UK Policing News

Mark's wife Karen posted a photo of Mark with a message on social media sites asking fellow officers to send him Christmas cards at Lincoln County Hospital to let him know people were thinking of him. Christmas cards with messages of support have been pouring in for a police officer who was knocked off his bike and suffered severe brain injuries. Mark Jones had been a police officer and dog handler with the British Transport Police for 32 years but was left with multiple phsyical injuries after his accident in September. Mark's wife Karen posted a photo of Mark with a message on social media sites asking fellow officers to send him Christmas cards at Lincoln C…

Sussex Police The force has consulted the public and will talk to its partners again before agreeing final versions New posters raising awareness of rape have been produced by Sussex Police after the force had to drop a campaign earlier this year. Three draft posters have been produced tackling issues of consent, safety, and reporting suspicious behaviour. In April, a rape prevention poster campaign was brought to an end after it was criticised for "victim-blaming". The new posters have been praised by campaigners for putting the issue of consent "front and centre". Sussex Police consulted the public on the draft posters for two days this week and will consult again…

An independent panel should assist the Home Office in devising a new funding formula for police forces in England and Wales, a committee of MPs has said. A statistical error in October led some forces to wrongly assume they would be losing money for 2016-17, while others thought their budgets were to increase. The Home Affairs Select Committee says it hopes its proposal will help remedy "the shambles we have seen so far". The government said it would consider the recommendations carefully. The amount of money each police force receives from the government is based on a funding formula, which assesses population size, social and economic factors, crime rates and other …

The hearing took place at Dorset Police HQ Two officers have been sacked from Dorset Police after one of them became involved with a vulnerable woman he met during the course of his job. PC Neil Bowditch and Sgt Mark Hughes were dismissed without notice for gross misconduct by an independent panel. Both officers tried to cover up the "inappropriate relationship", Dorset Police said. The panel concluded the officers' behaviour had "fallen woefully short" of policing standards. The four-day hearing, at Dorset Police HQ in Winfrith, was told PC Bowditch first met the woman in a professional capacity in July 2013, before they got together. Both men were based at Poole …

Source Thoghts go out to the officer, not something you want hanging over you.

Cheshire's fire and police chiefs have backed plans to operate out of a single headquarters. The approval in principle was made on Wednesday at separate meetings held by Cheshire Fire Authority and the Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner. The plans involve bringing together most of the back office and professional services to support both at a shared site by April 2018. It is estimated the new base could save £1.465m each year. The total costs of the collaboration and setting up the joint headquarters at Clemonds Hey are estimated at £6.6m. "This is an ambitious and challenging programme but it is one which we all believe offers us the best chance of continuing …

Fifteen police stations are to close to the public in Essex as part of £63m of spending cuts, a police and crime commissioner has said. Nine stations are to shut down with front counter service shutting in six others and staff cut from 98 to 36. Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Alston said many buildings were no longer fit for purpose "Police officers, not buildings, fight crime," Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh said. "We spend too much on too many police buildings, many of which are either no longer fit for policing or are hardly used by the public to report crime. "The financial outlook might be slightly brighter than we thought in the autumn, but Essex Police…

http://www.policeoracle.com/news/police_staff/2015/Aug/19/nick-gargan-asked-to-resign-after--losing-confidence-of-public-and-police-_89304.html&commentadded=1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33987889 This raises a couple of points apart from that of Gargan's behaviour and misconduct hearings. First a PCC can use regulations to call upon a CC to resign but there still isn't a mechanism in place to get a PCC to do the same thing despite an obvious need for one. Secondly why is Mountstevens appointing the current ACC to be T/CC for one month until he retires? What can Long possible do that is useful for such a short period other than to allow h…

Shafilea Ahmed was murdered by her parents in 2003 in a so-called "honour" killing Police in England and Wales are not adequately prepared to combat so-called honour-based crimes, inspectors say. In the first review of police responses, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary said three forces out of 43 were completely unprepared and only three were fully prepared. Well-trained officers capable of spotting victims were spread thinly across England and Wales, HMIC said. Police chiefs said they were doing all they could to end honour-based abuse. Honour crime is the name given to offences carried out by people claiming they are protecting their cultural and religious…

A customer has been stabbed to death in a Poundland store in Oxfordshire. Witnesses said a man carrying two knives was Tasered by police after running from the discount shop in Bury Street, Abingdon, at about 11:20 GMT. Staff at a nearby Spar store said they barricaded themselves inside as the man tried to gain entry, before he was restrained by the police. A 36-year-old man, who is from Abingdon, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Updates on this story and more from Oxfordshire Kash, who works at the Spar shop, said after the stabbing a man tried to push his way into the store. 'Terrible incident' He s…