Biometrics Assurance Group: Annual Report 2007 / Home Office - Identity and Passport Service, June 2008
PDF - http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/downloads/FINAL-BAG-annual-report-2007-v1_0.pdf

Report on key projects implemented in 2007 / Home Office - Identity and Passport Service, May 2007
PDF - http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/downloads/IPS-report-on-key-projects-implemented-2007.pdf

2008 World Drug Report / UNODC, June 2008
PDF - http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf

We are enslaving heroin addicts in a state-run chemical gulag / Guardian 27 June 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/27/drugsandalcohol.drugspolicy?gusrc=rss&feed=politics
David Raynes
"Britain has pumped huge funding into Hayes' methadone maintenance programme, driven apparently more by the desire to reduce crime figures than meeting addicts' real needs. Barely 3% of addicts leave treatment drug-free. That is a miserable success rate in anybody's book, and if Hayes thinks that this is indicative of an effective drug treatment industry, he needs to tell us how he would define failure."

Tackling Drugs Changing Lives Awards Guide /Home Office, 26 June 2008
http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication-search/communications-campaigns/awardsguide41?view=Standard&pubID=564154
"This leaflet explains the Tackling Drugs Changing Lives awards, which recognise people who have made an outstanding contribution to tackling drugs."

P makes addicts human crimewaves/ Stuff.co.nz, 25 June 2008
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4597018a11.html
Ian Steward
"A recovering Christchurch drug addict with 172 convictions says his up to $2000-a-day P and opiate habit was supported by over 500 burglaries, robberies and dishonesty offences, most of which he has never been caught for."

Binge drinking in the UK: a social network phenomenon / Volterra Consulting, June 2008
PDF - http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/0806/0806.3176.pdf
Paul Ormerod and Greg Wiltshire
An analysis of the growth of binge drinking in the UK.

A cannabis reader: global issues and local experiences / EMCDDA, June 2008
PDF - http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_53355_EN_emcdda-cannabis-mon-full-2vols-web.pdf
"The EMCDDA’s cannabis monograph addresses one basic question. How can I find quality information on cannabis, amid all the bias and opinion? The monograph is divided into two volumes. The first volume centres on political, legislative, commercial and social developments relating to cannabis. Its core audience thus comprises policymakers, sociologists, historians, journalists and those involved in enforcement. The second volume is targeted at drugs professionals working in the fields of treatment, prevention and healthcare."
Multilingual summary - http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/monographs/cannabis/summaries

New rules for short-term visitors / Home Office, 25 June 2008
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news/new-rules-short-term
Government response to the consultation on visitors - http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/consultations/closedconsultations/visitorsconsultationpaper/wms.pdf?view=Binary
Analysis of visitor consultation responses - PDF - http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/consultations/closedconsultations/visitorsconsultationpaper/thefullconsultationanalysis.pdf?view=Binary

No flood of West African migrants into Europe, IOM says / Tocqueville Connection, 24 June 2008
http://www.adetocqueville.com/200806241525.m5ofpxu29060.htm
"The flow of migrants from West Africa into Europe remains modest, according to a report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which seeks to put an end to misconceptions triggered by dramatic landings of immigrants on the coast. "There is no wave of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa towards Europe," said IOM spokesman Jean-Philippe Chauzy in Geneva Tuesday. "It's estimated that there are tens of thousands of West Africans who enter European countries illegally each year, not the hundreds of thousands that is regularly stated," he said."

Best Practices To Address Community Gang Problems: OJJDP’s Comprehensive Gang Model / NCJRS, June 2008
PDF - http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/222799.pdf
"The report provides communities responding to a present or potential youth gang problem with guidance in implementing OJJDP's Comprehensive Gang Model. It describes the research informing the model, notes findings from evaluations of several programs demonstrating the model, and outlines best practices derived from practitioners with experience in planning and implementing the model in their communities."

One in four will need to take the anti-paedophile test / Civitas, 26 June 2008
http://www.civitas.org.uk/
"The scope of child protection has become immense. Since its formation in 2002 the Criminal Records Bureau has issued 15 million disclosures, but the whole operation has now been ratcheted up several notches by the passage of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. This has led to the creation of the Independent Safeguarding Authority which, when it is rolled out in October 2009, will require CRB checks of 11.3 million people - over one quarter of the adult population of England."
Licensed to Hug: How child protection policies are poisoning the relationship between the generations and damaging the voluntary sector by Frank Furedi and Jennie Bristow is published by Civitas, 77 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2EZ, tel. 020 7799 6677, £6.00 inc. pp. [No electronic version available]

Teens Who Abuse Alcohol Or Drugs Are More Likely To Die Young, Pitt Study Finds / Medical News Today, 20 June 2008
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112094.php
"The study, the first in a sample of U.S. adolescents, found that substance abuse disorders (SUDs) in adolescents significantly predicted young adult mortality. These deaths were linked to specific high-risk behaviors in adolescence, including intoxicated driving and drug trafficking."
Journal of Adolescent Health, vol.42, issue 6, p.637-639 [sub required]

The Poynter Review /HM Revenue and Customs, 25 June 2008

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/poynter_review/poynter_review_index.cfm
"This is the final report of Kieran Poynter's review of the circumstances that led to the significant loss of confidential personal data on child benefit recipients and other recent losses of confidential data and the lessons to be learned."

Government Response to the UK Border Agency Consultation on Visitors /Home Office, 25June 2008
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/consultations/closedconsultations/visitorsconsultationpaper/visitorsconsultationrespon.PDF?view=Binary
"This is the Government's response to a consultation on vistors to the UK. It sets out the results of the consultation and the Government’s proposals for reform."

State policies influence drug treatment programs / EurekAlert, 25 June 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/e-spi062508.php
"State policies have a significant impact on the services performed by substance abuse treatment programs, and could play a key role in efforts to expand the use of research-based "comprehensive" treatment approaches, reports a study in the July issue of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment."
State policies matter: The case of outpatient drug treatment program practices
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, Vol 35, Issue 1 (July 2008), pp 13-21
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=PublicationURL&_cdi=5100&_pubType=J&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=3431697c61f1557823f7f7c159311018&jchunk=35#35
Jamie F. Chriqui, Yvonne Terry-McElrath, Duane C. McBride, Shelby S. Eidson
[Sub required]

Pediatrics review of underage drinking prevention programs led by Iowa State researcher / EurekAlert, 25 June 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/isu-pro062508.php
"Underage drinking is a national concern that led the U.S. surgeon general to issue a "Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking" (http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/underagedrinking/) last year. Now, a new report by an Iowa State University researcher assesses the effectiveness of underage drinking prevention programs and provides a better idea of how to achieve key goals outlined by the surgeon general."
Preventive Interventions Addressing Underage Drinking: State of the Evidence and Steps Toward Public Health Impact
Pediatrics, Vol 121, Supp April 2008, pp S311-S336
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/121/Supplement_4/S311

Criticism for police catwalk show / BBC, 25 June 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/7473605.stm
"Police chiefs are being criticised for holding catwalk parades to show off their new-look uniforms."

Tamper-proof prescription drugs may halt abuse / New Scientist, 25 June 2008
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/drugs-alcohol/mg19826624.100-tamperproof-prescription-drugs-may-halt-abuse.html?feedId=drugs-alcohol_rss20
"A rise in opioid prescriptions is fuelling an epidemic of abuse: now a new range of tamper-resistant drugs is hoped to to deter addicts."
[Sub required]

Fact Sheet: Department of Justice Comprehensive Efforts to Fight Gang Violence / US Dept Justice, 24 June 2008
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/June/08-ag-562.html
"The Department of Justice has enacted a comprehensive plan across its many components to effectively fight and limit the impact of gang violence nationwide."

