Monthly Archive for November, 2009

Police are to blame – fact

Published on November 30, 2009 in The Job - Comment. Closed

written by 200 from 200 Weeks

After the tragic death of a four-year-old killed by a dog in the family home in Merseyside, the Telegraph knows who is to blame. It’s headline today reads “A four-year-old boy was mauled to death by his family’s bull terrier-type dog at his grandmother’s house, which police had been warned was allegedly being used for dog breeding but failed to investigate“.

Police were called to an address where they shot the dog. John-Paul Massey, the boy concerned had been mauled & killed by the dog which was described as a ‘bull terrier-like’ dog. The boy’s grandmother was also bitten when she tried to stop the dog.

It turns out that the local housing department had rung Merseyside Police in February with concerns that the household was being used to breed dogs. There had been no mention at that time of any danger.

Now, the crux of the matter is whether the complaint in February had suggested the dogs being bred were one of the banned breeds. The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 bans only four types of dog. This means that basic possession & breeding within the UK is illegal. Those breeds are the pit bull terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiro.

The breed of the dog involved in this incident hasn’t been released though news reports suggest it has been sent for forensic tests to determine the breed. This suggests that it may be a pitbull, these are notoriously difficult to identify as they are similar to other breeds of bull terrier. Some police dog handlers are suitably trained to identify pitbulls, otherwise an expert is usually called upon to determine the breed.

Chf Supt Steve Ashley said: “We have had one complaint in February this year from a housing officer that the house was being used to breed dogs. The operator decided it was not a police matter, that is not Merseyside Police policy and as a result that will form a separate police investigation. The words `dangerous dog’ were not used in the call to police. A qualified officer should have called the complainant back to ask for more details why this was a cause for concern.”

If the intial complaint was that someone was breeding pitbulls, then he is probably correct & the police will be be to blame for the child’s death. The owner, who breeds pitbulls & deems it safe to have them around children will receive less vilification.

If the complaint wasn’t that the household was breeding pitbulls, then the Chief Superintendent is talking ouf of his arse.

The original post can be found http://200weeks.police999.com/archives/2305

US Police Officers shot

Published on November 30, 2009 in Uncategorized. Closed

written by whichendbites from WHICHENDBITES

Four American Police Officers were shot during an incident at a coffee shop in Parkland, near Tacoma, South of Seattle, according to the Seattle Times.

The four officers were killed at about 8:15 a.m. by a scruffy-looking man who walked into a coffee shop and opened fire. The officers — three men and one woman — were found dead by deputies who arrived at Forza Coffee at 11401 Steele St. S., said Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer.

Troyer said the investigation into the shootings indicate that the gunman “flat-out executed” two of the officers. One officer then stood up, tried to go for the gunman and was shot, Troyer said.

The fourth officer was involved in some kind of struggle with the gunman.

RIP

The original post can be found http://whichendbites.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/us-police-officers-shot/

Heads or Tails.

Published on November 30, 2009 in Uncategorized. Closed

written by whichendbites from WHICHENDBITES

Response have taken one of the Britannia Estate’s ex-residents in for a short spell of B & B on the queen. They have found out his new abode and are in the process of sorting out the relevant consents to carry out a search. After a while they arrive but do not have the necessary trade to sort out what is preventing them from gaining access to begin the search. They leave a spotter and return to base to await for the cavalry to arrive.

Its Thursday lates, at the nick where I used to work before my transition into all things canine. The nick where there was once a bar. The psychological scars from the inflatable sheep still remain.

I am shocked. Lates used to parade about twenty-five, now there are just……………..three. Four if you include the spotter left outside the address. Where have they gone ?

Well I know that one went to the dog section. I know at least two got promoted.

The rest ?

Now on the targeting squads, presumably, so the CTCC can be seen to hit its targets and concentrate on the frequent offenders in an effort to try to reduce whatever the chosen crime is this month.

We have the necessary brief and then set out to return to join the spotter.

