UK Policing News

The most harrowing job in the world After a teenage girl is lured to her death by an internet predator, this is a unique insight into the police who dedicate their lives to bringing child abusers to justice. Their stories are deeply disturbing, but should be heard. Detective Inspector Tony Smith looks as if he is trying not to cry. We are sitting in the boardroom of the Child Protection Unit for West London, housed in a drab, faceless building on Earls Court Road. The room is devoid of colour apart from the dozen or so synthetic blue chairs and the pile of lurid photographs that lies on the big table between us. The photographs are of Amber. The first shows that s…

Source My bold I would of thought that they would of had more that one security guard during prisoner escort?

Sergeant guilty of Pc sex assault A sergeant with the Metropolitan Police has been convicted of sexually assaulting a sleeping colleague after a Christmas party. David Stevens, 37, of Highgate, north London, was seen committing the act by a fellow officer at the function in Elstree, Hertfordshire, in December. The victim, a male Pc who has a long-term girlfriend, said he punched the walls in anger when told what happened. Stevens will be sentenced at St Albans Crown Court in November. The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court that he had never met Stevens, who was found guilty after a two-week trial, before the party. He said: "I rememb…

Scotland Yard has apologised after actors from a hit film were mistakenly identified as football hooligans being sought after riots at a West Ham game. Police issued 66 pictures of people supposedly caught on camera during violent clashes in August. The images wrongly included stills of six actors from recent film The Firm. A TV report was used to capture the images but because there was no sound officers did not realise it included clips from the hooligan-themed film. Scotland Yard, who released the images on Tuesday, said: "Six images of individuals who were not involved in the violence were mistakenly included. "These images appear to have been taken from a motion p…

A girl of 10 had CS gas sprayed in her eyes when 35 police officers stormed a birthday party to make a minor arrest. Abbie Symonds had to spend the night in hospital for treatment after the family barbecue turned into a night of terror. Her mother, Delia Symonds, said officers in full riot gear used tear gas indiscriminately like ‘five-year-olds with water pistols.’ Recovering: Abbie Symonds, with her mother Delia, spent a night in hospital They stormed her son Nigel’s 16th birthday bash in a quiet cul-de-sac in Bath to arrest his brother Robert, 20, over an alleged breach of bail conditions. The 16-year-old was also arrested for a public order offence and hi…

Someone is attacked by a complete stranger every 30 seconds in Binge Britain, figures revealed last night. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12...l#ixzz0VhlyT4Qr I do not believe it is as bad as the article shows, am i wrong thou?

Just as gay and lesbian people are starting to enjoy equal rights, the number of attacks against them seems to be rising. Why? Ten years ago, a nail-bomb exploded in a gay bar in the heart of London, claiming three lives and maiming dozens more, the final act in a series of attacks on the capital's minority groups. The intervening decade has seen significant steps in changing attitudes and legislation that give gay people - and their civil partners - equality enshrined in law. But now another shadow has been cast over the UK's gay community. A series of homophobic attacks, at a time when crime figures suggest such incidents are on the rise, has mobilised people to vo…

Former Tory leader says sentences of under two months ought to be replaced by tougher community penalties. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/no...in-duncan-smith I have never thought of prison sentencing as a deterrent to stopping crime. More as a way of telling certain people, you are not welcome in society any longer, may it be for 1 month or 20 years.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8334877.stm A sergeant with the Metropolitan Police has been convicted of sexually assaulting a sleeping colleague after a Christmas party. David Stevens, 37, of Highgate, north London, was seen committing the act by a fellow officer at the function in Elstree, Hertfordshire, in December. The victim, a male Pc who has a long-term girlfriend, said he punched the walls in anger when told what happened. Stevens will be sentenced at St Albans Crown Court in November. The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court that he had never met Stevens, who was found guilty after a two-week trial, before the p…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8336485.stm Fan dressed as sheep set alight Some reports said many fans were dressed as sheep on the train A 24-year-old football fan dressed as a sheep suffered serious burns to his arms and legs when his suit caught fire on a train in Fife. Aberdeen fans said the man ran ablaze through the carriage as others threw beer on him to douse the flames. The Edinburgh to Aberdeen service was stopped at Kirkcaldy at about 1900 GMT on Saturday to allow him to be treated. British Transport Police said a 23-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the incident. A second man is reported to have suffered slight injuries. The train …

Call to cut 'farcical' jail terms Prison sentences of two months or less should be scrapped and replaced by tougher probation courses, according to Iain Duncan Smith. Such short terms are "farcical" and do nothing to reform serial offenders, the former Conservative leader is expected to say in a speech on Monday. The speech echoes a new report by his Centre for Social Justice. Justice Secretary Jack Straw said some of its claims were "unfounded" but he would look at its suggestions. The report by the Centre for Social Justice, which is headed by Mr Duncan Smith, says courts should be given the power to quickly haul offenders into prison if they breach their probation…

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