Community engagement and community cohesion / Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 25 June 2008
PDF - http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/eBooks/2227-governance-community-engagement.pdf
Geraldine Blake, John Diamond, Jane Footet al
"An exploration of the challenges to be addressed if government policies to promote community engagement are to be genuinely inclusive of newcomers as well as more established communities."

Sending money home / New Statesman, 20 June 2008
http://www.newstatesman.com/south-america/2008/06/remittances-latin-development
Enrique Mendizabal
"The vital role of workers who send their money home to Latin America and how they can create a "brain gain" effect..."

Struggling to help rape victims / New Statesman, 23 June 2008
http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2008/06/millfield-house-sexual-drc
Jacqui Bowman
"The struggle one Sexual Assault Referral Centre is having to operate - a fight that is replicated across England and Wales..."

PRESIDENT OF ACPO, KEN JONES, ADDRESS TO THE ACPO-APA CONFERENCE / ACPO, 24 June 2008
http://www.acpo.police.uk/pressrelease.asp?PR_GUID={8EDC7240-4CA2-45C0-A51F-1491BD9FC16D}

It's Time To Get Rid of the Good-People-vs.-Bad-People View of Drug Use / alternet.org, 25 June 2008
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/88348/
"When discussing treatments for drug addiction, instead of arguing about ideology, let's look at science."

ID card bid raises US security concern / FT.com, 25 June 2008
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0b453aaa-424f-11dd-a5e8-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
"A leading US maker of identification cards has raised national security concerns after French defence electronics maker Safran submitted a rival, unsolicited bid for Digimarc, another US ID card company that has contracts with the Department of Homeland Security."

MOD agrees data action plan after laptop loss / Ministry of Defence, 25 June 2008
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/DefencePolicyAndBusiness/ModAgreesDataActionPlanAfterLaptopLoss.htm
Final report: Report into the Loss of MOD Personal Data / Ministry of Defence, 30 April 2008
PDF - http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/3E756D20-E762-4FC1-BAB0-08C68FDC2383/0/burton_review_rpt20080430.pdf
Sir Edmund Burton
MOD Action Plan in response to Burton Report / Ministry of Defence, 20 June 2008
PDF - http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/F0437ECE-F5E6-4246-B4A8-8E63B789C915/0/burton_action_plan20080625.pdf

Binge Drinking Due To 'Copying' Behavior / Science Daily, 24 June 2008
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080624110917.htm
"The rise in binge drinking in the young is a "fashion phenomenon" where drinkers are copying their associates' behaviour, new research has shown."
Binge drinking in the UK: A social network phenomenon
Paul Ormerod and Greg Wiltshire / Durham University, June 2008
PDF - http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/0806/0806.3176.pdf

Safeguarding Children/ DCSF, 24 June 2008
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2008_0129

"The Home Office and the Department for Children, Schools and Families today announced their intention for the UK Border Agency to have a legal duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children as part of the forthcoming Immigration Bill, which will be introduced in the next session.

In a joint statement to Parliament agreed by Ed Balls and Jacqui Smith, those responsible for running the immigration system should share the same responsibilities as agencies which are subject to Section 11 of the Children Act 2004, for ensuring the safety and welfare of children."

Byron Review Action Plan /Department for Children, Schools and Families, 24 June 2008
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/byronreview/actionplan/
"On 24 June 2008 a cross-Government Action Plan was published which sets out how the recommendations of the Byron Review will be implemented.

In her groundbreaking report Safer Children in a Digital World, published in March 2008, Dr Tanya Byron set out a number of recommendations to improve children's safety when they use the internet or play video games.

This Action Plan sets out how Government, its partners, industry and the third sector will work together to create a safer online world."

Action plan http://www.dfes.gov.uk/byronreview/pdfs/actionplan_final.PDF

Launch of the Public Sector Research Exploitation Fund 2008: Speech by Ian Pearson
/ Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, 23 June 2008
http://www.dius.gov.uk/speeches/pearson_PSRE_230608.html
"This is a transcript of the speech by Science and Innovation Minister Ian Pearson at the launch of the public sector research exploitation fund on 23 June 2008. He congratulates the winners of the public sector research exploitation fund."

Successful Brixton dispersal zone expands to tackle drug crime / 24dash.com, 18 June 2008
http://www.24dash.com/news/Communities/2008-06-18-Successful-Brixton-dispersal-zone-expands-to-tackle-drug-crime
Jon Land
"Brixton’s last dispersal zone, which ran from November until May, led to positive reports from local residents and businesses who welcomed a reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour. Records show 254 cases of people being moved on while the zone was in place."

Credit crunch could cause rise in domestic abuse / 24dash.com, 23 June 2008
http://www.24dash.com/news/Housing/2008-06-23-Credit-crunch-could-cause-rise-in-domestic-abuse
Alexine
"Financial anxiety caused by the credit crunch is expected to have a big impact on levels of domestic abuse over the coming months. A domestic abuse worker in Tunbridge Wells fears more families will be affected by the crime, which largely goes unreported. Financial stress is just one of the causes of abuse but it is feared that the money problems many people will face as a result of the credit crunch could lead to more abusive behaviour."

Crime Tops Neighbourhood Concerns in National Poll / 24dash.com, 23 June 2008
http://www.24dash.com/news/Communities/2008-06-23-Crime-Tops-Neighbourhood-Concerns-in-National-Poll
"Over a quarter of the public especially younger people think that the number one priority for councils should be helping to combat neighbourhood crime, which comes top in a list of neighbourhood concerns. Nearly three quarters (73%) would like to use council websites to post their own videos or photos of graffiti and other anti-social behaviour to enable councils to identifyproblem areas."

New DVD 'to educate police and young people' on stop-and-search powers / 24dash.com, 23 June 2008
http://www.24dash.com/news/Communities/2008-06-23-New-DVD-to-educate-police-and-young-people-on-stop-and-search-powers
Jon Land
"The Metropolitan Police Authority has launched an innovative educational DVD about the police use of stop and search as a tactic to combat crime, to debate why it's a controversial tool and explore what young people think about it."

England, Britain and multiculturalism: an OurKingdom exchange / OpenDemocracy, 21 June 2008
http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/england-britain-and-multiculturalism-an-ourkingdom-debate
Paul Kingsnorth, Vron Ware
"What kind of country has Britain become; does multiculturalism enrich or damage its people's lives; and is English national identity a route to political progress or a journey away from inclusive belonging? These questions are being freshly posed in a society seeking new frameworks to understand itself, and the major forces - post-colonial unsettlement, neo-liberal globalisation, autonomist processes in Scotland and Wales, and dynamics of racism, communalism and immigration - that are combining to reshape it. They underlie a vigorous exchange between Paul Kingsnorth and Vron Ware, originally published here in openDemocracy's OurKingdom. In engaging with the arguments of the other's book, the authors highlight their sharp differences of perspective; and in continuing the conversation, they enlarge a field of debate often confined by academic specialism or political tribalism."

Researchers Call for New Classification of Alcohol Misuse / Join Together, 20 June 2008
http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2008/call-for-new-classification.html
"The Finnish researchers considered men who consumed 24 or more drinks weekly or women who consumed 16 or more drinks weekly to be hazardous drinkers. Hazardous drinking is not included as a recognized disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, however. "This is an issue that needs to be debated," said Mauri Aalto, chief physician at Finland's National Public Health Institute and corresponding author of the study."

