued to officers.
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary added that forces should look to the example of other public services, such as energy and transport, which created a single network code. This had defined common standards and operating procedures for the disparate IT systems acquired by different parts of their organisations.
He said: “We have 43 forces and some national ones which are already separate and there is a need now to join them up in a coherent, efficient, and effective single system which respects local accountability but acquires, maintains and develops all the benefits of a networked system.”
After the speech, Mr Winsor told PoliceOracle.com there were around 2,300 IT systems used by the 43 forces and they had to be compatible with one another.
He said: “There's no way reasonably, in the near future, you are going to get all of them merged into one. They don't need to be merged so long as they are interoperable.”
He added that the Police National Database had done “a great deal” to ensure that intelligence stored by different forces on different systems was accessible from one interface.
In his speech, Mr Winsor said many operational interfaces can “perpetuate, maybe even intensify, complexity”. He said: “It is essential that these difficulties, which are abundantly apparent, are kept to an irreducible minimum.”

Got the money for all this new technology?

Here is one new idea.

Durham Constabulary promotes the use of K9 cameras to assist in finding missing people and dangerous offenders.

http://www.youtube.c...v=ssDgIcuVb-M#!

TOP Officer PC Mark Walsh

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:54:36 +0000

A police officer is planning a pilot project to try and transform the way some young criminals are dealt with.
Hampshire PC Mark Walsh hopes to set up a scheme so young people can decide punishments for peers committing their first crime - if it is a minor offence.
PC Walsh will spend six weeks in the USA researching how "peer courts" work after winning funding from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.
He hopes his findings can help form the basis for a pilot in Hampshire.
The father-of-two has recently been awarded one of 125 Winston Churchill Memorial Trust "travelling fellowships" to fund his fact-finding mission.
He will use the trip to assess how peer courts - which are already successful in some parts of the USA - can be adapted for the UK.

"He will use the trip to assess how peer courts - which are already successful in some parts of the USA - can be adapted for the UK."

PC Walsh said: "I'm looking at creating a community court which will see young people at the heart of the process, carrying out roles traditionally done by adults as positive peer pressure.
"The punishments in peer courts in the USA are based on education and related to the offence. If it is a minor arson, normally that offence would attract a charge.
"But as a diversion we might use the peer court and they might have to visit a burns hospital to see the effects of fire and work with the fire service, for example.
"Because this message and these punishments are coming from other young people I hope to create a positive community message about acceptable behaviour."
Jo Rowland, head of Hampshire Constabulary's custody and criminal justice department, said: "Mark is a very experienced constable who works with young people daily.
"When he presented his project idea to me I was delighted to offer support and encouragement.
"It's very innovative and seeks to empower young people in our community to work with us to continue to make them safer.
A final decision on whether to introduce the scheme would lie with Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes.

Will this idea work here? I see no reason why not!

R.I.P. Andrew Pimlott

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 11:44:29 +0000

A man who was tasered by police during an incident in which he suffered serious burns has died, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has said.
Andrew Pimlott (32) died on April 23 in Frenchay Hospital, Bristol.
Devon and Cornwall Constabulary referred the incident to the IPCC after officers attended an address in Plymouth where Mr Pimlott was in the garden with a can of flammable liquid.
Shortly after they arrived, Mr Pimlott sustained serious burns. It is known that a taser was deployed during the incident on April 18 and this will be investigated as a possible cause of ignition.
IPCC Commissioner Sarah Green said: “My condolences go to Andrew’s family and friends for their loss.
“Our investigators have already carried out a number of actions, including interviewing the two police officers who attended the incident and ensuring relevant evidence has been secured.
“A post-mortem was carried out yesterday and further forensic analysis will be carried out.
“Our investigation will be looking at what information was known to the officers attending the scene; the officer’s rationale for discharging a Taser on a person known to be doused in flammable liquid; whether the discharge of the Taser caused the fuel to ignite; and we will look at training and policies.”

Two points here.

1) I hope the Officer used his weapon in accordance with the rules.

2) Officers normally do not deploy Taser unless necessary, we will find out why they did!

Britain is becoming a SAFER place!

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:11:02 +0000

Rates of violent crime in Britain have tumbled faster than anywhere else in Western Europe over the past decade, a new report has revealed.
The rate of homicide has fallen by half since 2003, while every region of the UK has become more peaceful despite the country's economic turmoil.
But there are wide variations between dangerous inner-city areas and far more quiet rural regions, as the London borough of Lewisham was named the most violent place and Broadland in Norfolk the least - with just eight incidents of armed violence last year.

Crime around the UK: This map shows that the most peaceful areas of Britain are in the English countryside, with violence clustered around London and other major cities as well as in Northern Ireland

Fall: This graph shows how violent crime has tumbled in recent years after spiking between 2002 and 2005

Falling crime: Statistics from Eurostat, the European agency, show violent crime in Britain is falling faster than anywhere else
TRENDS IN EUROPE: HOW VIOLENT CRIME FELL FROM 2006 TO 2009

1) UK (Scotland): from 27,618 in 2006 to 21,632 in 2009; -22% change
2) UK (England & Wales): 1,205,065 to 1,001,322;-17%
3) Italy: 145,209 to 131,610; -9%
4) UK (Northern Ireland): 35,223 to 33,100; -6%
5) Netherlands: 131,388 to 126,770; -4%
6) Germany: 215,471 to 208,446; -3%
7) Austria: 135,121 to 134,142; -1%
8) Spain: 114,205 to 112,926; -1%
9) Portugal: 24,157 to 24,421; +1%
10) Finland: 38,037 to 39,595; +4%
11) France: 326,065 to 341,942; +5%
12) Belgium: 107,369 to 115,019; +7%
13) Sweden: 98,154 to 111,702; +14%
14) Luxembourg: 2,471 to 3,264; +32%
15) Denmark: 19,670 to 26,320; +34%
Source: Eurostat; each EU country uses a different definition of violent crime.
The UK Peace Index is based on five factors drawn from official statistics - the rate of homicide, violent crime, weapons crime and public disorder, and the number of police officers.
The violent crime rate has fallen from 1,255 to 933 per 100,000 people in the past decade, despite rising slightly in the South-East and London.
The murder rate went from 1.99 per 100,000 people to exactly 1, according to the index, which is produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace.

More...

The dramatic fall in homicides and weapons offences more than made up for the rise in public disorder and violent crime in certain areas.
David Cameron welcomed the news, tweeting: 'Much still to do - but great to hear violent crime falling faster in the UK than anywhere in Western Europe.'
However, some have questioned the statistics, pointing out that surveys of crime victims often differ sharply from official data, leading to doubt over the true extent of crime.
According to the latest statistics, the 17 most violent areas of the UK were all London boroughs, headed by gang-dominated Lewisham as well as Lambeth, Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets.
Lewisham's homicide rate, at 2.5 per 100,000 people, was more than twice the national average, while it has recorded three times as much public disorder as the average.

Change: These graphs show how nearly every form of unrest has become less common in most areas of the country, although the red bars show that public disorder has risen in the majority of places

Capital: While London remains more violent than most other areas, as shown by the high violence indicated in the left-hand map, the green areas on the right-hand map shows that the unrest is decreasing

League table: The most and least peaceful areas of the UK, based on relative scores determined by a number of factors related to social unrest

But Glasgow was ranked as the most violent urban area overall, followed by London and Belfast.
By contrast, the most peaceful region was Broadland, which contains the market towns of Acle, Aylsham and Reepham, as well as parts of the Norfolk Broads.
In 2012, just eight weapons crimes were recorded in the area, which has a population of 125,000 people.
The other areas ranked as least violent were Three Rivers in Hertfordshire, South Cambridgeshire, East Dorset and Maldon in Essex.
Among urban areas, Cardiff was found to be the most peaceful, along with Sheffield, Nottingham and Leeds.
London's murder rate, though higher than elsewhere in Britain, is significantly lower than comparable global cities such as New York, Amsterdam and Dublin.

Trends: Drug offences are the only type of non-violent crime to have become more common since 2003

Variation: Scotland and London are the most dangerous regions, as this map shows, with the South the least
Despite the fall in violent crime across the country, the public tends to perceive that Britain is much more violent than it is in reality.
According to the research, 17 per cent of people think they will fall victim to violent crime at some point, whereas only four per cent will actually do so.

