UK Policing News

Footage shows police clipping Lee Johnson's van A man who drove the wrong way down a motorway while more than three times the drink-drive limit has been jailed. Lee Johnson, 44, steered his red Citroen van against the run of traffic on the M4 near Reading. Police brought him to a stop by clipping his vehicle with a patrol car on 15 December. Johnson, of Colman Road in London, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing and was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Friday to 18 months in prison. He admitted dangerous driving, driving whilst over the prescribed alcohol limit and driving without insurance. Image copyright Thames Valley Police I…

Staffordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner has defended the £1.4 million cost of his office amid calls for him to stand down. https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/staffordshire/2019/02/09/staffordshire-pcc-defends-14m-office-cost/

Image copyright Google Image caption PC Alan Russell was based at Abingdon Police Station when the allegations are said to have taken place A police officer accused of having sex with a suspect is due to face bosses at a misconduct hearing. PC Alan Russell, of Thames Valley Police, is also accused of having sex with another officer while on duty. He was the lead officer in the female suspect's case when he "initiated contact" with her last February, it is claimed. A two-day hearing, due to start on Wednesday, will decide if he is guilty of gross misconduct. It is not yet known whether woman was still a suspect when the pair allegedly had s…

Image copyright PA Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick believes being "a bit different" has encouraged others who "feel different" to join the force. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, Ms Dick, Britain's most senior police officer, said being female and openly gay made unlikely recruits think they too could "have a go" at policing. But she said her sexuality was "one of the least interesting things about me". She also said female police officers should make up half the force. She said: "The fact that I am seen as a bit different in some respects, I realise, on some occasions, makes young people think 'I could have a go' or '…

A woman has been jailed following a robbery at an ATM in Leytonsone. Dwayer Jude, 28 (10.05.90) of no fixed abode, appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, 8 February where she was sentenced to two years and nine months’ imprisonment for the robbery of a woman at an ATM on Leytonstone Road in Walthamstow at 15:10hrs on 28 November 2018. http://news.met.police.uk/news/woman-jailed-for-leytonstone-cash-machine-robbery-358136

Police shot a man as they arrested a group for allegedly holding a woman captive, Scotland Yard has said. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/police-shoot-man-and-arrest-six-others-accused-of-holding-woman-captive-in-southeast-london-a4062041.html

A driver who swerved "to avoid an octopus" before crashing has been arrested on suspicion of drug-driving. Police were called to the A381 between Malborough and South Milton in Devon, where they found a vehicle upside-down in a ditch on Tuesday evening. The 49-year-old driver was checked over by paramedics before being arrested. Officers, who tweeted about the incident, said they found no evidence of an octopus on the road. Octopuses are not unheard of in the seas off the south coast of England, but this particular cephalopod would have had to crawl more than 5km over hills and fields to find itself in the path of a car on the A381. A spokeswoman …

A man has been shot dead in a street near Liverpool city centre. The victim, aged in his 30s, was found dead in Holy Cross Close at about 20:00 GMT on Thursday after witnesses described hearing a number of shots. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-47166852

Commissioner Cressida Dick has today announced to Met officers and staff a range of decisions to support them in their roles and to recognise their efforts. Recognising Extraordinary Pressure On Hard Working Police Officers In recognition of the extraordinary pressures officers have faced in London throughout 2017 and 2018 the Commissioner has today announced the payment of a one-off recognition payment of £350 to the majority of Metropolitan police officers up to and including the rank of Chief Superintendent. The payment recognises their superb response to the multiple terrorist attacks in London, the Grenfell Tower fire, other major events, and respondin…