Sewage Study Yields Surprising Info About Drug Use / Join Together, 24 June 2008
http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2008/sewage-study-yields.html
"Likened to a citywide drug test, the studies estimate drug use based on the chemicals excreted in feces and urine by community residents. Researchers have found, for example, that Los Angeles has more cocaine in its sewage than many European cities, and that London's heroin usage may be higher than in cities in Italy and Switzerland. More methamphetamine apparently is used in Las Vegas than in Omaha, Neb., or Oklahoma City, Okla., the studies suggest. "Every sample has one illicit drug or another, regardless of location," said researcher Jennifer Field of Oregon State University. "You may see differences from place to place, but there's always something"."

Why a metered Internet would actually be good / AgoraVox, 24 June 2008
http://www.agoravox.com/article.php3?id_article=8367
"As the US telcos move towards bandwidth caps the justice of this has been a large topic of conversation in the media and on the web. One of the possible outcomes of all this is a metered Internet service where users pay per MB that they use. From some commentary I have heard in response to a positive article on this plan by John Dvorak in PC Magazine, this is not a popular option for all. A metered Internet would actually offer real benefits to users and would be likely to end up with a cheaper and better service."

Fight against corporate crime under threat / Accountancy Age, 20 June 2008
http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/news/2219635/fight-against-corporate-crime
"Fraud experts across the spectrum of prosecution and defence said they were concerned the reforms would restrict the number of criminal cases the agency brought against big companies and senior executives."

Brown defends database state / Computing, 20 June 2008
http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2219726/brown-defends-database-state
"Prime minister Gordon Brown has rejected growing calls for an end to the database state. Brown defended the DNA database and proposed National Identity Scheme after former Tory shadow home secretary David Davis said they inflicted on civil liberties. The systems are vital to protecting the country against fraud and terrorism, Brown insisted. "Instead of rejecting the technologies of the modern world we should adopt them, while ensuring that the individual is properly protected against unfair or arbitrary treatment," he said."

Warning: ID cards face fingerprint errors / Silicon.com, 20 June 2008
http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39249422,00.htm
Nick Heath
"Experts have warned the ID card scheme risks being derailed by mistakes in fingerprint matches. The £4.4bn National Identity Scheme's (NIS) preference for relying on fingerprint and facial recognition biometrics exposes the system to error, according to the independent Biometrics Assurance Group (BAG). BAG urged the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) to adopt iris scans as a "fall back", for when there are problems taking or matching a fingerprint."

Tech-savvy recruited for organised crime / Silicon.com, 23 June 2008
http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39250349,00.htm
Tom Espiner
"As organised criminals move from more traditional crimes, such as armed robbery, towards e-crime, there is evidence that they are targeting university students, graduates and the tech savvy for recruitment, according to security experts and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca)."

Experian launches biometric voice ID checks / Silicon.com, 23 June 2008
http://www.silicon.com/financialservices/0,3800010322,39250356,00.htm
Julian Goldsmith
"Experian has launched a voice biometric hosted ID verification service pitched at customer call centres. The VoiceCheck service uses technology provided by biometrics specialist VoiceVault to detect more than 100 physiological metrics, such as size of nasal cavity, to determine whether the subject is who they claim to be. This prevents fraudsters spoofing the system with a voice recording of the subject. Participants have to register a voice recording to opt in to the scheme."

Congress Strikes Deal to Overhaul Wiretap Law / New York Times, 20 June 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/washington/20fisa.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Eric Lichtblau
"After months of wrangling, Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress struck a deal on Thursday to overhaul the rules on the government’s wiretapping powers and provide what amounts to legal immunity to the phone companies that took part in President Bush’s program of eavesdropping without warrants after the Sept. 11 attacks."

The war on photographers - you're all al Qaeda suspects now / The Register, 23 June 2008
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/23/police_photographer_stops/
John Ozimek
"Amateurs and professionals alike are becoming seriously worried. Chris Cheesman, News Editor of Amateur Photographer, is compiling a list of incidents where Police or other officials have threatened photographers."

Tier 1 for Highly Skilled Migrants goes world wide 30 June / WorkPermit, 20 June 2008
http://www.workpermit.com/news/2008-06-20/uk/tier-1-goes-into-effect-30-june-2008.htm
"Starting 30 June 2008, the UK's new points based system, referred to as 'Tier 1 (General)', will go into effect for all individuals looking to immigrate to the UK as a general highly skilled migrant. On this date, it will completely replace the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP). In addition, three new sub-categories of Tier 1 will be introduced: Tier 1 (Investors), Tier 1 (Entrepreneurs), and Tier 1 (Post-Study Work)."

Glasgow Domestic Abuse Court Feasibility Study Report April 2008 / Scottish Government, 23 June 2008
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/18103536/0
PDF - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/18103536/10

A Toolkit to aid Local Criminal Justice Boards in considering whether specialist approaches to handling domestic abuse cases are required in their area / Scottish Government, 24 June 2008
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/19153924/0
Clare Connelly
PDF - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/19153924/10

Reconviction of offenders discharged from custody or given non-custodial sentences in 2004-05 and 2005-06, Scotland / Scottish Government, 24 June 2008
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/23143245/0
PDF - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/23143245/17

Secret identities were chief weapon in fight against gun gangs / Times, 25 June 2008
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article4207777.ece
Richard Ford and Sean O’Neill
"Fifteen hundred people have been moved to safe houses in the past three years as part of a national service to protect witnesses facing intimidation, according to latest government figures. The numbers reflect a problem that has been growing in recent years as increasing numbers of criminals resort to threats against witnesses in an attempt to escape justice. A national witness mobility service has rehoused witnesses and their families safely in about 500 cases, involving 1,500 people, since 2005. The need for such a service is highlighted by figures suggesting that a third of vulnerable witnesses would have been unwilling to give their testimony without special measures, such as video links or screens to obscure them from the defendant, being in place."

Teenagers targeted in crime crackdown / Independent, 23 June 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/teenagers-targeted-in-crime-crackdown-852335.html
Nigel Morris
"Thousands more teenagers are being dragged into the criminal justice system for petty offences, threatening to set them on the path to adult crime, ministers are warned today. The numbers of under-18s being convicted or formally cautioned has almost doubled in some parts of the country, the Institute for Public Policy Research has disclosed."

Will this man make you happy? / Guardian, 24 June 2008
http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/wellbeing/story/0,,2287146,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=society
Stuart Jeffries
"The government's 'happiness tsar', Richard Layard, thinks he knows why we're all so miserable - we're overpaid, over-materialistic and lonely. But, he tells Stuart Jeffries, he has a plan to banish the blues in Britain, once and for all."

The Byron review action plan / Department for Children, Schools and Families, 24 June 2008
PDF - http://www.dfes.gov.uk/byronreview/pdfs/byron_action_plan.pdf
"This action plan sets out how Government, its partners, industry and the third sector will work together to create a safer online world."

Detention of Zimbabweans in UK 'no longer justified' / Guardian, 24 June 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/jun/24/immigrationpolicy.zimbabwe?gusrc=rss&feed=uknews
Alan Travis
"A group of six Zimbabweans who have been detained for up to 23 months in a British prison pending their deportation have appealed to Gordon Brown to release them until it is safe for them to be sent home. The group, who are being held at Haslar prison, Gosport, say that they are facing what appears to be "indefinite detention" since the escalation of violence in Zimbabwe led to the Home Office decision to halt all deportations to Zimbabwe. "It is reasonable to suggest that our detention is no longer justified as it is clear that there are no imminent removals," said their joint appeal from inside the Hampshire prison which is used as an immigration detention centre."

