UK Policing News

Dramatic footage shows the moment a gang of female pickpockets were caught by an undercover police officer as they tried to steal a shopper's purse on Oxford Street. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/moment-female-gang-of-pickpockets-are-snared-by-undercover-police-officer-as-they-try-to-swipe-a4004071.html

Scotland Yard has denied it is considering routine deployments of armed foot patrols in London's crime hot spots to stop gang violence. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/scotland-yard-denies-plans-to-put-armed-squads-on-routine-patrols-to-tackle-gangs-a4004271.html

Shocking footage shows a group of about 100 teenagers surrounding police before some launch an attack on the officers in a Durham town centre. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/police-attacked-with-bricks-and-fireworks-as-they-are-mobbed-by-100-teenagers-in-durham-town-centre/ar-BBQhmQq?ocid=spartandhp

More than 170 motorists were arrested for traffic offences in a two week crackdown on dangerous driving on London’s roads. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/519-cyclists-offences-including-red-light-jumping-dealt-with-by-police-in-twoweek-dangerous-driving-a4002276.html

A police officer fired her Taser at a gunman as she challenged a gang fleeing a suspected cannabis factory. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/hero-pc-faces-down-gunman-armed-only-with-her-taser-as-she-challenges-drug-gang-in-north-london-a4001376.html

Mental health services and other agencies need to stop relying on the 24/7 availability of the police, a report has said. Officers often need to step in because more suitable services have finished for the day Five people with mental health problems called the Metropolitan Police 8,655 times in 2017, according to a new report. https://news.sky.com/story/police-stepping-in-for-struggling-mental-health-services-11564752

NINE out of ten people surveyed in Dorset believe the police need more money - but officers fear cuts will soon cripple the service https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/17255349.amp/ similar story across the UK, but interesting numbers none the less.

Police officers may be using an unlawful means of obtaining the patient records of firearm licence applicants, it has been reported. https://www.digitalhealth.net/2018/11/home-office-looking-into-potentially-unlawful-access-to-patient-info-by-police/ Hmm, a saving may now be an expensive mistake.

Image copyright Bedfordshire PCC Image caption Bedfordshire PCC Kathryn Holloway said news of the funding was a "very welcome Christmas present" A police force has been awarded £4.57m in emergency funding to help cover the cost of fighting gun and knife crime. Bedfordshire Police asked the Home Office for a grant to deal with an "unprecedented" rise in gang violence. Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Kathryn Holloway said news of the funding was a "very welcome Christmas present". The force is the first in the country to ask for - and win - additional cash to deal with gangs. Ms Holloway said the fight against gang violence had placed an…

Police are spraying criminals with “DNA spray” in a bid to crackdown on scooter gangs in the capital. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/dna-spray-being-used-by-police-in-london-to-tag-and-identify-moped-criminals-a3998971.html