UK Policing News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8496975.stm Long wait for dream career in the Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police has revealed that 2,000 applicants who successfully passed its rigorous recruitment process have no jobs to go to because fewer warranted officers are leaving, contrary to expectations. Here two of those candidates explain how they are coping with the uncertainty. Both did not want to be identified as they were afraid of the possible implications on their careers. Male candidate in his 20s from south London "I have always wanted to be a Met Police officer - I first considered joining when I was 18 but decided to get some life experience first. "But…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8495756.stm and the linked BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8496975.stm I know a Detention Officer who has passed the application rpocess for the Met, and has been waiting for a start date for months. He's just been told he must wait a minimum of another 6 months. Anyone else kow of people left in limbo?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/8495749.stm Article states he will serve a minimum of 4yrs and 9 months having raped an 86yr old wman who lived in a nursing home, and died shortly afterwards. I really think for some offences the minimum sentence guidelines are a joke. Fair play to the cops for securing a charge decision, and the CPS for sucessfully prosecuting at Court. Obviously it's little consolation to the victim's family and friends, but hopefully at least it can be of some comfort that he didn't get away with it.

A report issued today by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Association of Police Authorities (APA), the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and the Home Office makes recommendations on how forces can give more for less in tough economic times. The report highlights the following areas that could provide opportunities for police forces and authorities in England and Wales to improve value for money, including: • reforming police shift patterns to better suit the public and cut back on overtime payments; • streamlining back-office support services; • developing smarter procurement polic…

A 19-year-old man has been given an indeterminate jail sentence for the kidnap and rape of an 86-year-old woman in a Bradford care home. A judge at Bradford Crown Court told Dale Boocock, from the Woodside area of the city, his crime was "appalling". Boocock, who admitted rape and kidnap, was told he would serve a minimum of four years and nine months. The elderly woman was assaulted at a home in the Buttershaw area of Bradford in the early hours of 15 September. She needed hospital treatment at the time of the attack and has since died of natural causes. The court heard Boocock had been on bail for a series of house burglaries at the time of the attack. The ju…

A man who carried out a "sickening and savage" attack on a two-week-old baby in West Yorkshire has been jailed. Matthew Masterman, 22, of Dodge Holme Court, Mixenden, near Halifax, was told he must serve at least three years of an indefinite sentence. Bradford Crown Court heard how, in February 2008, he shook the baby causing him serious injuries including broken ribs and brain haemorrhaging. He pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent. Judge Peter Benson described the attack, which happened in February 2008, as "disturbing in the extreme". 'Lost control' The boy suffered fractures to his collarbone, ribs, knee and haemorrhages to his brain, eyes and lo…

Network Rail has been blamed for a catalogue of inspection failures over a bridge collapse which caused a freight train to derail in Ayrshire. The train, which was carrying kerosene, gas oil and diesel, came off the rails south of Stewarton on 27 January 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgo...est/8495807.stm good job there was no one killed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8490090.stm

June, 2008 In a four bedroom house in Cumbernauld, Scotland, Strathclyde Police raided a house that was growing exotic plants indoors using hydroponic and standard growing equipment. Several people at the property were arrested, and also the landlord of the property, for being concerned in the cultivation of cannabis. Along with the plants and the equipment that were seized at the property a large amount of cash was also seized. After a few months had passed the Procurator Fiscal had decided that there was no case against anyone that had been arrested and that any seized items were to be returned to their rightful owners. The owners of the cash had long since moved f…

The Met recruitment shambles hits the national papers: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime...d-1887642.html# February 3, 2010 How the Met's newest recruits lost their jobs before they'd started By Mark Hughes, Crime Correspondent 'Get some life experience and come back in 2011,' says force as budgets are cut Thousands of police recruits who were promised jobs more than a year ago have been told that, due to budget cuts, the positions earmarked for them are no longer available. The Independent has learnt that about 2,000 would-be officers were recruited by the Metropolitan Police during a drive in January 2009 and told they would start their training in sprin…

MEMBERS of the public have been asked to pray for police officers to help them solve crimes and protect officers from injury on duty. The Christian Police Association states: 'There is circumstantial evidence to suggest that prayer may help to reduce crime and community tension.' The call came as the association this week launched a new project called 'CoAct', part-funded by a £10,000 grant from the Home Office, in a bid to improve links between police forces and the church and to improve confidence in the police service. The 'CoAct' [action in the community] project encourages Christians to work with offenders coming out of prison, set up youth groups to prevent c…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8487381.stm Theft of DVLA log books fuels cars scam By Phil Kemp Donal MacIntyre Show, BBC Radio 5 live Vehicles worth £13m have been stolen as a result of the loss of thousands of blank DVLA log books, a BBC investigation has found. The police say they could be dealing with the impact of the blunder for over a century. Criminal gangs use the stolen vehicle registration documents to sell cloned cars on the private market. The DVLA says it is a criminal activity outside of its control and it is working with the police to stop it. Car cloning is the vehicle equivalent of identity theft. Gangs copy the number plate and other identifying…

Wiltshire police officer dies in car crash A police officer has been killed in a car crash in Wiltshire. The officer, who has not been named, died in his police car at the scene of the accident just outside Trowbridge. Wiltshire Police said the officer was driving the marked car along Westwood Road towards the town when the crash happened at about 2000 GMT on Monday. A spokesman said: "The officer lost control on a left-hand bend and veered off the road. No other vehicles were involved in the incident." He added: "The accident is being investigated by the force's serious collision team. "Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to contact police." It is no…