Judges fight plans for US-style sentencing / Guardian, 23 June 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jun/23/law.prisonsandprobation?gusrc=rss&feed=politics
Clare Dyer
"The grid, modelled on a system in Minnesota, is intended to tailor the number of prisoners to the resources - and places - available. The idea has been seized on by ministers facing overflowing jails as a result of the government's criminal justice measures over the last 10 years. Prison numbers have soared by more than 20,000 in a decade and more people are locked up in England and Wales per head of population than in any other country in western Europe."

Councils told to stop using spy laws for 'trivial' issues / Guardian, 23 June 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jun/23/privacy.civilliberties?gusrc=rss&feed=politics
Nicholas Watt
"Every council in England will today be instructed to stop using tough laws to spy on people over "trivial matters" such as dog-fouling and litter offences. Amid a wave of publicity about "over-zealous" councils using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to detect minor offences, every council leader will be asked to restrict the use of surveillance to serious offences."

42-day detention battle delayed progress on crime and justice / Guardian, 24 June 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/jun/24/gordonbrown.justice?gusrc=rss&feed=politics
Alan Travis
"The sustained reduction in crime – one of Labour's "hidden" achievements – has started to accelerate, but without any apparent political dividend for ministers. Brown instead found himself battered by recurrent scares over gun and knife crime and resorted to Blair-style Downing Street summits and emergency announcements."

Government hires IT troubleshooter / Financial Times, 22 June 2008
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/be0c62be-409f-11dd-bd48-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
Jim Pickard and Nicholas Timmins
"The former chief executive of Logica has been hired by the Treasury in an attempt to overturn the government’s sometimes disastrous track record on computer projects. Martin Read, who was forced out of the IT services company after a boardroom spat in May 2007, will carry out a review of the public sector’s £13bn annual spending on computer schemes."

Drinking binge which ended in murder / BBC, 20 June 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7463525.stm
Chris Summers
"Two under-age drinkers - one just 13 - have been jailed for sexually assaulting and killing a 24-year-old woman in Essex in a case that the local MP has described as "a savage indictment of Britain's binge-drinking culture"."

Police chief fears witnesses rule / BBC, 21 June 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7466946.stm
"Criminals could walk free from prison because of a "potentially disastrous" ruling by the Law Lords, a senior Metropolitan Police officer has said. Defendants in criminal trials now have a legal right to know the identity of witnesses testifying against them."

Ministers float border force plan / BBC, 23 June 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7469619.stm
"The proposal for a 3,000 strong force, put forward by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), will be in a police reform Green Paper."

Honour for 1857 police sergeant / BBC, 24 June 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7470673.stm
"A hero policeman buried in a common grave more than 140 years ago has been honoured at a ceremony in north London. Sgt Robert Grant was awarded the Victoria Cross after saving a wounded soldier during the 1857 Indian mutiny. He joined the Metropolitan Police but died at the age of 30 and was buried in a grave with nine others as his wife could not afford a full funeral."

OGC publishes new model contract for public sector ICT procurement / OGC, 18 June 2008
http://www.ogc.gov.uk/About_OGC_news_8447.asp
The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has announced a new version of the free Information Communication Technology (ICT) model contract and associated guidance. The new model contract aims to help achieve better outcomes for projects with complex ICT procurements, while at the same time saving time and money. It has been produced in conjunction with the delivery partner of the contract, Partnerships UK (PUK), and follows consultation with industry body Intellect, the legal profession and key government stakeholders.

The new version addresses a number of issues, including refinement of the financial distress provisions, and further guidance on supply chain rights and benchmarking. It also introduces a number of drafting improvements to revise and clarify clauses that have commonly caused undue delays to negotiations.

Enforcing the deal: our plans for enforcing the immigration laws in the United Kingdom's communities / UKBA, 19 June 2008
PDF - http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/managingourborders/enforcementbusinessplan08_09/enforcementbusinessplan08_09.pdf?view=Binary

Officer's Home Burgled And Warrant Card Used / Police Oracle, 20 June 2008
http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Officers-Home-Burgled-And-Warrant-Card-Used_16578.html
"A Cheltenham woman has been sentenced to 11 months for conspiracy to commit burglary and two counts of impersonating a Police officer in Gloucester Crown Court ... She was using PC Martin-Jones’ warrant card as identification, which had previously been stolen during a burglary at the officer’s home."

Drugs and crime in Central America and the Caribbean / United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 19 June 2008
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/drugs-and-crime-in-central-america-and-the-caribbean.html
"Caught in the crossfire between the world's biggest suppliers and consumers of cocaine, countries in Central America and the Caribbean are suffering the consequences of the international drug trade. Crime is stifling their economies, and where violent crime and corruption flourish, socio-economic development lags and democracy is undermined."

[USA] Substate estimates from the 2006 NSDUH / SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies, 19 June 2008
http://oas.samhsa.gov/substate2k8/SecA.htm#A.1
"This report presents estimates of the prevalence of substance use or mental health problems in substate regions based on data from the combined 2004-2006 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health."

Teenage clicks could save lives / The Courier, 20 June 2008
http://www.warwickcourier.co.uk/news/Teenage-clicks-could-save-lives.4201843.jp
Oliver Williams
"Young people and adults in Warwickshire facing problems can receive online counselling from an award-winning service this month. Kooth.com offers internet users aged from 11 to 25 advice with difficulties such as eating disorders, bullying, relationships, self-harm, school worries, drug and alcohol abuse and problems at home and they can log on during evenings and weekends when other services are unavailable."

France says tough immigration policies are working / Reuters, 19 June 2008
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL19186333.html
Gerald Bon
"Tougher immigration policies launched in President Nicolas Sarkozy's first year in office are working, with more illegal migrants expelled and more skilled workers let in ... in the 12 months to May 2008, Sarkozy's first year in office, almost 30,000 illegal migrants were expelled, up 31 percent year-on-year, Hortefeux said."

Japanese prince visits Sao Paulo for immigration celebrations / Agence France Presse, 18 June 2008
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iYF7B_ViX9FLyC_Fyi8z3jW8xqUg
"Prince Naruhito arrived in Sao Paulo on Thursday for a four-day stay in Brazil's biggest city that will include side-trips to towns that featured strongly historically for the Japanese immigrants ... The first of the Japanese who went to Brazil, 781 of them, arrived on a ship on June 18, 1908 to work in the booming coffee plantations around Sao Paulo."

EU approves illegal migrants plan / BBC, 19 June 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7460007.stm
"The European Parliament has passed a controversial set of EU rules for dealing with illegal immigration. Under the new rules illegal immigrants can be detained for up to 18 months and face a five-year re-entry ban. Lawmakers backed the measures by a large majority despite opposition from many Socialist and Green parties, and condemnation from human rights groups."

'Cut Out Bobby' In Bid To Reduce Crime / Police Oracle, 19 June 2008
http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Cut-Out-Bobby-In-Bid-To-Reduce-Crime_16573.html
"A cut out police officer is to join the staff of a Northampton book shop in a bid to further reduce the instances of shop theft."