TODAY'S POLL

Do you think Britain is becoming a safer place to live?
Yes
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The report's authors suggested a number of reasons for the falling crime rate, which did not appear to correlate closely to the country's overall prosperity as crime continued to become rarer throughout the financial crisis and recession.
They claim that one major factor was technological advances such as CCTV, DNA profiling, information sharing between police forces and better burglar alarms in homes and cars.
These breakthroughs provide a deterrent for would-be criminals, and also help police identify those who commit violent acts and take them off the street.
Another factor is the reduction in alcohol consumption over the past decade - in 2002, the average person drank nearly 1.5l of alcohol a week, but by 2010 this had fallen to just over 1.1l.

Homicide: The rate of murder and manslaughter in all areas of the UK is far lower than in the U.S.

Leading the pack: The UK's violent crime rate has been falling faster than the rest of Western Europe
WHY HAS CRIME FALLEN SO FAST?

Technology: Advances such as CCTV, DNA profiling and better burglar alarms have helped to deter criminals.
Drinking less: Alcohol consumption has fallen in the past decade, leading to a reduction in street brawls and late-night attacks.
Fewer young people: Demographics are often linked to crime rates as countries with a high youth population tend to be more violent.
Government policy: The introduction of the minimum wage and the raising of the school leaving age kept the poor and the young off the streets.
The internet: One theory suggests that when people are able to communicate globally, they impose stronger taboos on violent crime because they are exposed to the judgement of others.
Ban on lead: Leaded petrol and lead-based paints seem to have affected people's behaviour and made them more likely to commit crimes.
Abortion laws: A controversial study has suggested that the legalisation of abortion in the U.S. helped lower crime rates.
Drinking outside the home has fallen particularly sharply in that period thanks to rocketing prices in pubs and bars, meaning there are fewer opportunities for booze-fuelled fights and other dangerous incidents.
Demographics have often been linked to violence levels, as societies with more young people - the 'youth bulge' - tend to see a higher rate of violent crime.
However, the report concludes that 'the changes in the youth bulge do not seem to be a significant factor in the UK,' as crime rates have fallen even as the number of young people has stayed reasonably stable in recent years.
Some government policies appear to have had a positive effect on peace in the UK - the minimum wage has reduced extreme poverty, which alleviates lawlessness.
In addition, the raising of the school leaving age over the past few decades has ensured there are fewer low-skilled and unemployed young people who might commit crimes.
Other more surprising reasons for lower rates of crime across the world have also been suggested - for example, evidence appears to show that the ban on leaded petrol across the West has reduced criminality.
This is because lead poisoning can have a strong effect on the brain, leading to lower IQs, mood swings and unruly behaviour - all traits likely to lead to lawbreaking.
And a study in the U.S. showed that crime fell around two decades after the legalisation of abortion, as fewer children were born to the poorest families who were most likely to commit crimes.

Idyllic: Broadland, in Norfolk, is the most peaceful area in the UK with just eight weapons crimes last year

Contrast: The London borough of Lewisham has been named the most violent place in Britain - its murder rate is two and a half the UK national average

Some even point to the internet as the driver of falling crime, as people are made more aware of the outside world and educated about the unacceptability of crimes such as domestic violence.
'Both crime and homicide have fallen significantly,' said the report, which defines peace as 'the absence of violence or fear of violence'.
'The fall over the last decade has resulted in the UK homicide rate now being roughly equivalent to that of the Western European average, and it is now at its lowest level since 1978.
'However, the UK violent crime rate is significantly higher than the European Union average.'

Global scale: Western Europe is extremely peaceful compared to most other regions of the world

Within Europe: The UK has fewer homicides than any other European country except Monaco

HOW THE INDEX WAS COMPILED

The UK Peace Index is based on a combination of five factors - the rate of homicide, violent crime, weapons crime and public disorder, and the number of police officers, all drawn from Home Office statistics.
Homicide and violent crime are given greater weighting in the calculation as they are considered most damaging to the general peace - each makes up 26.7 per cent of the score.
Police numbers account for 20 per cent of the final rating, with weapons crime and public disorder accounting for 13.3 per cent each.
Combining the five measures creates an artificial number between one and five for each region which allows all areas of the UK to be directly compared with each other for their overall levels of violence.
In the UK, the only major offence category to substantially increase over the last decade was drug offences, the IEP found.
All other categories of crime, including burglary and fraud, have fallen.
Britain's homicide rate is now back down to its level in 1978, roughly even with the rest of Western Europe, even though violent crime remains higher than in other countries.
Of the 343 local authorities covered in the index, 278 are now more peaceful than they were in 2003.
The authors estimated that violence cost the UK £124billion last year, equivalent to £4,700 per household or 7.7 per cent of GDP.
A nine per cent reduction in violence would be equivalent to the total cost of the London Olympics, they said.
Poverty, employment opportunities, education, access to services, and inequality are 'closely related' to peace, the report concluded.

I for once being of a charitable mind am assuming the DM`s headlines are for once correct!

Therefore we have only one institution we can blame for these headlines!

Our Police!!

Assaults cost Welsh police 1,700 days off

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:52:18 +0000

BBC Wales found 1,735 working days were lost over three years at three of the four Welsh forces due to assaults.
Labour's shadow policing minister David Hanson said the figures were worrying while Tory MP David Davies said prosecutors needed a tougher stance.
The Home Office said assaults on police officers would "not be tolerated".
The figures showed 494 days were lost in Dyfed-Powys over three years for assaults, 568 in Gwent and 673 in the South Wales force. North Wales refused to provide figures.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

Police officers are not confident that the CPS is always going to chase up people who have attacked them”

David DaviesMP for Monmouth
The total cost was estimated at £189,800.
Mr Hanson, the Labour MP for Delyn, said: "I think that's very worrying for both the police officers who are putting themselves in danger but also for the fact that we are losing so much time due to attacks on police.
"We need to look at this and look at how we reduce attacks and punish those who undertake such behaviour."
Police days lost due to assaults Force Days lost Total cost
SOURCE: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION TO BBC WALES FOR 2010-2012. *FINANCIAL YEAR NOT ACTUAL YEAR
NORTH WALES POLICE DID NOT PROVIDE INFORMATION
Dyfed-Powys Police
494
£62995.47
Gwent Police
568*
£64,718.18
South Wales Police
673
£62,087.24
Total
1,735
£189800.89
The figures come after the UK government's spending review in 2010 led to plans to cut central police funding by 20% by 2015.
It means the Welsh forces are looking at making total savings of £96m.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

Officers deserve to be protected - we can't have the protectors becoming victims themselves”

Jeff MappsPolice Federation in Wales
Attacking a police officer is seen as an aggravated offence in the eyes of the law, and carries a prison sentence of up to six months.
But Monmouth MP David Davies said he felt that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not take assaults on officers seriously enough.
Speaking as both the chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee and a special constable, the MP said officers he knew lacked confidence in the CPS.
"I think it is always worrying to see that police officers are regularly being assaulted in the course of their duty," he said.
'Biting'
"I'm not even sure those figures tell the whole story, because often officers who are assaulted won't be taking time off sick and so they won't show up in the official figures."
He said most of the officers he worked with as a special constable had been attacked at some point in their career.
"Often it's not the kind of assault you think of. Very often it is people biting or spitting in people's eyes," he said.
"That's the sort of thing that officers get worried about and they want to see action taken against those who commit those kind of crimes.
"Police officers are not confident that the CPS is always going to chase up people who have attacked them - I'm afraid I've even heard them referred to as the 'criminal protection service'."
Jeff Mapps, chairman of the Police Federation in Wales and also in Gwent, said the figures were a cause of concern.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

Assaulting a police officer is totally unacceptable and we need to send a strong signal that it will not be tolerated”

Home Office
"Officers deserve to be protected - we can't have the protectors becoming victims themselves," he said.
"A message needs to be sent out to anyone who may be thinking of assaulting a police officer or any of the emergency services."
Mr Hanson has also raised concerns that North Wales Police did not provide any figures.
It refused to release details under a Freedom of Information request from BBC Wales, saying that the information was not held by the north Wales force.
Mr Hanson said that as a result of that response he had tabled a Parliamentary question to the Home Office to "ensure that all forces maintain records of injuries to police officers injured in the line of duty".
CPS Cymru-Wales chief crown prosecutor Ed Beltrami said: "We can only consider bringing criminal charges in cases where an allegation is formally referred to us by the police. It may be that all of us in the criminal justice system need to look at whether these incidents are being reported and referred in the first place."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "Police officers put themselves in harm's way to protect the public and in turn it is vital that the law protects them.
"Assaulting a police officer is totally unacceptable and we need to send a strong signal that it will not be tolerated. That is why assault on a police officer is considered an aggravated offence, meaning that the court should impose tougher sentences."

