UK Policing News

A police dog handler who left his two German Shepherds to die in the back of his hot car has returned to work, Nottinghamshire force have confirmed. Pc Mark Johnson, 40, was handed a six-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £2,500 after being convicted of animal cruelty in February. He was suspended from the force following the trial at Nottingham Magistrates' Court. After a misconduct inquiry, he has returned to work as a response officer. The force said he was no longer working as a dog handler. During the trial the court heard Pc Johnson was suffering from depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. This led to him to forget that he had left the dogs in…

The A505 between Hitchin and Luton was closed this morning after a high speed collision with a tractor which was towing, the other vehicle involved was flipped over the crash barrier into the opposite carriageway, the other vehicle is thought to have been a police car. Chiltern Air Support XA99 landed on the A505 but medivac wasn't required. No information has been released so far. Update: Two PC's were traveling in the police car, one was able to walk away whilst the other was treated for a neck injury, Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue had to cut the roof off.

Bonuses for all police officers should be scrapped, Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson says. The UK's most senior officer told the Daily Telegraph it would repair public confidence in the service. Sir Paul earns £250,000 a year but has turned down more than £100,000 in performance-related bonuses since 2005. Chief constables have told the new home secretary to end bonuses and the Police Federation says reviewing a system said to cost about £40m a year was "right". At a meeting on Monday with Home Secretary Theresa May and Police Minister Nick Herbert, the chief constables said the system of making special payments to all ranks was imposed on police,…

A magistrate who branded two boys 'absolute scum' after they desecrated a cathedral faces disciplinary action. The 16-year-old boys wrote racist and sexually-abusive graffiti in prayer books, and bent a priceless John The Baptist cross out of shape at Blackburn Cathedral, causing £3,000 damage. Pages were also torn out of the prayer books and insults written in the prayer and visitor books included: 'I will kill all Jews. Don’t underestimate me', and lurid sexual comments about ‘the vicar'. They were caught after they wrote their names in the visitors' book. Desecrated: Blackburn Cathedral where the two boys wrote racist and sexually-abusive comments in prayer book…

David Cameron has ditched the police outriders who travel in front of his Prime Ministerial car - sparking fears for his safety. The new PM has told staff he is happy to sit in traffic jams like ordinary people while travelling to official engagements. Scotland Yard, responsible for Mr Cameron's security, fear it could leave him open to terrorist or kidnap attacks. Passers-by were able to get to within feet of the PM yesterday when his car was held up in a busy London street after visiting the Department of Energy and Climate Change. One man got close enough to take a picture of him in the back seat of his Jaguar. A Downing Street source said: "David is happy to put …

Stab vests for West Midlands community support officers The only police force in England that does not issue stab vests to police community support officers (PCSO) is to change its policy. The West Midlands Police Authority said the decision followed a review of the 800 PCSOs with the West Midlands force by its chief constable Chris Simms. His report said the vests would enable officers to patrol alone increasing "visibility and productivity". Stab vests are standard issue for neighbourhood and response officers. PCSOs are civilian staff with limited powers to help combat anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime, West Midlands Police Authority said. 'Generated st…

I thought this might be of interest to some of you : Met Police new HR technology broken, bloated, absent I used to work for EDS (now HP) and it seems all major IT systems end up over budget and late - the NHS system comes to mind. I'm no systems design consultant, but £48 million for a self serve HR system seems like an awful lot to me! An attempted programme to modernise the Metropolitan Police's human resources systems is behind schedule and over-budget. The force was originally going to spend £38m to create a self-service HR system which it hoped would save it £15m a year in costs. The system was meant to go live in December 2009 - but it is now hoped it will be r…

With a top speed of just 80 mph it is more likely to cause traffic jams than strike fear into the hearts of Birmingham's hardened criminals. But this camper van, complete with full West Midlands Police livery, has been deployed on the mean streets of Britain's second city. Embarrassed officers complain they are being openly mocked every time they are seen driving the 3.5-tonne motor home. Unhappy campers: West Midlands Police officers complain they are ridiculed for driving this motor home instead of a patrol car It comes after Leicestershire Constabulary was accused of 'making a mockery of policing' by issuing officers with blue and white BMX bikes, complete with fo…

Three students risked their lives by jumping into a river to save a drowning woman - after police refused to rescue her as it was not their 'responsibility'. The 18-year-olds took action after spotting the victim shouting for help and struggling to keep her head above the water level. Police were at the scene, but said it was up to the Fire and Rescue Service to save the 37-year-old. Instead, officers held back the crowd from the edge of the River Clyde's bank - lifebelts were being thrown into the water, but they were out of the woman's reach. Graham McGrath, Rosie Lucey and Rhys Black (not pictured) helped save the life of a 37-year-old woman drowning in the River C…

This is the moment a security guard begs for mercy as he is confronted by an armed robber. Imran Aslam, 34, was ambushed as he delivered £20,000 in cash to an ATM outside an estate agents in Blackburn. The bandit fired two warning shots before pumping a bullet into Mr Aslam's leg as he placed a box containing the money on the ground. Gun horror: Mr Aslam is confronted by two robbers. One points a handgun at the security guard CCTV images of the horrifying incident were released after a five-strong gang were jailed for a total of more than 50 years for two cash-in-transit raids. Dean Farrell, 23, of Blackburn, was branded 'dangerous' and 'merciless' by Judge Robert …

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/7732242/Intercept-evidence-should-be-admitted-in-court-officials-believe.html Intercept evidence which has previously been inadmissible in court could be allowed to be heard, if the Government is successful in changing the law. Even if one has no opinion on this matter( Which i don`t) Still a good read.

. An investigation was under way today after a woman died in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of shoplifting. The 32 year old from Worthing was found unconscious in her cell at the Worthing police custody centre in Durrington, West Sussex, at 1.35pm yesterday. Paramedics attended but she was pronounced dead at 2pm, a Sussex Police spokesman said. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and the coroner's officer were informed as is standard force policy. An IPCC investigator and Sussex Police's professional standards department attended the centre and a police spokesman said the IPCC was currently considering its level of involvement. …

Police remove David Cameron '######' poster Paul Lewis The Guardian News Wed 12 May 2010 00:25 BST Man claims Metropolitan police officers handcuffed him in his home on election day and removed 'offensive' window poster A man who placed a poster of David Cameron containing the word "######" in his window has described how police handcuffed him in his home on election day, threatened him with arrest, and forcibly removed what they said was offensive campaign literature. David Hoffman, 63, said police went "completely over the top" when they visited his home in Bow, east London, and demanded he take down the poster, which had been fixed to his window for weeks. After …

A girl accused of kicking and stamping on a gay man acted in a "reprehensible" way but there was no evidence she caused his death, the Old Bailey heard. All three teenage defendants have denied manslaughter Ruby Thomas, 18, is accused of the manslaughter of Ian Baynham, 62, who died 18 days after being attacked in Trafalgar Square last year. Jurors have been told Miss Thomas and Rachel Burke, 18, kicked him after he was punched by Joel Alexander, 19. All three defendants, from south-east London, deny manslaughter. The court was told a confrontation began after Miss Thomas hurled homophobic abuse at Mr Baynham and his friend in central London. Miss Thomas' barrist…