1970s Dutch health educators show that scaring the kids doesn't work / Drug and Alcohol Findings, 19 June 2008
http://mail.google.com/mail/?hl=en&tab=wm#inbox/11aa10deca7a98dc
"Back in the '70s, deploying ‘scare tactics' was the dominant approach to drug education. Today few would think it worthy of study, but such tactics regularly resurface in practice and retain their appeal. Hence the relevance of this study from the early 1970s when Dutch health educators put scare tactics to the test. The result? School pupils administered the warnings were twice as likely to start using drugs (mostly cannabis) as those left to their own devices. Those just given ‘the facts' also did worse. The only pupils whose drug use was retarded were those not taught about drugs at all, but given the chance to discuss the problems of adolescence with their teachers. Unprecedented rigour made these findings hard to dismiss, prompting a policy rethink in the UK and in the Netherlands."
PDF - http://findings.org.uk/docs/Ashton_M_14.pdf

Successful Brixton dispersal zone expands to tackle drug crime / 24Dash, 18 June 2008
http://www.24dash.com/news/Communities/2008-06-18-Successful-Brixton-dispersal-zone-expands-to-tackle-drug-crime
John Land
"A new and larger ‘dispersal zone’ to help stamp out crime in Brixton is being introduced today, following the success of the last zone in this area. From today, posters and maps will appear around the expanded zone, which Lambeth Council and the police will be using to target problematic drug dealers, drug users and anti-social behaviour in the town centre."

Public 'has no faith' in crime figures / 24Dash, 19 Jun 2008
http://www.24dash.com/news/Communities/2008-06-19-Public-has-no-faith-in-crime-figures
John Land
"Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair has admitted that there is "almost no public faith" in crime figures. The New Scotland Yard head said the way crimes are categorised has been changed "so frequently they are bewildering". He suggested that British authorities adopt the same system as in New York where crimes are recorded in a more straightforward way."

Police in crackdown on 'massive' immigration racket / 24Dash, 19 June 2008
http://www.24dash.com/news/Communities/2008-06-19-Police-in-crackdown-on-massive-immigration-racket
John Land
"Police and immigration officers swooped to close down a massive immigration racket today with a series of dramatic raids on bent solicitors and bogus colleges. But the operation - part of a new Home Office crackdown on immigration offenders - was marred by a break-out at an immigration detention centre. The embarrassing security breach at the Campsfield detention centre in Oxfordshire (pictured) led to seven escapes, three of whom were later re-captured."

ACPO comment in response to publication of UK Border Agency immigration report / ACPO, 19 June 2008
http://www.acpo.police.uk/pressrelease.asp?PR_GUID={50D5240F-5DC0-4F61-BCD6-48AC4CD768DF
"Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police and ACPO lead for immigration, Grahame Maxwell, said:“The report published today is a positive step forward. Tackling immigration crime requires close working between police forces, the United Kingdom Border Agency and other local partners and the arrangements set out today should strengthen that approach. We welcome particularly the commitment to respond to every police request when dealing with immigration offenders."
Enforcing the deal / UKBA, 19 June 2008:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/managingourborders/enforcementbusinessplan08_09/enforcementbusinessplan08_09.pdf?view=Binary

EU pumps €10m into open source privacy management / Techworld, 28 March 2008
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=11824
Bryan Betts
"The European Union is contributing 10 million euro (around £8 million) in sponsorship to a project called PrimeLife, which aims to develop open source tools for personal privacy management and protection, and get the community at large to adopt them."

Is it safe to download al Qaeda manuals yet? / The Register, 18 June 2008
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/18/samina_malik_appeal/
John Lettice
"Is the "al-Qaeda manual" still an easy get into jail card? The UK Court of Appeal yesterday quashed the conviction of Samina Malik, aka the "Lyrical Terrorist", for possession of information useful for terrorist purposes under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000, but the Crown Prosecution Service still views this and other widely circulated documents as prima facie evidence of wicked intent."

If you've got the time, ask a policeman / The Register, 19 June 2008
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/19/extreme_guidance/
John Ozimek
"On Sunday 14 June a delegation of people from the Consenting Adult Action Network (C.A.A.N.) went to West Midlands police headquarters in Birmingham to seek advice about just what material might be covered. Despite praising CAAN for its “mature and adult approach” to seeking advice on this matter, the police were unable to provide much help. They were unaware of imminent changes to the law in this area – despite the fact that West Midlands Police had contributed to the government consultation on this issue, and argued strongly for even tougher sentences than have been passed into law."

UK needs more migrant IT workers / Vnunet, 2 June 2008
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2218022/uk-needs-migrant-it-workers
Ian Williams
"The UK will need to attract more skilled IT workers from around the globe if it is to secure its position as a leader in high technology, according to new research."
Report: http://www.theworkfoundation.com/products/publications/azpublications/globalisation.aspx

[France] French police smash global hacker ring / Vnunet, 3 June 2008
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2218098/french-police-smash-global
Robert Jacques
"French authorities have arrested 22 people suspected of running an international hacking gang. According to French media reports, the alleged hackers were arrested in Paris, southern and central France following a four-month investigation involving over 90 members of the police force. It is reported that the gang came to prominence after bragging about their activities on a web forum."

Uncivilising influence / New Statesman, 5 June 2008
http://www.newstatesman.com/society/2008/06/female-fans-women-football
Katie Wake
"The 2007-2008 football season has drawn to a dramatic close, with riot police repeatedly deployed to disperse hooligans. There was a difference, however. Twenty years after government initiatives sought to attract women to matches, in the hope that they would be a civilising influence on male fans, in many recent incidents women have been prominent among the troublemakers."

The Hansard digitisation project / New Statesman, 9 June
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/new-media-awards/2008/06/government-hansard-project-web
Chris Adams
"There may yet be hope for government projects, if Hansard 1804 - 2004 is anything to go by. It's hard to read the phrase 'government IT projects' in the news without them usually being followed by words like 'over-budget', 'delays' or 'expensive consultants'. But look hard enough, and every now and then you see something really interesting being done with comparatively tiny resources. The Hansard digitisation project is one such example."

The key is respect / New Statesman, 19 June 2008
http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2008/06/government-change-progressive
Ed Miliband
"The government needs to change the relationship between state and citizen"

UK may store all phone calls and emails / New Scientist, 20 May 2008
http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/dn13942-uk-may-store-all-phone-calls-and-emails.html?feedId=online-news_rss20
"The UK government is considering a massive database to store every person's emails, phone calls, text messages and internet use. The plan was suggested as a tool to help security forces tackling crime and terrorism. At the moment, records of phone calls and text messages are kept for up to 12 months by telecoms companies, in compliance with a European Union anti-terrorism directive. But a new proposal by the UK Home Office would see internet service providers (ISPs) and telecoms companies handing over records containing billions of emails as well as Internet usage and voice-over-Internet calls."

'Herds' of wary cars could keep an eye out for thieves / New Scientist, 5 June 2008
http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/dn14067-herds-of-wary-cars-could-keep-an-eye-out-for-thieves.html?feedId=online-news_rss20
David Robson
"The security system relies on networks of cars constantly gossiping with their neighbours using concealed wireless transmitters. The cars raise the alarm when a thief tries to make a getaway with any of their number."

