UK Policing News

I bet HMQ is not amused.Orf with their Heads... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bu...rts/7538217.stm Swan death accused case dropped A case against three men accused of killing 29 swans has been dropped after evidence was lost at a police station. The swans, all shot, were found buried in a pit near water at Radwell Lake, Bedfordshire, in October last year. Stephen Barrett, 38, Marcus Walker, 51, and Darren Walker, 47, from Chesham, Buckinghamshire, pleaded not guilty and a trial was set for Monday 4 August. The CPS dropped the case as ammunition allegedly used to kill the swans was lost, Bedfordshire Police said. The force added the loss of the ammunition…

Canoe fraud couple sent to jail Anne Darwin was pictured with her husband while he was still "missing" The wife of back-from-the-dead canoeist John Darwin has been jailed for six years and six months for fraudulently claiming £250,000. Anne Darwin, 56, convinced insurance companies, a coroner and her sons her husband had died in a canoe accident. She was convicted of six fraud charges and nine of money laundering at Teesside Crown Court. Mr Darwin, 57, who had earlier admitted deception, was jailed for six years and three months. The couple's sons, Mark and Anthony, who had given evidence against their mother, were described by the judge as the "real victims"…

The politicians seem a bit lost when it comes to tackling knife crime. The BBC ran a short report about a policy proposal: The general reaction was that teenagers are so dysfunctional it wouldn't work. Is that what British teenagers have come to, knifing a pensioner to look cool? If teenagers ARE that dysfunctional, who takes responsibility? If you disagree, would you sign the petition? http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/tackli...nife-crime.html Thanks.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10...e-red-tape.html Not certain this is news, i knew this a while back, but it is in rescent newspaper.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/justice/... 4 feral youngsters viciously assault an innocent and leave him lying in the street for dead, still kicking and tapping him whilst the motionless victim has his pockets searched and stolen from by a girl accompanying the gang. How on earth did it come to all this?

Parents were yesterday warned to keep young children properly restrained in the car after a toddler was thrown 150ft to her death when the family's BMW crashed while she was on her mother's lap. Eighteen-month- old Angel Nguyen had been strapped into a child seat until moments before the accident at 80mph on the M4. But just after her mother took the child out to feed her, an under-inflated tyre blew. Angel's father lost control of the car which mounted a grass bank before somersaulting back on to the carriageway and ending up on its roof. Angel was on her mother's lap in the back and sharing her seatbelt, but the impact wrenched the girl free and she was flung throug…

Frontline emergency services are being cut to cover the soaring cost of fuel. Rising prices have already driven one police force to reduce recruitment, and last night there were warnings that the problem will escalate across Britain in the coming weeks. A senior official at the Police Federation, which represents 140,000 rank-and-file officers, said: ‘All the fat has already been trimmed off police budgets. Shortfall: Forces are having to reevaluate their budgets in the face of mounting fuel costs which have already seen Hampshire Police cut recruitment 'For a lot of forces, there is nothing left to cut except officer numbers.’ A survey by The Mail on Sunday has …

Hi all, I am currently writing my university dissertation on the effectiveness of UK laws in assisting victims of domestic violence. I would like to know your opinions on the proposed changes to the partial defences to murder. Please also indicate if you are a serving police officer or not. Should someone be able to argue they were "forced to kill a violent partner?" Are you of the opinion that this is giving people a "licence to kill" Opinions welcome. Thanks From BBC news website 29th July 2008 Changes in murder laws proposed The case of Kiranjit Ahluwalia set a legal precedent in 1992 Proposed reforms of the law on homicide in much of the UK could change…

Joel Johnson Joel Johnson was sentenced on 25 July 2008 to an indeterminate life sentence after pleading guilty on 19 July 2008 at Woolwich Crown Court to attempted GBH, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and possession of ammunition. He will not be eligible for release for 8 years and 5 months. A charge of attempted murder of a police officer was allowed to remain on file. Johnson was arrested after firing five shots at a police car in Hatcham Park Road, SE14 on 22 December 2007.The police car was hit three times, with the officer in the passenger seat being struck by one bullet that entered the passenger door which hit his bullet-proof jacket …

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7534337.stm Defence solicitors in England and Wales have warned serious offenders are getting off lightly because police are chasing performance targets. They said on-the-spot fines and cautions are overused to boost convictions and avoid court cases. The latest Home Office figures for fixed penalties show a 37% increase in 2006, with a 17% rise in cautions. The Ministry of Justice said "it is not always necessary" for crimes to be dealt with in court. Fixed penalties, normally fines of £80 which do not show up on criminal records, are intended to be used for minor offences, such as speeding, shoplifting and minor assaults. We need to …

New ITV program, Send in the dogs. We have a man with a locked knife, he was taken to court and let off, it appears the court believed him when he said, he used it for work purposes. So much for clamping down on knife carrying. Unbelievable. http://www.itv.com/CatchUp/Video/default.h...mp;Filter=23619

Monday 28 July, 2008 A 39-year-old man was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Friday (25th July) having been extradited from Amsterdam. Cheltenham Police officers travelled to Amsterdam to carry out the extradition order and following his arrest he has been charged with robbery, possessing an offensive weapon and 6 counts of concealing the proceeds of crime relating to a robbery at a travel agent’s in Tewkesbury in 2005. The incident took place on 20th August 2005 at Thomas Cook in the High Street, Tewkesbury when two people entered the store and stole a large amount of cash and travellers cheques from the safe in the bureau de change. Detective Inspector Steve Bean sa…

Two firearms officers are in hospital after using their own bodies to smother flames engulfing a knife-wielding man who had set himself alight. A spokesman for Surrey Police said two unarmed officers were sent to a home in Cranleigh after reports of a man threatening to attack fellow residents. The man then threatened to stab the officers before running into woodland with a can of petrol and a lighter. The firearms unit was called but he set himself ablaze as they approached. Armed officers and dog units, supported by the police helicopter, had searched the area after the man had run off and found him at 2305 BST on Wednesday at the back of his house. Without …

From Police Oracle Home Secretary announces rollout of monthly crime information on Force websites as part of the Policing Green Paper... Every neighbourhood in England and Wales will have access to the latest local crime information through new interactive crime maps, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced yesterday. The rollout of interactive crime maps follows the announcement made by the Home Secretary earlier this month, as part of the Policing Green Paper, that every police force in the country has now delivered monthly crime information to the public on their websites. New interactive crime maps will take the rollout of local crime information to the next level…