Metropolitan police still institutionally racist

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:36:11 +0000

Scotland Yard's black and Asian police officers have made a dramatic intervention on the eve of the 20th anniversary of Stephen Lawrence's death by declaring that the Met is still institutionally racist.
The Metropolitan Black Police Association (BPA), the biggest group representing minority officers in the force, says despite the training and community initiatives put in place over the past two decades, Scotland Yard has failed to tackle the mindset at the heart of failures over Lawrence.
The declaration will dismay senior officers who have fought hard to fight off the institutionally racist label. Before his fall at the height of the phone hacking controversy, the previous commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, declared in 2009 that after much hard work the force was no longer institutionally racist.
"The association still believe that the police service is institutionally racist," said the BPA statement. Its chairman, Bevan Powell, added: "Institutional racism is not about labelling individuals racists but rather police practice and procedures that bring about disproportionate outcomes for black and minority ethnic communities and police personnel."
He said close examination of key statistics relating to the race and policing bears that out. "An examination of section 95 data (Criminal Justice Act) provides the supporting empirical evidence to support my assertion."
Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe regrets the Met's lack of desire to effect change. Photograph: Bruce Adams/Rex Features/Daily Mail
The harsh judgement will dismay the current commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe. Last week, asked on ITV Tonight if his force was institutionally racist, he said: "I hope not. I don't think it's for me to judge. It seems to me that the judgment of the public is the strongest judgment. If they think we are, then we are.
"I think there is lots of evidence to say it isn't true and that we're actually doing a pretty good job and we are improving all the time."
The BPA, which has 500 members in London, says the Met has failed to recruit enough minorities to reflect the capital's population. "The 2011 census indicated that over 40% of Londoners were from BME backgrounds, whilst only 10% of MPS police officers were from BME communities.
"These officers disproportionately hug the lower ranks, face significantly slower rates of career progression and are over-represented in disciplinary actions, in comparison to their white counterparts. This current position is unsustainable, as it severely impacts on police legitimacy and more importantly erodes trust and confidence in BME communities."
Superintendent Leroy Logan, chair of the Met BPA charitable trust, said before the force could consider itself free of institutional racism, it must tackle the continuing disproportions in the treatment of minority Londoners.
"The real litmus test is still the vexed issue of stop and search and its disproportionality in black and minority ethnic (BME) communities, because so many people perceive that the police are involved in racial profiling?"
He acknowledged that Hogan-Howe, had tried to address the issues of racism within police culture, but said the problem was structural. "The association looks back with a certain amount of disappointment and concern at the lack of long-term commitment, leadership and desire to bring about radical change to significantly deal with institutional racism at the time of Stephen's death."
The issue of institutional racism has been a continually difficult one for Scotland Yard's top tier. At the Macpherson inquiry, Lord Condon, then Met commissioner, was visibly discomforted when Richard Stone, one of Macpherson's advisers, repeatedly pressured him to accept that his force was institutionally racist. Stephenson refused to do so, saying the tag would unfairly brand individual officers.
In the years since, the Met has increased minority recruitment from 2.3% of the force in 1993 to 10.4%. But the minority population of the capital is more than 40%.
Black and Asian officers say race relations within the Met have continued to falter since Lord Macpherson's inquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence. Photograph: PA
In January, the commissioner ordered a radical review of stop-and-search policing in London as figures suggest black youths are up to six times more likely to be stopped than white youths.
In operations authorising localised stops under section 60 of the 1994 Public Order Act, minorities are said to be 28 times more likely to be stopped.
Responding on BBC Newsnight last week to criticisms of the force's record, the Met assistant commissioner Simon Byrne said the force was working successfully to address those disproportions but admitted there was a long way to go.
He said: "The experience of Stephen's family has had a profound impact on policing in the UK. It has transformed the way we deal with murder, our family liaison and the investigation of hate crime.
"The Metropolitan police is a very different organisation to the one it was at the time of Stephen's death but we know there is more work to be done to improve our service to Londoners from a black and minority ethnic background. The commissioner recently said he was an 'implacable enemy of racism' and the Met is committed to challenging and driving out any racism in its ranks."

PC Michael Wallace sees things differently on video.

Cuts 'could hit BME recruitment'

Large budget cuts to policing in the next Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) would make recruiting more Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) officers difficult, a chief constable has said.
Speaking on the 20th anniversary of the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, Alf Hitchcock, who leads on diversity for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), said it was “a myth” that BME applicants did not want to join the service. He added that there were many from this group ready to take on the powers of a regular warranted officer within his Force - Bedfordshire Police - including PCSOs, cadets, special constables and police staff.
The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report into the teenager's murder said the Metropolitan Police’s “institutional racism” played a role in the failure to deal with the case effectively and recommended that the Police Service increase its proportion of BME officers. Currently only around five per cent of all officers are from the group.
But in an interview with PoliceOracle.com, CC Hitchcock said that if the next CSR entails a significant budget cut to policing, it will rule out large-scale recruiting and make it “really difficult” to change the ethnic makeup of the service.
He said: “If the next round of spending cuts are smaller and we can start recruiting in numbers, there are a lot of PCSOs and special constables from minority backgrounds looking to join.
"We still only have five per cent of total police officers from minority backgrounds but there are a lot more BME representatives among PCSOs and other members of police staff.”
Since the current CSR began in 2010, forces have recruited on a small scale, usually only to replace officers who have left.
CC Hitchcock added: “Policing is a 30-year career. When you look at those who are retiring at the moment, who were mostly recruited in the early 1980s, they are predominantly white and male.
"If we recruit long-term in a more balanced way we can become more representative.”
CC Hitchcock added there was “a whole debate to be had” on how this could be achieved, claiming there were examples of “positive action” to learn from, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s policy of recruiting 50 per cent of its trainees from Catholic backgrounds. This policy was introduced after the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the predecessor force, came to be dominated by officers from Protestant communities.
The lack of BME officers has led the National Black Police Association (NBPA) to support direct entry for the inspector and superintendent ranks, in the hope it boosts recruitment from the group.
NBPA President Charles Crichlow said: “It is unacceptable that, in the 21st century, less than five per cent of police officers in England and Wales are from BME backgrounds.
“The NBPA believe that the under-representation of BME officers presents a serious threat to modern day policing and the democratic nature of the service.”
“We support the concept of direct entry but with one caveat.
"It must bring about greater ethnic diversity and new thinking at the senior ranks within the police.”

http://www.policeora...ment_64024.html

The dangers of single crewed!

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 12:15:46 +0000

A force has insisted it allocated resources appropriately after a man who repeatedly beat a single-crewed officer around the head with his own CS spray canister was jailed for almost three years.

Michael Dolan (49) felled PC Glen Hill outside a pub in Rotherham in November last year and set about punching him repeatedly while he lay helpless on the ground. He also took the officer’s own CS spray canister and struck him up to 30 times around the head.
Dolan (pictured), who was drunk and on steroids at the time, was jailed for two years and eight months at Sheffield Crown Court after admitting grievous bodily harm. PC Hill was taken to hospital, where he was treated for shock and a deep laceration to the head.
The incident hit the headlines after South Yorkshire Police Federation called for a review of risk management arrangements, claiming PC Hill (34) had responded to the incident himself because no one was available from Rotherham police station, which was a short distance from the pub.
The Force’s helicopter had initially picked up PC Hill’s call for help and then radioed for colleagues to attend. They arrived minutes later.
After the verdict, South Yorkshire Police Federation Chairman Neil Bowles said the case showed the Force did not have enough officers “to keep up with the demands of a mid-week night”.
He said: “Everyone was tied up doing something else and there weren’t other officers on patrol close to the area to get to him on time.
“Everything should be risk assessed appropriately.

“You should not be sending a single officer for anything to do with a pub.
“Any supervisor should be listening and thinking ‘I should get some back up to that officer.'"
Mr Bowles said he accepted single-crewing was common but was concerned over the way the incident had escalated.
PC Hill was based in Maltby but was an acting-sergeant that night and had gone to Rotherham police station about a custody matter. It was only when he was leaving that the report from the pub came through and he took the initiative, Mr Bowles said.

The Chief Superintendent for Rotherham, Jason Harwin, claimed staffing levels on the night of the incident were appropriate.
He said: “Single crewing is common practice across the country not just in South Yorkshire.

“We use intelligence to assess the threats and risk and will send double crews if necessary.
“More officers were attending the incident but were arriving in separate cars.
“On the day in question, we resourced staff accordingly – any incident of an officer being assaulted is regrettable, but it is understood that policing does have its risks.

“Even though we have seen a reduction in budget, front line policing still remains a priority for South Yorkshire Police.”
Mr Bowles said he had not been informed of risk management decisions made during the night of the incident.

Thou the video is of a different incident, it does bring home the dangers of being single crewed!

Officer swaps his uniform for giant donkey costume

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 10:17:10 +0000

Met Special Constable Van Gelder, who volunteers for police in Haringey, will be donning the enormous costume, weighing over two-and-a-half stone (17kg), as he pounds the streets of London to raise money for international working animal charity SPANA (the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad).
Nic Van Gelder, 35, part of the SPANA fundraising team, for his 'day job' is hoping to break the charity’s current London Marathon donkey costume record of 7 hours and 47 minutes.
He said: “I know I won’t be able to do much more than a walking pace in the heavy costume and so it’s going to be a real endurance challenge.
“People think I’m crazy to be doing the marathon with a two-and-a-half-stone costume weighing down on me, but it’s nothing compared to what some working animals in developing countries are forced to carry for miles every single day of their lives. I want to raise money and awareness for SPANA, as it does such an important job providing free vet care for working animals that otherwise might never receive any.”
MSC Van Gelder has been a Met Special Constable since June 2012. He volunteered his time for three months with Noel Park Safer Neighbourhoods Team, the local team covering a large part of Wood Green town centre in Haringey.
Since then he has given his time to serving on Haringey's Response Teams, who provide a 24/7 emergency response across Haringey borough.
Asked why he wanted to become a Met Special Constable, he said: "The variety of the work appealed to me, connecting with people and making a tangible difference to people's lives, as well as gaining skills you can use in your day job as well.
"One day I could be doing a simple traffic stop, the next, reuniting a lost child with parents or catching criminals. You leave each shift with the satisfaction of knowing you've done something worthwhile."
For more information on SPANA visit their website or to sponsor Nic visit his justgiving page.

Police Officer in Giant Donkey Costume

Met Special Constable Van Gelder, who volunteers for police in Haringey, will be donning the enormous costume, weighing over two-and-a-half stone (17kg), as he pounds the streets of London to raise money for international working animal charity SPANA (the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad).
Nic Van Gelder, 35, part of the SPANA fundraising team, for his 'day job' is hoping to break the charity’s current London Marathon donkey costume record of 7 hours and 47 minutes.
For more information on SPANA visit their website or to sponsor Nic visit his justgiving page.

http://www.harringay...source=activity

Please do help out by donating here! http://www.justgivin...c-spanamarathon

Police compensation

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:51:21 +0000

Mrs May told the Home Affairs Select Committee it was important to find out more before reviewing any guidelines.
Kelly Jones, 33, is currently seeking payment from a petrol station in Thetford, Norfolk.
She claims she tripped while investigating a break-in in August.
Mrs May told MPs that while not wanting to comment on the case she has asked her staff to find out if it was a one-off incident or "symptomatic of a culture".
"We don't want members of the public to feel that they can't ring 999 because they're worried a police officer might sue them as a result of something that happens when the police officer is there to look into the incident which has taken place," she said.
'Kerb trip'
"I've initiated some work within the Home Office to look at the extent of this issue."
Mrs May, responding to a question from Northampton North MP Michael Ellis, would not comment in detail on the Norfolk case.
PC Kelly Jones has claimed for another injury sustained to her knee
She said: "There has been a case recently which has highlighted this and the question I am asking is: is that case symptomatic of a culture or is it simply a one off case and doesn't reflect what's actually happening?"
PC Jones filed a compensation claim against Nuns' Bridges garage owner Steve Jones for failing to ensure she was "reasonably safe" while attending a suspected break-in on 25 August.
Her solicitors said she tripped on a kerb and fell while walking towards a gap in the fencing in a poorly lit area, while trying to access the rear of the premises.
The firm said PC Jones injured her left leg and right wrist and had to go to hospital. She also took six weeks of sick leave from work.
Despite calls from Norfolk Police, the force's police and crime commissioner and MPs to withdraw the claim, her solicitors said it would continue to deal with the case while the full details of what happened were investigated.
PC Jones had previously filed another claim to Norfolk Police relating to a crash while on duty in Garboldisham, South Norfolk, in the early hours of 30 January 2012.

Why the sudden interest in Policing by Mrs May? Frightened of a backlash that will land on your door-step, or trip up on it?

We live in a litigious society brought on by greed. We must learn to live with people suing each other over minor details.

Drug-use rooms

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:39:02 +0000

Their use is one of the recommendations in an independent report commissioned by Brighton and Hove City Council.
The aim would be to reduce drug-related deaths in a city described as having had "a drug abuse problem for decades".
But critics said the move could amount to colluding with poor lifestyle choices, or even illegal behaviour.
Sussex Police welcomed the report but emphasised the importance of a "holistic approach" to illegal drugs.
The research by the Independent Drugs Commission for Brighton and Hove proposes providing consumption rooms - often referred to as shooting galleries - where people could use their own illegal drugs under the supervision of professional healthcare workers.
They would provide medical care if required.
'Illegal behaviour'
The intention is to reduce the risk of overdoses and other drug-related deaths, as well as decreasing the amount of drug-taking on the streets of Brighton.
It also suggests making Naloxone, a prescription drug which can prevent fatal overdoses, directly available to users.
Services for young drug takers should also be separated, according to the report, to prevent them mixing with older, more established users.
Mike Trace, vice-chairman of the commission, told BBC Radio 4's Today: "We have said to the authorities in Brighton that you need to look at this because it's something that could reduce drug-related deaths - which is an issue in the city - but also because it could take a lot of public drug use and drug markets off the street."
He said there were various models that could be adopted - for example drugs provided by medical professionals, or users buying illegal drugs and using them in the rooms.
However, there was a "grey area" over whether a law change would be required for this sort of service, he said.
Councillor Rob Jarrett, chairman of the council's adult care and health committee, said the area had had a problem with drug abuse "for decades" and the council would take the recommendations "very seriously".

But Chip Somers, chief executive of Focus 12, an abstinence-based rehabilitation centre, told the Today Programme: "We've got the balance between providing addicts with care and harm reduction techniques completely out of proportion and we're now colluding with really quite poor lifestyle choice and in this case illegal behaviour."
The potential cost of any such project has not been revealed - but Mr Somers said it would be "very expensive" and "for that sort of money you could put 40 or 50 people through a complete rehabilitation project".
Nic Newman, a recovering addict, warned there could be a risk that addicts would be encouraged to use drugs more than they would have otherwise.
"Some people might take more risks if [they are] in a clinic with a managed room. With nurses on hand I can push the boundaries a bit more, can't I?" he told BBC Breakfast.
'Big issue'
The commission consists of 10 local experts - including Kate McKenzie, mother of recovering drug addict Hannah McKenzie - who have been working over the past year on recommendations to reduce the dangers of drugs in Brighton.
Continue reading the main story
More than 60,000 people in Brighton and Hove, which has a population of just over 270,000, have used drugs, according to the commission. They include more than 2,000 problem heroin and cocaine users.
For several years Brighton had more drug-related deaths than any other city in the UK - in 2000, 67 residents died from drug misuse.
In 2011, Brighton saw 22 drug-related deaths - nine per 100,000 people over the age of 16 - making it eighth in the table of UK drug-related deaths.
Ch Supt Nev Kemp, divisional commander for Brighton and Hove, welcomed the report, adding the recommendations would be discussed.
Decriminalised consumption rooms are in use in Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, Canada and Australia.
In the UK, King's College London is carrying out a study on administering diamorphine (medical-grade heroin) to addicts to reduce heroin use.
In Vancouver, a facility named Insite allows users to take their own drugs in a supervised environment. It has operated since 2003 under a constitutional exemption from Canadian drug laws.

Several problems raise their heads here.
Firstly if someone hands over drugs they can be done for possession, intent to supply.
Who is going to supply these drugs? The drug dealers maybe, then police can wait outside the building and nab them as they sell drugs.

Would love to see how they get round the law on this one. A change in the law, be interesting to see how they word it.
In this building you can get your fix, but in order to smoke, please stand outside.