Get rid of 'gangs' says new Runnymede report / Runnymede Trust, 16 June 2008
http://www.runnymedetrust.org/news/39/15/Get-rid-of-gangs-says-new-Runnymede-report.html
Claire Alexander
PDF - http://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/publications/pdfs/RethinkingGangs-2008.pdf

Reducing Work-Life Conflict: What Works? What Doesn’t? / Docuticker, 18 June 2008
http://www.docuticker.com/?p=21257
"More and more workers are finding it difficult to balance the roles of employee, parent, spouse, and eldercare giver. Trying to balance paid work, family responsibilities, and personal needs takes a toll on employers, families, and workers. And it shows up as higher absenteeism, reduced employee commitment, declining job satisfaction, lower workplace morale, and reduced satisfaction with family life. So how do Canadian employees and employers cope with competing work and family demands? The answer to this and other questions is the focus of the report Reducing Work-Life Conflict: What Works? What Doesn’t published in 2008 by Health Canada. The report examines what employers, employees and their families can do to reduce work-life conflict."
PDF - http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/alt_formats/hecs-sesc/pdf/pubs/occup-travail/balancing-equilibre/full_report-rapport_complet-eng.pdf

The National Forum on Drug-related Deaths: Annual Report 2007 - The Scottish Government's Response / Scottish Government, 29 May 2008
PDF - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/05/27154627/3

HMICS Thematic Inspection Quality of service and feedback to users of police services in Scotland / Scottish Government, 30 May 2008
PDF - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/05/29140329/5

Restorative Justice guidance and protocols for practitioners working with young people and those harmed by their behaviour / Scottish Government, 11 June 2008
PDF - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/10143757/6

Consultation with Children and Young People with Experience of Domestic Abuse on The Scottish Government National Domestic Abuse Delivery Group Draft Proposals: Main Report / The University of Edinburgh/NSPCC Centre for UK-wide Learning in Child Protection and Scottish Women's Aid, 18 June 2008
PDF - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/17121756/12
Connie Smith et al

Preventing Offending by Young People: A Framework for Action / Scottish Government, 19 June 2008
PDF - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/17093513/7

Restorative justice and reoffending / Ministry of Justice, 16 June 2008
PDF - http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/restorative-justice-report_06-08.pdf
Joanna Shapland et al
"This is the fourth report on the evaluation of three restorative justice schemes funded under the Home Office's Crime Reduction Programme from mid-2001. Earlier reports have examined how the schemes were implemented, participants' expectations and take-up rates and victims' and offenders' views on the process and outcomes. This fourth report focuses on one of the key original aims of the Home Office funding, whether restorative justice reduces reoffending and/or provides value for money. This is a key piece of work that adds to the evidence base on 'what works' to reduce reoffending."

Speech by Economic Secretary to the Treasury to the FT Global "Combating Financial Crime" Conference, London / Treasury, 12 June 2008
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/newsroom_and_speeches/speeches/econsecspeeches/speech_est_120608.cfm
Kitty Ussher
"This isn't a victimless crime, and it isn't just private sector companies that are losing out - it's all of us. Sometimes, it's a financial cost. But financial crime also makes organised crime and terrorism possible - which brings far more serious costs for our society. So, this is a very real threat, and it's an issue that the Government takes extremely seriously. But there's also an opportunity for us here. "

Another tragedy of errors / Independent, 30 May 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-another-tragedy-of-errors-836714.html
"In almost any enterprise, the news that management has plans to install a new computer system tends to be greeted as a threat rather than a promise. Nowhere, though, are there more grounds for IT apprehension than in the public sector, where one project after another has been dogged by severe overruns in time and budget, and the end product invariably falls some way short of being, in that celebrated phrase, fit for purpose."

Companies struggling to cope with eight new laws each day / Times, 19 June 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4166890.ece
Frances Gibb
"Eight new laws come into force each day on average, according to research from a leading legal publisher. It finds that the Government introduced 14 per cent more new laws during 2007 than in 2006 — a total of 3,071 compared with 2,702 the year before. That works out at eight new laws every day, compared with seven in 2006, according to publisher Sweet & Maxwell, which drew the figures from its online legal information services."

Chief constables: pay does not match kudos / Times, 19 June 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4168155.ece
Sean O'Neill
"When Ian Arundale took charge of Dyfed-Powys Police this month he declared himself privileged and delighted. “I have fulfilled a lifelong ambition to lead a constabulary,” he said. It would seem, however, that not all senior police officers are similarly ambitious. The policeman's lot, they will readily tell you, is not a happy one, and chief constables can grumble just as well as the rank-and-file about pay, pressure and politicians."

Engaging communities in fighting crime / Cabinet Office, 18 June 2008
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/~/media/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/publications/crime/cc_full_report%20pdf.ashx
Louise Casey
"The starting point for the review is that without public action, support and confidence, the police and other criminal justice agencies cannot make communities safer. However, for the public to play their part, they need to see and experience services that tackle crime effectively, give them confidence and back them up."
Summary: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/~/media/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/publications/crime/cc_summary%20pdf.ashx

SFO says main problem is electronic data levels / Financial Times, 17 June 2008
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/80a278d4-3c06-11dd-9cb2-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
Michael Peel
"The ever expanding volume of electronic evidence in financial criminal cases is the biggest problem facing investigators, the Serious Fraud Office said yesterday, as it unveiled its new digital investigative unit. Keith Foggon, head of the unit, said investigators were competing on a "level playing field" with fraudsters on computer technology but were "playing catch-up" with rapid advances in mobile phone capabilities."

Bid to strengthen sex crime laws / BBC, 18 June 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7461031.stm
"Plans to toughen laws on rape, consent, spiking drinks and offensive e-mails and texts have been unveiled as part of an overhaul of sex crime legislation. Under the Scottish Government bill, consent would be defined in law, creating a broader statutory offence which includes male rape. There would also be new offences for sexually offensive e-mails and texts and spiking people's drinks."
Links to the Bill, Explanatory Notes and other documents: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bills/11-sexualOffences/index.htm

UK parliament approves EU treaty / BBC, 19 June 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7461918.stm
"The UK has effectively ratified the EU's reform treaty - despite the decision by Irish voters to reject it. A last-ditch Tory bid to delay the process for four months was defeated by a margin of 93, and peers later gave the EU Amendment Bill a third reading."

Illegals firms named and shamed / BBC, 19 June 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7462373.stm
"Companies which employ illegal immigrants have been named and shamed in a further attempt to crack down on people smuggling. The move by the Home Office comes four months after officials launched a concerted effort to identify and prosecute companies breaking the law."

Chief Constable on confidence in the Police / Police Oracle, 19 June 2008
http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Chief-Constable-On-Confidence-In-The-Police_16567.html
"Staffordshire Police has welcomed a national call for public confidence in the police to be measured - reflecting the force's own mission of inspiring trust and confidence amongst the communities it serves."

Tackling Crime, Not Chasing Statistics / Police Oracle, 19 June 2008
http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Tackling-Crime,-Not-Chasing-Statistics_16566.html
Martin Richards
"If you judge us by the number of crimes that we solve, then the numbers are looking very good indeed. They have improved dramatically over the last couple of years - with more offenders being arrested, record numbers of crimes being detected, and more offences being brought to justice than ever before. So, with detection rates improving all the time, you may well ask why - in my first full year as Chief Constable of Sussex - I decided that now was the time to stop setting an overall target for detecting crime."

Coca cultivation in the Andean region / UNODC, June 2008
PDF - http://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Andean_report_2008.pdf
A survey of Bolivia, Colombia and Peru.

Non-medical marijuana III: rite of passage or Russian roulette? / National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Colombia University, June 2008
PDF - http://www.casacolumbia.org/articlefiles/380-Non-Medical_Marijuana_III.pdf
"Despite reported declines in teen marijuana use, in 2007 almost 11 million teens report having used marijuana. For those using the drug, four alarming trends are of grave concern for parents and teens."

Annual UNHCR figures show continuing climb in number of uprooted / UNHCR, 17 June 2008
http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/4856264b2.html
"UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres expressed concern about the growing number of refugees worldwide after an annual survey said there were 11.4 million refugees and 26 million others displaced internally by conflict or persecution at the end of 2007."

[Afghanistan] Afghanistan and Pakistan agree to implement biometric security on border / Terrorism Focus, vol. 5 issue 23, 18 June 2008
http://mail.google.com/mail/#inbox/11a9cba12ab9ddcc
"The governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to adopt a high-tech method to address the ongoing problem of suspects wanted for terrorism and other crimes crossing their mutual border. At a June 8 meeting between President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and the advisor to Pakistan’s prime minister on internal affairs and narcotics control, Rehman Malik, an agreement was reached to resume a once-aborted program to install biometric identification equipment at border points."

Annual report on Freedom of Information in central government / Cabinet Office et al, 18 June 2008
PDF - http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/foi-report-2007-final-web.pdf

Crime and Communities Review / Cabinet Office, 18 June 2008
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/crime.aspx
"This review examines how to better engage communities in the fight against crime and raise public confidence in the criminal justice system. It is the result of an eight-month study headed by Louise Casey, former head of the Government’s respect task force."

A New Beat:Options for more accountable policing / Institute for Public Policy Research, 17 June 2008
PDF - http://www.ippr.org/members/download.asp?f=%2Fecomm%2Ffiles%2Fa%5Fnew%5Fbeat%2Epdf
"This report argues that the police service in England and Wales suffers from an accountability deficit. At the national level fragmented governance means that no actor in the system has the power to effectively incentivise performance improvement or drive through change and reform. Recent attempts by the Government to increase control from the centre through target setting and top-down initiatives have had limited success and have made policing even less responsive to local needs and circumstances."

Human rights outcry over airport detainees / Sunday Herald, 15 June 2008
http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.2342373.0.human_rights_outcry_over_airport_detainees.php
John Bynorth
"Suspected illegal immigrants are being held in holding rooms at UK airports and ports without regular independent scrutiny of their welfare and human rights, three years after the prisons watchdog recommended in a report to the home secretary that detainees should be monitored. The situation is affecting thousands of people detained each year over visa and other document irregularities by the UK Border Agency at three non-residential facilities run by Group 4 Securicor at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports, and Scotland's immigration reporting centre at Festival Court in Glasgow."

[USA] Millions of contract employees to be vetted for legal employment status / Nextgov, 16 June 2008
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20080616_7628.php?zone=itsecurity
Robert Brodsky
"President Bush issued an executive order on June 9 requiring that, as a condition of all future federal contracts, companies must agree to use E-Verify, an electronic employment eligibility verification system. The program currently is voluntary for private sector companies but mandatory for federal agencies. The rule would apply to all future contract employees and existing employees once they begin working on new contracts. Current indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts would be amended so the rule applies to all future task orders."

Recovery: redefining its meaning / Drink and Drug News, 16 June 2008
http://www.drinkanddrugs.net/features/june1608/a_new_definition_of_recovery.pdf
Conference handout: PDF -
http://www.ukdpc.org.uk/resources/NTA_recovery_statement_handout.pdf

Keep taking the medicine / Guardian, 18 June 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jun/18/drugsandalcohol
Mary O'Hara
"The number of problem users in contact with treatment services has more than doubled in the last 10 years, from 85,000 to 195,000. Hayes says this is a clear indication that the system is working, but is far from the whole picture. Treatment centres, he insists, are also about taking the opportunity to ensure they help "as many people as they can to overcome their addiction, leave treatment and get on with their lives. But that's always been the objective of policy, so to a large extent a false division has been created. Rather more has been made of this very sharp split than it actually warrants"."

Speech on security and liberty / 10 Downing Street, 17 June 2008
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page15785.asp
Gordon Brown

Bail and murder [consultation paper]/ Ministry of Justice, 17 June 2008
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/cp1108.htm
"This consultation asks whether the rules governing the enforcement of bail conditions and the grant of bail to suspects charged with murder should be revised in the light of recent cases of murder and manslaughter committed by persons on bail. It examines the issues surrounding the grant of bail and the possible options available for recalibrating the law or procedures to provide a greater emphasis on public safety."
Closing date: 12 September 2008
Written ministerial statement: http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/announcement170608a.htm / Jack Straw

The hell of being an asylum seeker / Observer, 15 June 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jun/15/immigration.familyandrelationships
Mark Haddon
"We bellyache about the abuse of human rights overseas. But there are thousands of people living here, right now, in one of the richest countries in the world, forced to live in poverty. They are denied basic rights and services which the rest of us take for granted. And this is not an accident. This is government policy. And we should be ashamed of it."

Planned changes to youth justice system aimed at keeping more children out of jail / Guardian, 17 June 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jun/17/youthjustice.justice1
Alan Travis
"A shakeup of the youth justice system is being planned by ministers that would see a failing punitive policy replaced by a more welfare-oriented, early-intervention approach to dealing with children in trouble. As part of a youth crime action plan to be published this summer, the Home Office has recommended that responsibility and funding for tackling youth crime - including local youth offending teams - should be moved to new, local authority-run "children's trusts"."

Leading article: Simplistic response to a complex problem / Independent, 17 June 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-simplistic-response-to-a-complex-problem-848512.html
"The culture of binge drinking is a plague on Britain. It causes misery in some of the country's most deprived areas and transforms even the most genteel town centres into no-go areas at weekends. With this bleak context in mind, it is understandable that ministers in Scotland are considering an increase in the legal age for purchasing alcohol from off-licences and supermarkets from 18 to 21. The role of alcohol in fuelling yobbish behaviour north of the border is exacerbated by its effect on health. Scotland has one of the fastest growing rates of liver cirrhosis in the world. Does it not make sense to make alcohol harder to get hold of, if only for teenagers?"

[Germany] So you want to become a German citizen? / Yahoo News, 15 June 2008
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080615/lf_afp/germanypoliticsimmigration_080615073434
Arnaud Bouvier
"Chancellor Angela Merkel's government wants to improve integration and it believes fostering a better understanding of her country would help considerably. In an effort to achieve this, it was announced recently that government officials are currently scratching their heads trying to come up with 310 questions to test whether someone applying for citizenship fits the bill."

42 days? Try 18 months / Guardian, 16 June 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/16/eu.immigration
Evo Morales [President of Bolivia]
"European citizens arrived in Latin and North America en masse, without visas or conditions imposed on them by the authorities. They were simply welcomed, and continue to be in Latin America. They came to exploit the natural wealth and to transfer it to Europe, with a high cost for the native population. Yet the people, property and rights of the migrants were always respected. Contrast the European "return directive", to be voted on in the European parliament this week. It imposes harsh terms for detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants, regardless of the time they have spent in European countries, their work situation, their family ties or their achievements in integrating themselves into local society."

The Conclusions of the European Council and the Council of Ministers: Follow up report / House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee, 4 June 2008
PDF - http://www.statewatch.org/news/2008/jun/uk-eu-hcesc-council-meetings.pdf
"The report calls for: "the Government to discuss with other Member States whether a clear, definitive and accessible record of the proceedings of the European Council should be made as a matter of course"."

European Arrest Warrant - 2007 / Council of the European Union, 11 June 2008
PDF - http://www.statewatch.org/news/2008/jun/eu-eaw-figs-partial-2007.pdf
"Replies to questionnaire on quantitative information on the practical operation of the European Arrest Warrant year 2007"

Profile: Donald Neilson / BBC, 12 June 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7450928.stm
Chris Summers
"Convicted killer Donald Neilson, known as The Black Panther, has been told he will die in jail after judges rejected his appeal. But who was he and why is he considered so dangerous?"

Online maps to show local crime / BBC, 18 June 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7460134.stm
"Online maps with crimes plotted on them every month are set to be introduced in England and Wales, Gordon Brown says. The prime minister said that although crime had fallen "too many people don't believe the system is on their side". Mr Brown also backed plans to create "community crime fighters" - people such as tenant groups given cash and training to help tackle crime."

