UK Policing News

Boredom and a lack of motivation is causing some police community support officers (PCSOs) in London to commit criminal offences, a report has said. PCSOs were responsible for the majority of cases of gross misconduct in the Metropolitan Police in 2008, despite making up only 20% of the workforce. Some felt akin to "glorified security guards", the force's HR director said. The role was created to put more uniformed police on streets and to take some duties away from other officers. The Police Federation has described the introduction of PCSOs as "policing on the cheap", while other critics have expressed concern that PCSOs have no power to arrest suspected crimina…

BBC Website Bristol Evening Post (the UKs most anti-Police newspaper) I'm not sure about anyone else but I have mixed feelings about the sentencing. On one hand he has deliberatley left his vehicle to violently punch the victim causing an injury that has killed him, so with this in mind he should have got more... But on the other hand exactly the same single punch could have caused injuries only amounting a common assault and he would therefore only have got a caution. The same action could have caused a completely different outcome, do we sentence depending on the action or do we sentence depending on the outcome? Difficult!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7869634.stm Moooooooooooooooove along MAM!...

" a discretionary grant " The Government should cough up, simple as that!. Suffolk Police have written to a government minister in a bid to recover the costs of guarding Gordon Brown and his family while on holiday. Security during the two-week break cost the force about £160,000. Mr Brown stayed in Shadingfield, near the resort of Southwold, with his wife Sarah and two young sons, John and Fraser, in July and August. The letter was sent to the Minister for Policing Vernon Coaker but the request is being considered by the Home Office. The force said the considerable security costs had not been part of their planned budget and has now put pressure on the rest of…

Police withdraw speed detectors Police have been using the system for more than two decades Traffic police in Scotland have been ordered to stop using handheld speed detecting equipment amid fears it could be affected by police radio waves. Road policing units were told to employ alternatives to the Visual Average Speed Computer and Recorder (Vascar) system until further notice. It is thought police radios could be causing faults in the speed detectors. The system sees an officer pressing a button as a vehicle passes between two measured points. It has been in use for 25 years. Strathclyde Police confirmed its officers had been asked to use alternative spee…

Smith targets 'credit crunch crime wave' 1 hour 9 mins ago Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is hosting a summit to address fears of a "credit crunch crime wave" after burglaries were up 4 per cent in the last set of crime figures. Govt to tackle "credit-crunch crimewave" Ms Smith will host police, retailers, insurers and charities for elderly people at the meeting in central London. She will also launch a £1.6 million crime prevention campaign and a new web-based test for people to check their home security. The three-minute test will rate your home on the basis of the information you provide and suggest new ways to make your home safer. The Home Secretary has pledg…

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2200058.ece POLICE in Surrey have a new weapon in the fight against youth crime – snowballs. Cops out on the beat yesterday confronted hoodies who were throwing snowballs at cars with a pelting of their own. The officers in their high visibility jackets were hit by the teenagers who were only too delighted to sock snowballs to the cops. So the officers responded in turn. A resident living nearby shot the video and said: "They have an interesting approach!" Guildford Safer Neighbourhood Inspector Julie Murray said: "The officers in the video were not responding to a call, but came across the young people while w…

A Teesside mother, whose daughter was killed by a drink-driver, has helped win a change in the law on bans served by jailed motorists. Jan Woodward's daughter Kelly, 19, from Billingham, near Stockton, was killed by a speeding driver who was twice over the legal drink-drive limit in 2005. Mrs Woodward called for a change in the law to stop prisoners being able to serve driving bans while in jail. Mother wins drive ban law change New rules mean driving bans can now be imposed after a sentence is completed. Mrs Woodward gained cross-party political support and was backed by motoring organisations and road safety charities. Scarborough and Whitby MP Robert Goodwil…

Posted By: Philip Johnston at Feb 4, 2009 at 12:34:32 Jacqui Smith is hosting a burglary summit. That's a relief. Who would imagine that the police, locksmiths, burglar alarm companies, Neighbourhood Watch schemes and the like could possibly do their jobs properly without guidance from the Home Secretary? The Home Office has issued a press release with the headline: Home Secretary Leads New Burglary Crackdown. What is the point of this? Miss Smith said the aim was to discuss practical measures and ensure that reminders are given to householders to fit window locks and other security devices. Why is a summit attended by 40 people necessary to do that? Most places have Ne…

Three gang members convicted over the killing of schoolboy Rhys Jones cheered as they left the courtroom today. They celebrated after the judge ruled they will only serve five years in prison between them. James Yates, 21 tomorrow, Nathan Quinn, 18, and Dean Kelly, 17, yelled with delight after being sentenced for assisting murderer Sean Mercer, 18. Rhys, 11, was murdered by Mercer in Croxteth, Liverpool, in August 2007. Last month Mercer, of (address removed) was jailed for a minimum 22-year-term. The trio left the bullet-proof dock after winking and smiling at family and friends at Liverpool Crown Court. Seconds later they were heard celebrating loudly and a…

Source Daily Record I'm not sure this is what Salmond had in mind with The Homecoming. PS An appropriate enough name for a prostitute .......

FURIOUS senior cops hit out yesterday after the Union Jack hanging outside a police station was replaced – by a GAY RIGHTS flag. Officers accused London’s Met of “playing politics†after the swap. New Met boss Sir Paul Stephenson angrily ordered the rainbow flag to be taken down after he was informed. Met rules state only the Union Jack and its own flag can fly from force buildings. But the striped gay emblem was raised instead outside Limehouse Police Station in East London. It marks Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Month – a gay rights celebration in February. One officer said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it. The police are playing pol…

Source BBC He's a nasty piece of work, no doubt about it. However all that's happening here is that he's asking for his pension back, and he can ask whatever he wants - there's no guarantee that he'll actually get it. On that basis, I think the protestors are barking up the wrong tree plus his eligibility for legal aid is neither here nor there.

Police 'aided witness media deal' A "supergrass" murder trial witness was helped by police to sell his story to the media before the case even got to court, the Appeal Court has heard. Mick Steele, 64, and Jack Whomes, 45, were jailed for life in 1998 for the murders of three gangsters in Essex. Their lawyers argue the book, TV and film deal struck by key witness Darren Nicholls made his evidence unreliable. Prosecutors deny claims of a police cover-up and say they will seek a retrial if the convictions are quashed. Witness scandals Baroness Kennedy QC, representing Steele, told the court new disclosures about police involvement in Mr Nicholls' media deal thr…

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2198708.ece FURIOUS senior cops hit out yesterday after the Union Jack hanging outside a police station was replaced – by a GAY RIGHTS flag. Nice one Sir Paul Stephenson!! :smiley_notworthy: :smiley_notworthy: