UK Policing News

Allegations against police rise A record number of allegations were made against the police in England and Wales last year, says the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). Figures show there were 48,280 claims in 2007/08 - an increase of 5% on the previous year. However the number of complaints - which can be made up of more than one allegation - has remained stable. The Home Office says allegations have risen because people are more aware of their rights but only 11% are proved. The IPCC says they received the highest number of allegations since complaints began to be investigated independently in 1985. Stop-and-search Almost a quarter…

A mother who bit her five-year-old son on the arm after the child hurt his eight-month-old sister has been jailed for five months. The 28-year-old, who cannot be named, told police she thought the boy had injured his sister at the family home in Cheltenham after she heard crying. The boy's teachers reported the case after finding two marks, both more than 3cm long, on him. The mother pleaded guilty to a charge of wilfully assaulting a child. Asked by police why she had bitten the child, the woman said: "I don't know. "Probably that he hurt his sister so he's got to be hurt. It's an automatic reaction to protect your youngest." Judge Mark Horton, at Gloucester Crow…

36-year-old rapist who subjected three women to what detectives described as "horrendous ordeals" at knife point and then stole from them in has been given a 14 life sentences. On 17 September Vladimir Pokorny, 36, of Myatts Field South, SW9, was found guilty of eight counts of rape, three counts of false imprisonment and three counts of robbery at the Inner London Crown Court. Porkony received a life sentence for each offence. The conviction follows an investigation by the Lambeth Sapphire Unit and the trial began on 1 September. On 15 September last year, Pokorny met two women, aged 20 and 23, at a hostel for Czech nationals in West London. He told them he had a…

All rookie cops face drugs tests http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/All-rook...rugs.4513013.jp Published Date: 21 September 2008 By David Leask ROOKIE police officers will be randomly tested for drugs and alcohol in a bid to root out addicts and heavy drinkers before they can cause harm. Scotland's biggest force, Strathclyde, will carry out compulsory testing on all new recruits, and random tests during their first two years on the job. Anyone who fails will be automatically dismissed. But the force has stopped short of imposing tests on all 7,000 police following stiff resistance from the Scottish Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers. The sch…

Linky. The gnome in question may be an offence to taste and common decency, but it's hardly a police matter (impersonating a police officer, maybe?) Solar-powered police gnome In other news (yes, the Mail again), we're all a bunch of criminals. Obvious tag is too obvious to include.

Neighbour from hell's firebomb attack still haunts us http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstori...tack.4517424.jp ORDEAL: Brian and Tracy Soave Published Date: 23 September 2008 By CATHERINE SALMOND A FAMILY whose home was petrol bombed by a "neighbour from hell" say they are still haunted by the attack. Brian and Tracy Soave were asleep when neighbour Andrew Brown launched a Molotov cocktail into their Penicuik home in August last year. Brown, 23, was yesterday sentenced to eight years for the attack at the High Court in Edinburgh. But the couple, who along with their two sons narrowly avoided being injured in the attack, said they were constantly reliving the…

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Speedy recovery... An off-duty policeman has been stabbed several times while trying to break up a fight in Derbyshire. The detective sergeant tried to stop a fight involving a group of people as he walked along Church Street, Dronfield. After identifying himself as a police officer, he was stabbed several times in the chest and arm. His injuries are not thought to be life threatening. A 29-year-old man from Dronfield has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, police said. The officer, who has not been named, is being treated at Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Royal Hospital. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/7624347.stm

Credit scam police officer jailed De Cadenet was arrested after unexplained transactions were spotted An anti-terrorism officer who used the Metropolitan Police's corporate account for more than £73,000 of personal spending has been jailed for 10 months. Det Sgt Richard de Cadenet charged items including luxury holidays to the force's American Express card. The 39-year-old, who worked on the 7/7 bombing inquiry, admitted one count of misfeasance in public office between 18 July 2006 and 2 October 2007. He was arrested after auditors found a list of unexplained transactions. In 2007, 3,533 Metropolitan Police officers and staff had corporate credit cards, but…

Cumbria Constabulary has introduced new maternity uniforms for all pregnant uniformed police officers and staff – a regional first. Cumbria this month became the first Constabulary in the North West of England to launch a uniform specially designed to meet the needs of pregnant uniformed officers. Previously, pregnant women were offered larger sizes of standard uniform items which were uncomfortable and led to women wearing their own clothes to work. All pregnant uniformed officers have now been issued with a new maternity uniform, which is stylish, practical and comfortable. Deputy Chief Constable Christine Twigg said: “The introduction of a maternity uniform demo…

Sex offenders will be forced to take lie detector tests to assess what danger they pose to the public under a pilot scheme announced yesterday by the Ministry of Justice. Children's and crime reduction charities welcomed testing of paedophiles and sex offenders. They said it would increase confidence in the probation system. The pilot scheme will begin in April and run for three years. In trials, nearly 80 per cent of those who volunteered for the 90-minute polygraph test made admissions. But information revealed in a test cannot be used as evidence against an offender. Martin Narey, chief executive of the charity Barnardo's, said: "This has the potential significant…

This is from my local paper. Its stories like this that really get my blood boiling as as someone who has dealt with these victims..there appears to be no consideration as to what she has gone through and how it will have affected her life. Is there any wonder things dont get reported and the public have no confidence in the system cause sometimes i dont!!!! http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/news/H...il/article.html ""'Harsh' sentence slashed for man who molested girl Saturday, September 20, 2008, 07:30 The founder of a Lincolnshire estate agents who sexually molested a teenage girl has had his jail term more than halved on appeal. Simon Bews (43), a married father…

It would be difficult for anyone to smile at Gordon Brown these days, but the Police Federation in Greater Manchester has dispatched letters to their men and women who will be charged with protecting the PM during the Labour Conference to tell them "officially" not to do so. By Tim Walker Last Updated: 7:00PM BST 21 Sep 2008 "Be professional," says Chris Burrows, chairman of the local branch, "but there is no requirement to do things such as participating in photo shoots or going beyond your normal duty requirements to assist the Labour Party." Alluding to the simmering row officers are having with the Government over pay, he asks: "Would you want to smile or pose w…

A police sergeant has been criticised for sending emails to colleagues offering bumper overtime payments to pay for luxury holidays and wide-screen TVs. Thames Valley Police's £5m overtime bonanza came thanks to Britain's biggest terror hunt when police searched woods near High Wycombe, Bucks. Sergeant David Bald's emails to colleagues in Bletchley, Milton Keynes, and Wolverton offered "premium rates" of pay to those "with a raging credit card habit". Volunteers were told that night shifts, believed to be paid at £300 a time, required "little effort, no paper-work and a restful time away from the stresses and strains of everyday life". But police chiefs have taken a…