Help call for sex traffic victims / BBC, 18 June 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7460256.stm
"Up to 150 women may be forced to be working as sex slaves in Wales at any one time, according to Amnesty International. The charity said the women may have suffered suffered kidnap, rape, and violence as well as exploitation."
PDF - http://www.amnesty.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_17958.pdf

Gov claims 'password protection' OK for sensitive docs / The Register, 18 June 2008
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/18/blears_pc_theft/
Joe Fay
"The government sent the security industry into gales of laughter today when it insisted that sensitive documents on Hazel Blears’ missing PC are quite safe, as the machine is “password protected”. The gov’s soothing words came amid speculation on what formal action, if any, communities and local government secretary Blears will face, as her department admitted the missing machine included files which should never have been there in the first place."

Phorm failed to mention 'illegal' trials at Home Office meeting in 2007 / The Register, 18 June 2008
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/18/home_office_phorm_meetings/
Chris Williams
"The Home Office held a private meeting with Phorm in August last year, but BT's interception and profiling partner did not disclose that it had completed an allegedly illegal trial of its technology on tens of thousands of unwitting broadband subscribers just weeks earlier. Senior civil servant Andrew Knight revealed the meeting had taken place in a response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request from a member of the public, passed to The Register."

E-crime unit on track, says police chief / Silicon.com, 13 June 2008
http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39246125,00.htm
Nick Heath
"Plans for a national UK cyber crime policing unit remain on track despite the government stalling on funding, a top cyber cop has said. Detective superintendent Charlie McMurdie, Metropolitan Police Service e-crime chief and one of the architects of the proposed Policing Central e-Crime Unit (PCEU), said that regular talks are taking place between government, police bodies and industry about how to fund and run the unit."

Security agency calls for EU-wide breach disclosure laws / Techworld, 30 May 2008
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=101635
Matthew Broersma
"The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), the EU's top security body, said governments, businesses and consumers are still underestimating the scope of the IT security problem, in part because of the lack of transparency when breaches occur. "Internet security is extremely important, considering how much business takes place online now. We don't want infrastructures to be disrupted, we don't want a digital 9/11 to happen," said Andreas Pirotti, executive director of ENISA."

Cybercrime risk to the internet economy / Computing, June 18 2008
http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2219315/oecd-calls-cybercrime-vigilence
Ambrose McNevin
"Government ministers from across the world have issued a call for greater vigilance against cybercrime at the close of meeting on the future of the internet economy. Participants agreed on the need for governments to work closely with business, civil society and technical experts on policies that promote competition, empower and protect consumers, and expand internet access and use worldwide."
PDF - http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/49/28/40839436.pdf

Biometric smartcards take off in Asia / Vnunet, 14 May 2008
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2216558/biometrics-asia
Simon Burns
"The expansion and large-scale implementation of a number of biometric projects will compel manufacturers to focus on standardisation, according to the analyst. Once this technology becomes ubiquitous, users will become more comfortable with the biometrics system."

Experts urge collaboration to fight fraud / IT Week, 2 May 2008
http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/news/2215769/experts-urge-collaboration
Phil Muncaster
"Experts at the Retail Fraud Show called for greater data sharing between merchants, vendors and the banks to combat the threat of online fraud. The ideal solution would be to create a hybrid system from the already existing data sharing networks operated by The 3rd Man and the Apacs backed FISS, said Paul Rodgers, chairman of payment industry organisation Vendorcom."

Virtual reality helps cure real addictions / Vnunet, 29 April 2008
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2215463/virtual-reality-helps-cure-real
Robert Jaques
"Scientists believe that virtual worlds can help patients in therapy to overcome addictions. A new study by University of Houston associate professor Patrick Bordnick reveals that a virtual reality environment can provide a safe haven in which patients can practise how to say 'no' when offered drugs or alcohol."

ACPO comment on crime recording pilot areas / ACPO, 6 June2008
http://www.acpo.police.uk/pressrelease.asp?PR_GUID={4AA88C71-7622-40C5-9739-BE3600F88D3F}
“The four forces taking part in the pilot scheme are doing so in partnership with government, which is designed to see how we can work in a less bureaucratic way. Other forces nationally will also be looking to see what they can do to cut processes, serve the public better and improve their services. Talk of rebel forces is simply inaccurate and unhelpful”.

[USA] NYC's Staggering Arrest Rate for Pot Achieved By Police Deception and Scams / Alternet, 9 May 2008
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/84515/
Steven Wishnia
"The study also calls the policy a waste of money -- at an estimated $1,500 to $2,500 per arrest, it cost the city $60 to $100 million last year, at a time when Mayor Michael Bloomberg is slashing the city budget and closing libraries on weekends. Peterson-Small adds that it violates the spirit of the state's decriminalization law. The ban on public smoking, she says, was originally intended to apply only to people creating a public nuisance, not to someone lighting up discreetly "in the alley behind a jazz club."

How Pot Became Demonized: the Fine Line Between Good Medicine and 'Dangerous Drugs' / Alternet, 13 May 2008
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/85205/
Wendy Chapkis and Richard J. Webb
"The struggle between politics and science over the use of cannabis as a medicine continues. In the final decade of the twentieth century, the federal government threatened physicians with the loss of their license for recommending marijuana to patients, made criminals of patients who followed their doctor's advice, and actively blocked scientific research into the therapeutic value of cannabis, while insisting that it was an established scientific fact that marijuana is not a medicine."

Smoking Pot All Day, Every Day Might Not Be Good For You / Alternet, 10 June 2008
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/87677/
Paul Armentano
"Ever wonder why the studies purporting to ‘prove’ marijuana’s health risks only recruit subjects who smoke pot 24 hours a day, seven days a week?"

[Europe] Women should be free of all gender-based violence / Amnesty International, 29 May 2008
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGIOR610072008&lang=e
"Violence against women in all its forms requires a comprehensive and proactive approach, where women and girls are assisted fully, regardless of the type of violence they have suffered or the existence or otherwise of a relationship with the perpetrator."

[France] Recording interrogations is not enough - more safeguards needed for rights of detainees / Amnesty International, 3 June 2008
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGEUR210042008&lang=e
"In line with the recommendations of the CPT, Amnesty International's research concluded that the introduction of audio-visual surveillance measures in police stations would be an important protection measure against ill-treatment. The organization has also called on the French authorities to introduce a range of legislative, judicial, and administrative measures to prevent torture and other ill-treatment and to ensure the prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigation of any case where there is reason to believe torture or ill-treatment may have occurred."

Suicide and stress in the workplace / Cafe Babel, 21 May 2008
http://www.cafebabel.com/eng/article/24838/stress-work-suicide-google.html
Aurélien BORDET
"The emergence of a liberal, anti-hierarchical management has sought to increasingly empower employees. However, it has also played a role in stressful work environments. Certainly, modes of organisation within companies have significantly decreased the monotony of certain tasks. Whereas previously, tasks assigned to each employee were clearly defined, today, the employee faces a multitude of endless things to do. Because of high labour costs, employees are facing arduous hardships in dealing with additional responsibilities at the workplace."

'Mosquito’ device shuts up Britain’s anti-social teenagers / Cafe Babel, 12 June 2008
http://www.cafebabel.com/eng/article/24999/mosquito-device-shuts-britains-anti-social-teenage.html
Betttina Schwarzmayr
"If you are over 25, you can’t hear it. The noise was first used to scare away vermin. Since January 2006, the 16, 000 Hertz frequency of the ‘Mosquito’ device specifically targets Britain’s young people. With 5, 000 sold and some 3, 500 high frequency-emitting electronic gadgets in use in most of the UK’s shops, the phenomenon is now emerging in Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland."