UK Policing News

Looks like getting away from Police by not wearing helmets has finally caught up with one of them. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-11211260

Escaping car thief rammed stolen caravan into police patrol car A STOLEN caravan was rammed into a police car during a chase through Derby. The two officers inside the patrol car were left shocked and dazed after a thief reversed the caravan into the front of their vehicle. It left the police car disabled, with steam rising from under its bonnet. Damage was put at more than £3,000. Terence Hall, 22, who was behind the wheel of the stolen four-wheel-drive vehicle towing the caravan, drove off but was arrested later that day. He had been pursued through the streets of Alvaston at speeds of up to 40mph, swerving across the road and at one stage driving the wrong way o…

Please take a look at and be aware of http://www.policeoracle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=15102

The number of crimes recorded in Scotland has fallen to a 32-year low, official statistics have shown. According to the figures by Scotland's chief statistician, there were 338,028 crimes reported in 2009-10, compared with 377,433 the previous year. Despite the drop, the number of sexual crimes, including rape, rose by 3% over the same period. The justice secretary welcomed the figures and said they coincided with record numbers of police officers. The biggest drop in the five crime groups was vandalism, including fire-raising, which dropped by 15%. Violent crime went down 11%, while crimes of dishonesty fell by 9%. …

Police were ordered not to pursue motorbikes stolen from a showroom in Greater Manchester because the thieves were not wearing helmets. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-10984311 If we do chase and they fall its our fault, if we dont chase we are HnS mad. Untill officers are not screwed to the wall for the idiocy of criminals im not going to be chasing motorcycles without a very good reason and all the backing from control that i can possibly get. Interestingly £60 - no seatblet. £30 - no helmet. Always found that odd.

Two police officers have been cleared of assaulting a former soldier outside a bar in Wigan. Sgt Stephen Russell and Pc Richard Kelsall, of Greater Manchester Police, were accused of attacking L/Cpl Mark Aspinall in July 2008. A jury at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court is still considering its verdict on a third man, special constable Peter Lightfoot. Lightfoot has been found guilty of one count of perjury. Members of the jury were sent home for the weekend and on Monday will resume deliberations on the charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. All three officers, who are employed by Greater Manchester Police (GMP), had denied the charge. The men were …

A gang of teenage burglars who dubbed themselves the Night Crawlers and posted raps onYouTube boasting of their crimes were starting jail sentences today. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23874586-jailed-burglars-who-bragged-of-crimes-on-the-internet.do "As police closed in on the burglars, one of them taunted an officer by leaving messages on his phone saying: “You'll never find me†and “I'll be celebrating Christmas with my mates.â€" First off, how does one go about obtaining the phone numbers of Police? I am sure Police do not hand out their phone numbers to all the scum out there. “I'll be celebrating Christmas with my mates.â€" Only thing th…

Whilst not in possession of all the facts, it would appear that japes that then go wrong, such as http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1308798/Joyriding-police-officers-crash-suspects-high-powered-sports-car.html really don't help our reputation at times when we're really under the microscope.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...dshire-11197496

Police chief criticises Raoul Moat hunt live TV footage A senior police officer has said it was "not right" that TV broadcasters covered the last hours of gunman Raoul Moat on a live rolling basis. On his blog, Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Peter Fahy said the media had a "legitimate" interest. But 24-hour news meant officers in charge often spent more than half their time dealing with the media. Moat, 37, is thought to have shot himself in Northumberland on 10 July after a six-hour stand-off with police. Former nightclub bouncer Moat went on the run after shooting his former girlfriend Sam Stobbart, killing her new partner Chris Brown and blinding unarme…

Up to 100 police stations face closure under cost-cutting plans, and scores more will have their opening hours further reduced, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. All forces across the country are carrying out a review of their building "estates" ahead of funding being cut by up to 25 per cent. Fears about the impact of the cuts have focused on a decrease in the number of officers, but police chiefs say that buildings and stations will be the first to go. An investigation of all constabularies has uncovered that one in 15 stations has been earmarked to be shut potentially, or replaced by counters and kiosks in supermarkets, cafés, librar…

http://www.telegraph...-questions.html Real Crime with Mark Austin: Yvonne Fletcher – Justice Betrayed is on Thursday next week on ITV1 at 9.00pm; this i will be watching and to see why no one was arrested for her murder.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/7964360/WPc-Yvonne-Fletcher-the-unanswered-questions.html Murder cases still have the power to fascinate and compel, decades after the crimes were committed. But few hold such political and diplomatic intrigue as the gunning down of policewoman Yvonne Fletcher 26 years ago. WPc Fletcher was on guard outside the Libyan embassy in St James’s Square, central London on April 17, 1984, when she fell in a hail of bullets fired from a semi-automatic weapon by someone in the embassy behind her. A program worth watching.

Police helicopter used to hunt man seen gathering twigs Police helicopters help officers on the ground track suspects A man has criticised a decision to send a police helicopter to his house after he took twigs from a nature reserve. Gareth Pope was gathering kindling at the Chinnor Hill Nature Reserve near Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire on Monday when a warden challenged him. He said he could see no harm in gathering the wood. Thames Valley Police dispatched the helicopter after a warden reported a heated row before the phone line went dead, prompting fears for his safety. Mr Pope was later told no crime had been committed. The 41-year-old told BBC Three C…

From BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11154488 These aren't encouraging figures, but unfortunately the outcomes weren't provided by most forces. I'd have been interested to see what proportion were upheld.