UK Policing News

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35481787 When I first saw this I thought that there must be an immediate or recent link between the prisoner being assaulted by a police officer and being found dead but after reading the story it transpires that the assault was in 2012 and that the PC involved was found guilty of common assault. Whilst the death of Sarah is tragic for her family I think the headline is OTT but I suppose that a headline saying 'female shoplifter found dead in prison' wouldn't have the same impact as one which suggests however tenuously that the police caused her death. What do you think?

The area was cordoned off for three hours after the crash Two policemen were taken to hospital after their patrol car crashed with a BMW X5 and a Daewoo Matiz in an Essex seaside resort. The collision happened in Shorefield Road near its junction with Marine Parade, Southend, just after 10:00 BST. One of the officers had minor injuries while the other is being treated for a head injury and possible broken arm. They were searching for a vehicle that earlier failed to stop for them on Western Esplanade, police said. Two 24-year-old men were arrested in connection with the Western Esplanade incident, while the crash involving the police car is being treated as a separate…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-35891756

The education secretary, Nicky Morgan, seems dead set on imposing academies on England whether teachers or parents want them, or whether they have proved to be more successful than the current way they are organised. I've heard Morgan use similar arguments to May when to justify the changes including the removal of targets and replacement with local control. As with May the reform is being imposed, as with police reform it seems to have more to do with Tory dogma than anything else and seems to be change for the sake of change, as with the police very few teachers seem to agree with it, and as with the police there is very little ground swell of public opinion calli…

4 hours ago From the section London Met Police Alex was described by police as a "special Easter delivery" Two policemen helped to deliver a baby boy after they were flagged down by a van driver in north-west London. The constables were on patrol on Kenton Road, Harrow, at about 13:30 BST when they were called over by a driver who was carrying a passenger in labour. They assisted the woman with the birth and baby Alex was born into a police fleece. Police tweeted to say it was "a special Easter delivery". Mother and baby were later taken to hospital by ambulance. "We send all good wishes to baby Alex and family," the Metropolitan Police said. The two officers…

Boris and General have been lent to Gloucestershire by the Metropolitan Police Police horses will be reintroduced in Gloucestershire for the first time in about 70 years. Patrols by the force's new mounted division are due to begin later. Two animals, named Boris and General, have been lent to Gloucestershire Police by the Met and will be stabled at Highnam Court near Gloucester. The year-long trial, costing £195,000, will see the animals used to police large events, patrol town centres at night and search for missing people. Ch Supt Gary Thompson said the animals will be become part of day-to-day policing. The animals will be stabled at Highnam Court near Gloucest…

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/psni-justified-in-using-tasers-and-baton-rounds-against-man-armed-with-machete-swords-in-antrim-34562852.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-35894176

Illegal immigrants were discovered in the back of a lorry in Dartford Another 26 migrants were found in a second incident in Canterbury Campaigners say that the pictures are 'genuinely concerning' Discovery comes as four lorry drivers who help smuggle people in are jailed for five years each These are the damning pictures that show how Britain has lost control of its borders. In two separate incidents, police stopped lorries to find, each time, 26 illegal immigrants who had made it across the Channel and deep into Kent. In the wake of the Brussels attacks, the incidents also highlight the risk of terrorists exploiting the same migrant routes. More than 30,000 pe…

Missing children failed by police, inspectors say Children in England and Wales who go missing are being left at risk of serious harm because of "unacceptable inconsistencies" in the way police respond, the police watchdog has said. Some forces wrongly recorded children as "absent", and saw those who went missing repeatedly as "time-wasters", HM Inspectorate of Constabulary found. The National Police Chiefs' Council said improvements would be made. The Inspectorate report - entitled Missing Children: Who Cares? - said there were many reasons why children go missing - from being lost or separated while out with t…