I put the key in the door to be greeted by some teeth on the inside and a great deal of space behind. They want to make sure there is only one target. Either me or my oppo. I called heads and got the noose. As we entered, the savagery from within beat a hasty retreat to the safety of what I can only describe as……………something that was once a kitchen. A device underneath a lot of other stuff showed evidence that it may have once been a cooker. What I consider to be a fridge will be left for a long dark and windswept night.

This dog is scared at the arrival of strangers. Probably aggravated by the faces squashed at the windows that suddenly retreated as its barks and growls grew more savage.

Within a few seconds the beast is my friend and on a lead. It growls as response enter so I praise it and reassure it that everything will be OK. There is food in the place, food for the dog that is. There is a bowl of water on the floor. There are dog chews, toys and some reasonably good quality bedding.

The resident from the Britannia Estate may treat himself like shite but at least he looks after his dog. That is about the only small relief I can find.

The search is a success and I await the arrival of ‘a mate’ who will take care of the dog. The dog clearly knows ‘a mate’ so he must be a regular visitor.

After retrieving my lead we all head back to base. I speak to someone else I recognise from my time there. I can catch up with stories of where everyone has gone, who is still here and who has moved. Most of the few faces I see I do not recognise.

I am still trying to work out how they can cope in a City nick with 4 & 1 on lates when we used to often struggle with 25 & 3 & 1. I didn’t know that crime had reduced that much.

Clearly there is a bigger picture out there somewhere in the CTCC.

The original post can be found http://whichendbites.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/heads-or-tails/

HOME OFFICE CRIME FIGURES – CONSPIRING TO DECEIVE

Published on November 30, 2009 in BCS, British Crime Survey, Crime Figures and home office. Closed

written by Crime Analyst from The Thin Blue Line

In July each year, the Home Office produce the British Crime survey. The document relies upon two sets of statistics, police recorded crime and estimates drawn from a national survey of a large selection of members of the public.

The latest analysis from the team at Nice 1 has drawn together information from the 2008/09 British Crime Survey, prior surveys going back to 2002, and the Office for National Statistics for population figures of England & Wales both for the current year and relevant prior years.

To view or download the report click here. The report will also be posted in the side bar opposite.

The report contains observations that may be viewed as controversial in some quarters. Crime is under reported and misreported, which exacerbates the task of arriving at accurate data. This not only reduces public confidence, but also triggers the accusations of political advantage gained through manipulation of figures. Major reform is required if confidence is to be restored and the correct financial and human resources applied to deal with the problem. The reports and postings from this site are viewed by ministers and senior decision makers from Westminster and the UK police forces of England & Wales. It is hoped that the observations and suggestions for reform contained on these pages will serve to raise public awareness of crime and policing issues and perhaps act as supportive material for those empowered to implement changes that are needed in the Criminal Justice System.

The latest report explores key areas affecting the accuracy (or otherwise) of crime statistics gathered and presented by the Home Office. We will maintain that the decreases in crime so proudly boasted by the Government are illusory, a pernicious conspiracy intended to deceive the tax paying public into believing the media hype producing political and financial advantage.

The Government are ultimately responsible for this sham. In creating a performance target driven Criminal Justice System, they have caused a tangled web of bureaucratic systems to be implemented within the police service, disguising the true picture of crime and defeating the ends of justice the system is meant to serve.

In targeting senior police officers to reduce crime and increase detections with lucrative target related bonuses, (senior officers receive 15% on top of their six figure incomes for achieving performance targets), the Government is assisted in its plot by a team of co-conspirators. Senior officers looking to progress further are encouraged to devise systems and procedures that perpetuate the illusion of reducing crime and increased detections.

The report looks in detail at :-

The strength of each police force in England & Wales from 2002 to present day
The population for each police force area for the corresponding period
BCS & recorded crime levels for each force & region for the period

Finally, the report brings all of the information together to display the disparity between the two systems and how this adds additional burden to the frontline police officer and how it affects the frequency of crime.

The report concludes that the tax payer is being cheated and deceived. Senior officers who have tried to bring the truth to the surface are conveniently removed to keep the “Gravy Train” on its tracks. Another victim of this plot is the front line police officer. When Chief Constables announce yet another year of decreased crime, the paymasters cannot justify increased budgets when a force has allegedly performed so well with its existing financial and human resources. The cycle to perform continues and the deception increases.

The front line officer suffers with increased bureaucracy, crippling systems, sub standard equipment and the inevitable low morale. The public suffer through the system failing to provide the level of service expected by society from its police force.

To read the report now click here. Comments and observations are welcome on these pages or directly to the team at enquiries@nice-1.co.uk

Crime Analysis Team

Nice 1 Ltd

The original post can be found http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheThinBlueLine/~3/Xgiw2paMCSE/home-office-crime-figures-conspiring-to.html

Modern British Bullshit: No1 in a series

Published on November 30, 2009 in Uncategorized. Closed

written by The Coppersblog Team from The Policeman's Blog

The case of Karen 'Glasser' Lee doesn't quite fit into the Mad Judges box - after all, she did get three years for pushing a bottle into the face of another woman outside a Sheffield nightclub.

True, she'd done the same thing to two other women not that long before and been given a suspended sentence (because, as everyone apart from the latest victim, who required facial surgery, knows, Prison Doesn't Work).

True, she'd been charged with wounding with intent (S18) which carries a potential life sentence and in practice can see you weighed off for 10 years.

But now that we've discovered links we can create a new box into which is does fit quite nicely: Modern British Bullshit.

Bullshit reasons for assault:

1) Bad feeling between victim and attacker because victim's late partner had once been out with sister of attacker.

2) Attacker's friend was angry at not having been allowed to attend funeral of victim's late partner.

Surely anyone would reach for the empty bottle of Bacardi Breezer faced with this sort of provocation?

Bullshit pleas in mitigation from barrister:

1) Attacker has 'history of domestic abuse'.

2) Attacker has'problems with depression'.

3) Attacker has 'obsessive compulsive disorder'.

4) Save the best till last. Attacker has 'body dysmorphic disorder' - 'a condition where a person becomes preoccupied and obsessed with perceived flaws or defects in their appearance' (but not obsessed, sadly, with perceived flaws or defects in their behaviour - and her times on remand was 'particularly hard' because 'she liked to bathe three times a day and take off and reapply make-up up to five times a day - both impossible in custody'.

'For someone with these conditions, custody is so much more painful,' according to Lee's brief, Rupert Doswell.

So don't bottle people in the street, would seem to be the answer?

TCT

The original post can be found http://coppersblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/modern-british-bullshit-no1-in-series.html

R.I.P. American Brothers & Sister

Published on November 29, 2009 in The Job - General. Closed

written by 200 from 200 Weeks

Years ago I used to be friendly with police officers from Europe & the USA. I was a keen member of the International Police Association & used to be in regular contact with foreign police officers, either through my various trips to Europe or via regular contact in writing. This was before email was popular (or even known about) & people still had ‘pen pals’.

Over the years I hosted quite a few officers in my home. Several of them were American. Their stay usually included a tour of the police station & maybe a patrol or two. Some of them were totally unaware that we are unarmed. Most of them said they wouldn’t do out job without going on duty with at least one firearm. One, a firearms instructor, didn’t even go out to his local shopping mall, off duty, without a handgun.

There are times when I’m glad I’m not doing the job out there.

Four American police officers have been shot & killed whilst they prepared for the start of their shift sitting, in uniform, in a coffee shop outside the McChord Airbase near Tacoma, Washington. A lone gunman is said to have targeted them by walking into the shop & gunning down 3 male & 1 female officers.

The Officer Down Memorial Page lists 107 officers (not including today’s four) killed on duty so far this year, including 38 killed by gunfire.

R.I.P.

The original post can be found http://200weeks.police999.com/archives/2302

Banging my head…

Published on November 29, 2009 in Uncategorized. Closed

written by PC Bloggs from PC Bloggs - a Twenty-first Century Police Officer

In my book, I describe the bizarre and inexplicable situation of Colin Roach, a 14-year-old sex offender being housed in social care accommodation whereby he lives in a room next to other 14-year-old sex offenders and is free to barge past the staff and leg it through the "secure" door any time he wants to buy cigarettes or prowl into the park and start grooming his next victim. We're not talking about minor sexual assaults on same-age kids by a mixed up teen. This is someone who rapes eight-year-olds.

This kind of "secure" housing isn't widely reported on in the press, nor is the fact that Colin Roach goes "missing" from his secure accommodation approximately 10 times a month and takes up as many hours of police time on each occasion.

There has, however, been some press on the equally pathetic state of the country's bail hostels. These are places where people pending Crown Court trial, or released on licence following jail sentences, can be housed to monitor their activities more closely than just letting them free into society. Bail hostels tend to have rules, such as:

Residents must live here.
Residents must not abuse staff.
Residents should not commit crime.

If the rules are breached, the resident can potentially end up remanded in custody pending trial, or back in prison serving the remainder of their sentence. Which is great, because at the moment the resident disappears from the hostel with all his/her possessions to an unknown location, the police can immedaitely spend the next few weeks looking for them in said (unknown) location.

Blandmore has several bail hostels, the main one being North Ridge. The residents are mainly convicted robbers, burglars and violent offenders out early before the end of their sentences to make room in prison. There isn't any room for the kind of "low risk" offenders that are supposed to be housed in the hostels, so they are just released without any residence conditions at all.

With a building stuffed full of society's most hardened felons, is it any wonder that we are called up there twice a week to take people back to prison for breaching the rules and/or threatening/assaulting staff? Why are people surprised that convicted recidivist offenders carry on committing crimes when housed (free) in accommodation little different to a cheap roadside hotel? In what way can the residents' crimes be blamed on the bail hostels expected to restrain them with no staff, no powers and no support from the Criminal Justice System?

If the prison system and courts tolerate violent and persistent offenders being freed to offend again, then it makes no difference if they are housed in a bail hostel or next door to you in a three bed semi. If they want to offend again they will. By the same token if someone's time has been served and it was deemed appropriate for their crime, there is no choice BUT to free them into society.

The trick is getting their sentence right in the first place. It's not rocket science.

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'Diary of an On-Call Girl' is available in some bookstores and online.

The original post can be found http://pcbloggs.blogspot.com/2009/11/banging-my-head.html

The Policing Pledge

Published on November 29, 2009 in Policing Pledge and neighbourhood policing. Closed

written by Lex Ferenda from The Thinking Policeman: A Police Officer's Blog

I have been hoping for months to be able to write something positive about the police service and at last it seems the time has come. The Policing Pledge was introduced last December and Forces are queuing up to announce they are all signing up to it. Not that we have a choice; the Home Office have imposed it and that means if you don’t do it, black marks from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.

There are ten key points in the pledge. If you cannot be bothered to learn English, it has been produced in at least nine different languages for you:
1. Always treat you fairly with dignity and respect ensuring you have fair access to our services at a time that is reasonable and suitable for you.

2. Provide you with information so you know who your dedicated Neighbourhood Policing Team is, where they are based, how to contact them and how to work with them.

3. Ensure your Neighbourhood Policing Team and other police patrols are visible and on your patch at times when they will be most effective and when you tell us you most need them. We will ensure your team are not taken away from neighbourhood business more than is absolutely necessary. They will spend at least 80% of their time visibly working in your neighbourhood, tackling your priorities. Staff turnover will be minimised.

4. Respond to every message directed to your Neighbourhood Policing Team within 24 hours and, where necessary, provide a more detailed response as soon as we can.

5. Aim to answer 999 calls within 10 seconds, deploying to emergencies immediately giving an estimated time of arrival, getting to you safely, and as quickly as possible. In urban areas, we will aim to get to you within 15 minutes and in rural areas within 20 minutes.

6. Answer all non-emergency calls promptly. If attendance is needed, send a patrol giving you an estimated time of arrival, and: - If you are vulnerable or upset aim to be with you within 60 minutes - If you are calling about an issue that we have agreed with your community will be a neighbourhood priority (listed below) and attendance is required, we will aim to be with you within 60 minutes. - Alternatively, if appropriate, we will make an appointment to see you at a time that fits in with your life and within 48 hours.· If agreed that attendance is not necessary we will give you advice, answer your questions and / or put you in touch with someone who can help.

7. Arrange regular public meetings to agree your priorities, at least once a month, giving you a chance to meet your local team with other members of your community. These will include opportunities such as surgeries, street briefings and mobile police station visits which will be arranged to meet local needs and requirements. Your local arrangements can be found below.

8. Provide monthly updates on progress, and on local crime and policing issues. This will include the provision of crime maps, information on specific crimes and what happened to those brought to justice, details of what action we and our partners are taking to make your neighbourhood safer and information on how your force is performing.

9. If you have been a victim of crime agree with you how often you would like to be kept informed of progress in your case and for how long. You have the right to be kept informed at least every month if you wish and for as long as is reasonable.

10. Acknowledge any dissatisfaction with the service you have received within 24 hours of reporting it to us. To help us fully resolve the matter, discuss with you how it will be handled, give you an opportunity to talk in person to someone about your concerns and agree with you what will be done about them and how quickly.

If some of this sounds familiar, it is. Most of it was in customer service charters we produced in the 80’s and 90’s. Did that make any diference then? No, to be honest. Most of it very basic and sensible but my biggest concern is the Pledge is symptomatic of our society at the moment. It is all about rights but silent on responsibilities. In an ideal society we wouldn’t need to remind people of their responsibilities but we are certainly not an ideal society. A small minority of the population soak up all the police resource and the Pledge is just a charter for more of the same. Let me give you a few examples of what I mean:

3. We won’t be in your neighbourhood 80% of the time. We will be in the neighbourhoods of the underclass dealing with their alcoholism issues, domestic arguments, fights over girlfriends, petty squabbles etc. All those problems that the uncivilised and needy have, living in close proximity to one another, which they can now allege is harassment or threatening or abusive behaviour. If you have trouble with rowdy drunks walking down your street at midnight, we might patrol it once in a while, at 3 a.m. when everything else has settled down.

4. In the Utopian police force we have employed some police staff ready to return your call within 24 hours to comply with this and to tell you that your neighbourhood team will call you back when they are next working. At weekends we have neighbourhood police officers sat in the police station returning the calls within 24 hours telling you that your neighbourhood officer will call back when they are next working. So you used to ring your local officer and you would be told when they are next on duty and you can expect a call back then. Now you ring your local officer and get told someone will ring you back within 24 hours. Then you get another call to tell you when your neighbourhood officer is next working and that you can expect a call back then.

7. We are committed to so many clinics, surgeries and street meetings, there is hardly any time left to deal with all the problems that people want us to deal with. Being there and listening to people is an absolute requirement of neighbourhood policing. But if you don’t deal with the problems people raise they will lose trust and stop bothering to tell you.

I have been involved in Neighbourhood Policing for many years and I am committed to it. I believe that having local officers in communities finding out what the issues are and tackling the problem people and places is the way to make a difference. I want my officers taking on the yobs, drug dealers, violent thugs and car thieves. I want my officers in their faces and banging on their doors and arresting them. Does the Policing Pledge take this forward and help achieve those aims?

We need to break away from being a front line social services department for the needy in society. All the time we make promises to respond to allegations of abusive texts, harassment via Facebook and name calling, we commit, and waste, most of our time to this and don’t have time to tackle the problem people and places that the majority would like us to. We have been in neighbourhoods long enough now. We know what the problems are. If we don’t tackle those problems we will lose the trust of our communities, Policing Pledge or not.

The original post can be found http://thethinkingpoliceman.blogspot.com/2009/11/policing-pledge.html

And for my next trick…….

Published on November 29, 2009 in 1. Closed

written by inspectorgadget from POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG

A weekend of massive demand, low numbers and heavy rain.

Almost all of the emergency calls involved mental health, domestic assaults and alcohol. Some calls combined all three.

Custody was full by 23.00 hrs with the adjoining Division refusing to take any prisoners despite only having five in the bin. I spoke to my colleague on G Div. and he told me it was SMT orders from the week before.

On the odd occasion I managed to get back to the nick for PACE reviews, I managed to have a real laugh with whoever was about over nothing in particular. What was NOT funny was the fact that the whole arm came off my black base layer police shirt. The whole arm!

This was after some prisoner grabbed my wrist and wouldn’t let go during a cell visit. I walked out, he pulled hard trying to keep me in and he, and my shirt arm, parted company. It literally came out under my fleece like some party trick. Like the one where they pull off the table-cloth leaving the cutlery all in place!

The short sleeve version is better.

Oh how my team laughed when I next met up with them in the yard. Bloody CCTV in custody had made this incident ‘legend’ before I could get out of the building. I have not been the subject of such mirth since I was bitten by a cat at a burglary scene. Yes; bitten by a cat. Long story.

As for the new shirts; crap. Like everything else since ‘best value’ arrived a few years ago.

Gadget Note: When retrieving the arm of my shirt from the cell to prevent a hanging, the prisoner said to our Custody Sergeant “You want to spend a bit more on them shirts guv, they’re rubbish they are”. Oh Great! Even Wayne knows what the entire Equipment Procurement Team at Ruralshire Constabulary does not.

The original post can be found http://inspectorgadget.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/and-for-my-next-trick/

Got your number!

Published on November 29, 2009 in Got your number, PCSO, Special, drunks and foot patrol. Closed

written by The Duty Sgt from The Duty Sgt

As I have mentioned before I really enjoy doing foot patrol in town centres. It makes a change from dealing with people that are offenders or victims and I get to meet 'normal' albeit drunk MOPs. Its one of the rare occasions when I get most of my shift in one place and if policed proactively we can stop most problems in the town before it gets out of hand.

Last week I was with a female PC who has just completed her ten weeks tutorship on foot in the town on a Saturday night.

In the time honoured fashion we were proceeding in a northerly direction when we espied a gentlemen who had imbibed too much intoxicating liquor, was unsteady on his feet, his speech was slurred and his eyes were glazed. I formed the opinion that he was drunk. As he was obstructing the queens highway we approached the male who charmingly greeted my colleague with "COR UR FIT, U CAN ARREST ME N E TIME!" (written as spoken) and then tried to cuddle her. She fended him off and told him to go home. He staggered away, then shuffled back to say "CAN I HAVE UR NUMBER?" offering her a damp piece of torn rizla packet with a phone number on. Funnily enough she declined. He then lurched away towards a kebab shop. Just as she was explaining to me she felt really uncomfortable and didn't know what to do in those situations Romeo returned declaring loudly "CAN I JUS SAY THAT UR GORGEOUS AND I REALLY FANCY YOU?" My colleague was speechless and turning a nice shade of red. I stepped into assist saying "THANK YOU VERY MUCH SIR, IM FLATTERED BUT DONT THINK MY WIFE WOULD APPROVE!" Romeos mouth hung open and he stomped off muttering "NO NOT YOU!" never to be seen again. If any of you are serving officers let me know if this one works for you.

Many moons ago when I was still a PC and PCSO's had just been introduced I was on foot in yet another town centre when a man walked past with his girlfriend stage whispering to her. "THEY ARE NOT REAL POLICE THEY ARE THOSE SPECIAL COMMUNITY THINGIES....." Always keen to build relationships with sections of the community I stopped them and explained I was a 'regular' officer and they differences between regulars, Specials and PCSO's. I then asked the male what he did for a living. He replied "IM A RETAINED FIREFIGHTER." Quick as a flash I replied "OH NOT A REAL FIREFIGHTER THEN?" And walked away giggling to myself, Police 1 Fire service 0.....

The original post can be found http://thedutysgt.blogspot.com/2009/11/got-your-number.html