Cabinet Office plans to to de-duplicate and classify its departmental electronic information / Public Technology, 19 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17349
"Active Navigation, the data discovery company, has been selected by the Cabinet Office to de-duplicate and classify the electronic information held across the department. Active Navigation was chosen after an extensive review of software products and manual alternatives, and following a pilot project in one unit of the Cabinet Office. The software will be used to analyse, categorise and organise the information currently residing in the Cabinet Office’s Microsoft NTFS (New Technology File System) prior to its transfer to the department’s new records management system."

Mountains of mobiles [& sensitive data] left in the back of London's Black Cabs / Public Technology, 19 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17343
"This year has yet again seen many high profile cases of sensitive and personal information go missing and to top it all a survey shows that Londoners are more forgetful than ever. The back of a London black cab being one of the most likely places to lose your mobile device as fretful and absentminded travellers rush onto their next destination leaving their precious mobile devices behind."

Poor showing for government whilst GPs and Banks top the Trust Table / Public Technology, 17 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17326
"UK Citizens do not necessarily trust the central or local government to safeguard their personal data whilst levels of trust for banks remain suprisingly high. Richard Thompson discusses the findings. Given the recent and frequent newspaper headlines detailing data breaches across both the public and private sector the issue of consumer trust is a hot-topic."

Tougher rules aimed at curbing population rise• Woolas believes points system will act as brake / The Guardian, 25 October 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/oct/25/immigrationpolicy-immigration-points-system
"Phil Woolas, the immigration minister, confirmed a toughening of Labour's immigration policy yesterday by indicating for the first time that the government is to use its new Australian-style points-based system to restrict the growth in Britain's population. Woolas signalled the shift in emphasis during a BBC Today programme interview yesterday given to counter the accusation that he had been gagged by the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, after his withdrawal from this week's edition of BBC TV's Question Time."

Office of National Statistics link to report?? cannot find

Bigger databases increase risks, says watchdog• Commissioner reveals inquiry into 30 breaches / The Guardian, 29 October 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/oct/29/data-security-breach-civil-liberty
"The proliferation of ever larger centralised databases is increasing the risk of people's personal data being lost or abused, the government's official privacy watchdog claims today.The warning from the information commissioner, Richard Thomas, comes as he discloses that reported data losses have soared in the past year."

Sharia law incompatible with human rights legislation, Lords say Comments come as Lords rule on Lebanese woman seeking asylum in UK / The Guardian, 23 October 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/23/religion-islam
The House of Lords today drew stark attention to the conflict between sharia and UK law, calling the Islamic legal code "wholly incompatible" with human rights legislation.

Police losing fight to stop cocaine use Number of people taking drug now tops 800,000,Home Office figures show / The Independent, 31 October 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/police-losing-fight-to-stop-cocaine-use-980248.html
"Britain is losing the war against cocaine with new figures showing a dramatic increase in people using the drug over the past decade and a slump in the volume seized by police. The proportion of adults using cocaine in the past year has increased nearly four-fold since 1996, to an estimated 810,000 people a year, Home Office figures showed."

Government reclassifying cannabis despite fall in use / The Times, 31 October 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5050871.ece
"Illegal drug use is in decline in England and Wales with cannabis use at its lowest level for a decade, according to a report. Despite the fall in use of cannabis, the Government said it was determined to press ahead with reclassifying the drug from Class C to Class B in January. The Home Office said the decision to reclassify was taken on the basis of the potential of cannabis to cause harm not on the prevalence of its use."

Report:Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2007-08 British Crime Survey / Home Office,30 October 2008 http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb1308.pdf

'Facebook generation' too lax with data, warns information watchdog / The Times 29 October 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5033644.ece
A “Facebook generation” of workers are risking data breaches because they are careless with technology and personal information held on databases, the Britain’s information watchdog warned yesterday. Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, also warns that the creation of more and more databases is increasing the risks of things going wrong. He disclosed that the number of data losses reported to his office has almost doubled in the past six months."

Police fail to record crime properly, as violence rises 22% / The Times 24 October 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4998731.ece
"Serious violent crime is much worse than the Government has been claiming because police forces have been failing to record offences properly, it was disclosed yesterday."

Swindon becomes first town to ban speed cameras / The Times, 24 October 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/article4998031.ece
"The black burn marks on the yellow box in Queen’s Drive will tell you all you need to know about what they think of speed cameras in Swindon. The Wiltshire borough’s Tory-run council has become the first in Britain to abolish the cameras after it refused to pay the £320,000-a-year cost of maintaining them."

Surge in police sickness costs taxpayer £90m a year / The Times, 23 October 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4995725.ece
"Police forces lost more than one million days to long-term sick leave last year at a record cost of nearly £90 million, an investigation by The Times has found. The cost has soared by more than 20 per cent in the past five years despite a drive within the police to reduce prolonged sick absences. Freedom of information requests to the 43 forces in England and Wales revealed that stress, depression, back pain and other musculo-skeletal disorders are mainly responsible."

Passports will be needed to buy mobile phones / The Sunday Times, 19 October 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4969312.ece
"Everyone who buys a mobile telephone will be forced to register their identity on a national database under government plans to extend massively the powers of state surveillance."

Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street Civil rights campaigners say images must not be added to databases / The Guardian, 27 October 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/oct/27/project-midas-fingerprint-scanner-liberty
"Every police force in the UK is to be equipped with mobile fingerprint scanners - handheld devices that allow police to carry out identity checks on people in the street."

Faith groups spreading the word on the wings The Observer, 26 October 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/26/religion-prisonsandprobation
"Religious organisations working in British jails claim spectacular success in cutting rates of reoffending. The government wants to expand their role - but critics believe that, with entire blocks now under the control of some faith groups, tensions within prison are bound to grow."

Writing on the wall / The Guardian, 20 October 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/20/leadersandreply-libraries-andy-burnham
"The town library, byword for mousy respectability and decent endeavour, is at last showing a capacity to fight to escape from a deathly decline. At a conference in Liverpool last week Roy Clare, boss of the formerly invisible Museums, Libraries and Archives Council argued for libraries' role in lifelong learning from school to senescence, now rebranded as "Find Your Talent". Earlier this month the culture secretary, Andy Burnham, announced a review to consider how best to modernise libraries, hinting not merely at rebranding but also at a radical rethink of their contemporary purpose."

Seizures of Drugs in England and Wales 2006-07 / Home Office, 30 October 2008
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb1208.pdf
"These statistics cover the number of drug seizures made by police forces and HM Revenue and Customs in 2006-07, as well as the quantities seized."

Use of Alcohol Among Children and Young People / Department for Children, Schools and Families, 30 October 2008
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/programmeofresearch/projectinformation.cfm?projectId=15587&type=5&resultspage=21
"This research looked at barriers to young people getting involved with alcohol and barriers to stopping drinking."

Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2007-08 British Crime Survey / Home Office, 30 October 2008
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb1308.pdf
"These statistics cover self-reported drug use for adults and young people in England and Wales from the 2007-08 British Crime Survey."

Google strikes deal over online library / The Financial Times, October 28 2008
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/93574d3e-a52d-11dd-b4f5-000077b07658.html
"Google is to pay $125m to settle lawsuits filed in 2005 by authors and publishers that charged the group with “massive infringement”, challenging its book scanning project that digitised and offered excerpts without the permission of copyright holders. The settlement with authors and book publishers paves the way for the creation of a legal and financial framework for the digital distribution of millions of books online in the US."

A Complicated Business: A joint inspection of electronically monitored curfew requirements, orders and licences / Ministry of Justice, 28 October 2008
http://inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk/hmiprobation/inspect_reports/thematic-inspections1.html/Electronic_Monitoring_Thema1.pdf?view=Binary
"This is a joint inspection of electronically monitored curfew requirements, orders and licences by HMI Probation, HMI Court Administration and HMI Constabulary."

Future care: children's advice on future care standards: a report by the Children's Rights Director for England / Ofsted, October 2008
PDF - http://www.rights4me.org/content/beheardreports/295/REPORT_Future_Care.pdf

Reducing the risk of violent crime: forty-fifth report of session 2007-2008: report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence / TSO, 23 October 2008
PDF - http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmpubacc/546/546.pdf
HC 546

Crime in England and Wales: Quarterly update to June 2008 / Home Office, October 2008
PDF - http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb1408.pdf
Home Office Statistical Bulletin 14/08

Youngsters want more internet protection, says new report / Ofsted, 24 October 2008
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/News/Press-and-media/2008/October/Youngsters-want-more-internet-protection-says-new-report

"Children living away from home, or using social care services, want to feel safer online, be protected from unsuitable sites and have adult supervision, highlights a new report published today by the Children’s Rights Director for England, Dr Roger Morgan. The report, ‘Future care: Children’s advice on future care standards’, follows consultation with 686 children and young people - aged between four and 20 - who attended the 2008 national children’s conference. These youngsters discussed the key issues that they would like to see considered for future inclusion in the National Minimum Standards. “One of these is the need for all children to know about how to stay safe on the internet,” explains Dr Roger Morgan."

Government's Response to the Report by the Advisory Group on Drug and Alcohol Education / Department for Children, Schools and Families, 27 October 2008
http://publications.everychildmatters.gov.uk/default.aspx?PageFunction=productdetails&PageMode=publications&ProductId=DCSF-00872-2008&
"This document sets out the Government's response to a report on drug and alcohol education. It lists the actions that the Government intends to carry out."

Social Networks will complement & replace some government functions says Gartner / Publictechnology.net, 28 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xsqf
"By 2011, 70 per cent of social computing deployments in government that achieve business benefits will do so in unplanned or unexpected ways, according to Gartner, Inc. Government organisations around the world are showing great interest in social computing, yet deployment so far is relatively limited."

President’s Identity Theft Task Force Issues Report on Steps Taken to Implement Strategic Plan / President’s Identity Theft Task Force (via FTC), 21 October 2008
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/10/idtaskforce.shtm
The President's Identity Theft Task Force Report, September 2008
PDF - http://www.ftc.gov/os/2008/10/081021taskforcereport.pdf

Tobacco underground: The booming global trade in smuggled cigarettes / Center for Public Integrity, 19 October 2008
http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/tobacco/pages/introduction/
"The illicit trafficking of tobacco is a multibillion-dollar business today, fueling organized crime and corruption, robbing governments of needed tax money, and spurring addiction to a deadly product. So profitable is the trade that tobacco is the world’s most widely smuggled legal substance. This booming business now stretches from counterfeiters in China and renegade factories in Russia to Indian reservations in New York and warlords in Pakistan and North Africa."

Eurostat yearbook 2008 — Europe in figures / European Commission & Eurostat, 2008
PDF - http://digbig.com/4xspq
"Europe in figures — Eurostat yearbook 2008 presents a comprehensive selection of statistical data on Europe. Most data cover the period 1996-2006 and some indicators are provided for other countries such as candidate countries to the European Union, members of EFTA, Japan or the USA (subject to availability)."

Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Fact Sheet / U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 23 October 2008
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1224777640655.shtm
"Each day at America’s ports of entry U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers inspect more than 1.1 million travelers, including 340,000 vehicles and over 85,000 shipments of goods approved for entry; process more than 70,000 truck, rail and sea containers; collect more than $88 million in fees, duties, and tariffs; seize more than 5,500 pounds in illegal narcotics; and intercept more than 4,400 agricultural items and pests at ports of entry."

ICE multifaceted strategy leads to record enforcement results / U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS)
http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0810/081023washington.htm
"Reflecting the impact of heightened, strategic enforcement efforts, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) efforts reached record levels in virtually every enforcement category in fiscal year 2008, from criminal, gang and fugitive alien arrests to federal prosecutions and formal deportations..."

New Survey Reveals Steep Drops in Opium Production and Cultivation in Afghanistan / Office of National Drug Control Policy
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/news/press08/102408.html
"The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has released the results of the 2008 U.S. Government Afghanistan Poppy Cultivation and Opium Production Estimate. After two straight years of record opium production, the estimate has found that potential opium production in Afghanistan has declined steeply—by 31 percent—to 5,500 metric tons, down from 8,000 metric tons in 2007."

Tackling fireworks misuse: a practitioner's guide / Home Office and BERR, September 2008
PDF - http://digbig.com/4xspj

Improving performance: a Practical Guide to Police Performance Management: Guidance for team leaders / Home Office, 24 October 2008
PDF - http://digbig.com/4xspg
"A summary of the main guidance aimed at those who directly control and supervise a single team."

'Cold feet' putting Taser on ice, warns Fed
Jane's Police Review, 8 September 2008
http://jpr.janes.com/
"Some senior officers are getting 'cold feet' about the further roll-out of Taser to non-firearms officers, the chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales warned this week. At an ACPO conflict management conference on Tuesday, Paul McKeever accused some senior policing figures of not being completely honest about how much they supported any further roll-out..."
[Sub required]

Think stink plan to sniff out the bad guys
Jane's Police Review, 3 September 2008
http://jpr.janes.com/
"Forget Taser - stink bombs, glue guns and Spiderman-style sticky nets could be the future tools of the trade for officers in the fight against crime. Police Review has learnt that malodorants that produce unpleasant smells, sticky foam fired out of a backpack to immobilise a suspect and nets coated with adhesive to entangle offenders have all been considered by the Home Office as alternatives to ¡officers using baton rounds and CS spray..."
[Sub required]

A Doubled life
Jane's Police Review, 3 September 2008
http://jpr.janes.com/
"Imagine being told that, instead of being a single 21 year old, thin, Englishman from Surrey, you are actually an obese Zimbabwean living in Wolverhampton. And you were married..."
[Sub required]

Taser roll out would help keep public safer, say beat bobbies
Jane's Police Review, 3 September 2008
http://jpr.janes.com/
"Giving Taser to every bobby on the beat in England and Wales would give them a valuable alternative to bashing people with a baton, operational officers have said this week. Cops contacted by Police Review generally said they would want to carry Taser, as long as suitable training was provided
[Sub required]

Web of evil
Jane's Police Review, 3 September 2008
http://jpr.janes.com/
"When the Met started looking into a web forum containing thousands of photos of young girls last year it sparked the UK's largest-ever deployment of undercover officers in a child protection investigation. The forum contained hundreds of thousands of images of young girls, the majority of whom were pictured in some kind of sexual pose and they were often just dressed in underwear or swimming costumes..."
[Sub required]

Cache point
Jane's Police Review, 21 October 2008
http://jpr.janes.com/
"How much do frontline police officers really know about guns? The streets of Britain are relatively free from a 'gun culture' and most police officers in the UK patrol unarmed, unlike their colleagues in the US and the rest of Europe. 'The type of person getting into the police service is quite different now than in the past - they have less knowledge about firearms,' says Mark Murray-Flutter, senior curator at the National Firearms Centre..."
[Sub required]

Disability hate crime not being reported, conference warned
Jane's Police Review, 15 October 2008
http://jpr.janes.com/
'Almost zero' disability hate crime incidents in the UK are reported to the police service, a member of the ACPO hate crime working group has said. Supt Paul Giannasi, from Staffordshire Police, said that while the UK lead the way internationally on tackling hate crime, it still had a problem with people underreporting it..."
[Sub required]

PC tells of pain during shocking training
Jane's Police Review, 15 October 2008
http://jpr.janes.com/
"Learning to be a police officer can be painful enough, without being shot by a Taser. But some student officers in the US do exactly that when they choose to be shot with 50,000 volts of electricity as part of their initial police training..."
[Sub required]

Hertfordshire backtracks on Taser plans
Jane's Police Review, 15 October 2008
http://jpr.janes.com/
"Hertfordshire Constabulary has been forced to backtrack over its plans to roll out Taser to non-firearms officers without Government approval. The force, which is not part of the Home Office's extended Taser use pilot, was planning for a group of 25 specially trained frontline officers in Watford to start using the weapon from 1 November..."
[Sub required]

Blood brothers - The rise of Chechen organised crime
Jane's Intelligence Review, 28 August 2008
http://jir.janes.com/
"Chechen organised crime is not a specific gang so much as a distinctive criminal subculture. Generally known as the bratva ('brotherhood' - although it is sometimes described as the 'Chechenskaya obschina' or 'Chechen commune'), it is a characteristic mix of modern efficiency and a bandit tradition..."
[Sub required]

Turkish delight - Turkey's drug gangs branch out
Jane's Intelligence Review, 29 August 2008
http://jir.janes.com/
"Turkey's strategic location and its proximity to opium-producing areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan have long made it an important transit country for drug trafficking and a distribution hub for heroin shipments into the EU. However, partly owing to shifts in production within Afghanistan, greater amounts of heroin are being trafficked through Turkish networks, at the same time as these groups are diversifying into co-operation with other criminal groups."
[Sub required]

Divisions emerge in Afghan drug strategy
Jane's Islamic Affairs, 29 August 2008
http://jiaa.janes.com
"In February 2008, the annual UN study of Afghanistan's narcotics production found that the country had produced another record harvest of opium poppy. Although opium cultivation has apparently stabilised after experiencing exponential growth in 2006 and 2007, Afghanistan continues to supply approximately 93 per cent of the world's heroin..."
[Sub required ]

Amphetamines and ecstasy: 2008 Global ATS Assessment / UNODC, 2008
PDF - http://www.unodc.org/documents/scientific/ATS/Global-ATS-Assessment-2008-Web.pdf

The Threat of narco-trafficking in the Americas / UNODC, October 2008
PDF - http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/OAS_Study_2008.pdf

[Lebanon] Measures to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings: Lebanon Country Assessment / Ministry of Justice, Republic of Lebanon, May 2008
PDF - http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Lebanon-HTreport-Oct08.pdf

Natural and social sciences: ICSU embraces the need to work more closely together / EurekAlert, 23 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/icfs-nas101608.php
"Global scientific community agrees that natural and social sciences must work together to help solve key global challenges facing society."

Early-onset depressive disorders predict the use of addictive substances in adolescence / EurekAlert, 21 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/uoh-edd102108.php
"In a prospective study of over 1800 interviewed young Finnish twins, early-onset depressive disorders at age 14 significantly predicted daily smoking, smokeless tobacco use, frequent illicit drug use, frequent alcohol use and recurrent intoxication three years later, even among those adolescents who were not users at baseline."

Child abuse increases risk for later sexually coercive behavior in some men / EurekAlert, 21 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/uow-cai102108.php
"Boys who experienced childhood physical or sexual abuse are more likely to use sexually coercive behavior against an unwilling female partner when they are adolescents and young adults."

South Africa in grip of strangulation spate / EurekAlert, 20 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/bc-sai101608.php
"Murder of women by strangulation is a serious problem in South Africa. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health compared four South African cities for the period 2001 to 2005, and report information about the prevalence and timing of attacks, and give details about the victims."

21st century could be the 'age of paranoia,' warns leading scientist / EurekAlert, 19 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/wt-tcc101608.php
"Paranoia is on the increase and could go unchecked unless we take urgent action, claims a leading scientist. Dr Daniel Freeman, a Wellcome Trust fellow, warns that changes in how we live and work could mean that we are entering an "age of paranoia". For a decade Dr Freeman has been conducting pioneering research into paranoia at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, and recently developed the world's first laboratory method of testing paranoia using virtual reality."

Lives of women shoplifters, sex workers explored / EurekAlert, 6 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/ru-low100608.php
"A new book by a Rutgers University—Camden criminologist reveals the profound impact of shoplifting and prostitution on both a region and the lives of the women who depend on these illegal acts. "

DNA could reveal your surname / EurekAlert, 7 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/uol-dcr100608.php
"Scientists at the world-leading Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester – where the revolutionary technique of genetic fingerprinting was invented by Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys- are developing techniques which may one day allow police to work out someone's surname from the DNA alone."

Environmental migrants: UN meeting aims to build consensus on definitions, support, protection / EurekAlert, 8 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/unu-emu100608.php
"A growing international consensus to formally recognize and protect people uprooted by environmental problems is expected to accelerate at a major conference in Bonn, Germany Oct. 9 to 11. Featured at the conference will be the presentation and discussion of early results of the first comprehensive empirical study, funded by the European Commission, gauging the extent to which environment problems influence migration decisions."

Study finds abnormalities in cerebral cortex of cocaine addicts / EurekAlert, 8 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/mgh-sfa100608.php
"Changes in cortical thickness correlate with a primary feature of addiction, could reflect both predisposition and effects of drug exposure."

NC State takes lead in crime scene investigation training / EurekAlert, 9 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/ncsu-nst100908.php
"North Carolina State University researchers are launching a new project that will standardize forensic crime scene investigation training throughout the state, decrease the cost of providing the training to law enforcement personnel and forensic scientists, and hopefully contribute to the establishment of nationwide standards for death investigations."

Research finds that marijuana use takes toll on adolescent brain function / EurekAlert, 13 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/uoc-rft101308.php
"Brain imaging shows that the brains of teens that use marijuana are working harder than the brains of their peers who abstain from the drug. At the 2008 annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Boston, Mass., Krista Lisdahl Medina, a University of Cincinnati assistant professor of psychology, presented collaborative research with Susan Tapert, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego."

Methamphetamine enters brain quickly and lingers / EurekAlert, 13 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/dnl-meb101308.php
"First study of methamphetamine uptake, distribution, and clearance in humans helps explain why the drug is so addictive and damaging to brain"

UCLA issues new report on Prop. 36 / EurekAlert, 14 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/uoc--uin101408.php
"The effectiveness of Proposition 36, a ballot measure approved by California voters in 2000 that offers treatment instead of incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders is being undermined by inadequate funding, participants dropping out of treatment, and increased arrests for drug and property crimes. "

Study looks at the lives of boys who commit dating violence / EurekAlert, 14 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/uoc--sla101408.php
"A new study sheds light on the lives of teenage boys who abuse their girlfriends. In their own words, the young men often describe facing challenges such as growing up with troubled family lives, having little or no support when they began to fail at school, and witnessing violence in their own homes and communities. The study advocates broadening the view of abusive behaviors within dating relationships to explore the myriad environments — school, home and community — that affect boys' lives and actions."

Early exposure to drugs, alcohol creates lifetime of health risk / EurekAlert, 16 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/du-eet101608.php
"People who began drinking and using marijuana regularly prior to their 15th birthday face a higher risk of early pregnancy, as well as a pattern of school failure, substance dependence, sexually-transmitted disease and criminal convictions that lasts into their 30s."

Think-tank urges support for UK's mental 'wellbeing' / 24dash.com, 22 October
2008
http://digbig.com/4xsnq
"Action across society to support the nation's mental wellbeing would reap huge benefits, according to the Government's futures think-tank Foresight. Mental capital is defined as the thinking and emotional resources that enable people to learn, develop social skills, and cope with stress.The report sponsored by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) follows a two-year study involving more than 400 international experts in fields ranging from neuroscience to economics."
Mental Capacity and Well-Being: Making the Most of Ourselves in the 21st Century: Executuve Summary / The Government Office for Science, October 2008
PDF - http://digbig.com/4xsnr
Foresight Mental Capital and Well-Being Project:Mental Capital Through Life: Future Challenges
PDF - http://www.foresight.gov.uk/Mental%20Capital/Mental_capital_through_life.pdf
Learning Through Life: Future Challenges
PDF - http://www.foresight.gov.uk/Mental%20Capital/Learning_through_life.pdf
Mental Health: Future Challenges
PDF - http://www.foresight.gov.uk/Mental%20Capital/Mental_Health.pdf
Well-Being and Work: Future Challenges
PDF - http://www.foresight.gov.uk/Mental%20Capital/Wellbeing_and_work.pdf
Learning Difficulties: Future Challenges
PDF - http://www.foresight.gov.uk/Mental%20Capital/Learning_difficulties.pdf

Parents 4 Parents help battle anti-social behaviour / 24dash.com, 22 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xsnp
"Wirral’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team has celebrated the launch of a brand new parenting support group.Parents 4 Parents is a new support group run by parents for parents with children engaged, or at risk of engaging, in anti-social behaviour."

Immigration minister Phil Woolas stands by UK population 'promise' / 24dash.com, 24 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xsnn
"Immigration minister Phil Woolas has said he stuck by his controversial promise that the Government will not allow the UK's population to rise as high as 70 million."

Covert stings catching car criminals / 24dash.com, 24 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xsnh
"Prolific car crooks are being caught by covert technology with a 100 per cent conviction rate.
In addition to sting vehicles fitted with covert cameras, Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Motor Vehicle Crime Squad is using electrical equipment with tracking devices as bait to catch car criminals. Decoy mopeds and motorbikes are also being deployed across H&F."

The next generation of Muslim community leaders / CLG, 7 October 2008
http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/987399
"Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and Children and Families Secretary Ed Balls are launching a new Young Muslim Advisory Group and are unveil ing the names of the twenty two young people who will act as advisors. The group, who will have their first official meeting in the coming weeks, will work directly with Government to help deepen its engagement with young Muslims. The advisors will talk to ministers and policy makers first hand about the issues affecting their day to day lives."

Reduction in anti-social behaviour in the 'safe' Derbyshire Dales / 24dash.com, 8 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xsne
"The Derbyshire Dales has further enhanced its reputation as one of the cleanest and safest places to live in England.Official figures reveal a 4% drop in incidents of anti-social behaviour across the district, while in the towns of Ashbourne and Matlock the reduction figure is an impressive 10%."

Focus on safety in Fleetwood neighbourhood / 24dash.com, 8 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xsnd
"...The event has been organised by West View Community Association with active involvement from the Wyre Community Safety Partnership. It falls neatly into Not In My Neighbourhood Week (13 to 17 October), a national initiative highlighting the wide range of organisations working behind the scenes to keep people safe and encouraging engagement with residents to find out what concerns them most."

Green paint latest weapon in fight against anti-social behaviour / 24dash.com, 9 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xsnc
"Council chiefs are testing a new weapon in the fight against anti-social behaviour - green paint.Workers created a "no nuisance" zone in a car park in Dereham, Norfolk.Parking bays near houses have been painted green and the word "respect" written on the ground - in the hope of deterring trouble-makers."

Anti-social behaviour team in Newcastle win major award / 24dash.com, 9 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xsna
"Your Homes Newcastle's Housing Anti Social Behaviour Enforcement Team (HASBET) has won the team category in the Social Landlords Crime and Nuisance Group's Delivering Results awards for positive achievements in making their neighbourhoods safer. "

Social evils: we must teach children manners to improve British society / 24dash.com, 10 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xsmx
"Shaun Bailey, co-founder of children’s charity MyGeneration, makes the claim as part of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s social evils initiative - currently exploring solutions to society’s ills through a series of commissioned Viewpoints."

[Turkey] People carriers - Human trafficking networks thrive in Turkey
Jane's Intelligence Review, 23 October 2008
http://jir.janes.com/
"Despite the current global economic downturn, illegal immigration flows and people trafficking networks are continuing to operate at similar levels. There is evidence to suggest that some patterns of migration have been affected..."
[Sub required]

Supplementary Note on Recorded Crimes Involving Firearms and Violent and Sexual Offences Involving the Use of Knives or Sharp Instruments / Home Office, 23 October 2008
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb1408supp.pdf

"This supplementary note provides more detail on specific aspects of the recorded crime statistics.

DCSF: Substance misuse / Department for Children, Schools and Families
http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/health/substancemisuse/
"This page gives information on reducing the level of substance misuse by young people through local delivery of education, prevention, treatment and enforcement programmes."

Home Secretary's Statement on the Latest Crime Statistics / Home Office, 23 October 2008
http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/press-releases/HS-statement-crime-stats
"This is a ministerial statement by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to the House of Commons on 23 October 2008. She states that crime is at its lowest level since the British Crime Survery began but that she remains concerned about serious violence and knife crime."

Welfare groups condemn minister's pledge on migrants Phil Woolas's promise to make it harder for foreign workers to settle in Britain sparks fury / The Independent, 19 October 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/welfare-groups-condemn-ministers-pledge-on-migrants-966240.html
"Britain's new immigration minister was accused yesterday of leading a "baying pack" after he suggested the growing economic crisis could force a reduction in the number of migrants allowed into the UK."

Big Brother database threatens to 'break the back of freedom' / The Independent, 21 October 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/big-brother-database-threatens-to-break-the-back-of-freedom-967673.html
"Government plans to build a giant database holding information about every phone call, email and internet visit were last night dealt a major blow after the man in charge of prosecuting terrorism in England and Wales warned of the dangers posed by a "Big Brother" security state. Sir Ken Macdonald, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), told ministers not to "break the back of freedom" by creating irreversible powers that could be misused to spy on individual citizens and so threaten Britain's hard-won democracy."

Fear of Big Brother is a threat to broadband Britain / Financial Times, 21 October 2008
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9686cbd0-9f8b-11dd-a3fa-000077b07658.html

"The digital economy – retailing, entertainment, high-speed connections – stands every chance of continuing to expand, however grim the news is from elsewhere. The biggest threat to this was thought to be the UK’s failure to invest in high-speed broadband. But there are signs that government, regulators and industry are working out how to improve the infrastructure. The appointment of Stephen Carter, who understands the challenge, as minister for technology, communications and broadcasting is positive. But another issue is emerging that could still impede the broadband economy. Unlike infrastructure, which has had a great deal of effort expended on it, it suffers from a policy vacuum."

Home Office trying to persuade unions to drop opposition to ID cards Minister pledges there will be no delays to £4.7bn identity cards programme / The Guardian, 30 October 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/oct/20/idcards
"The Home Office is in active talks with trade unions in an attempt to persuade them to abandon opposition to the imminent introduction of compulsory ID cards for airport workers. Meg Hillier, the minister in charge of ID cards and passports, today promised there would be no delays to the £4.7bn programme despite the threat of a UK economic recession."

Gating a Problem Alley: Step-by-step guide / Home Office, 20 October 2008
http://www.respect.gov.uk/members/article.aspx?id=12592
"This guide offers practical advice on how to protect communities by closing off alleyways that are exploited by criminals."

UNISON Police Staff Conference: Speech by Jacqui Smith / Home Office, 17 October 2008
http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/Speeches/HS-speech-at-unison-police-conf
"This is a transcript of the speech by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith at the UNISON police staff conference in Glasgow on 16 October 2008. She talks about the policing green paper and the importance of police confidence."

Community support officers to be given the power to detain / The Independent, 17 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xryb
"But under proposals outlined by [Jacqui] Smith, PSCOs would, in future, be able to detain suspects until a police constable arrives, impose a fine for those caught writing graffiti and allow them to disperse troublemakers."

Crime maps 'will guide criminals' / The Independent, 18 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xrxy
"Criminals will be handed vital intelligence about police tactics by a new system of local internet crime maps being introduced by forces across the country, the leader of rank-and-file police officers has warned."

Interpol wants facial recognition database to catch suspects / Guardian, 20 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xrxw
"Interpol is planning to expand its role into the mass screening of passengers moving around the world by creating a face recognition database to catch wanted suspects."

Torquay hoodie ban for Asbo teenagers / Independent, 15 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xrxh
"Four young men from the seaside town of Torquay have been banned from wearing hooded tops as part of an Asbo that has 10 conditions to it."

Personal data losses 'set to continue' say top sellers of ex-corporate laptops on eBay UK / Public Technology, 12 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17301
"Tier 1 Asset Management Ltd, a UK specialist in secure and ethical IT disposals warned that high profile cases of confidential personal data finding its way into the public domain will continue, unless UK organisations start to use tried and tested processes for the removal of equipment once it has reached the end of active corporate service. Eyebrows were raised in many quarters when data from Royal Bank of Scotland turned up on eBay recently, albeit via a third party source. Jon Selby, Marketing Manager at Tier 1, understands why errors have been made, but is angry that big companies get their data security safeguards badly wrong. “With privacy laws, environmental legislation and data recovery technology in a constant state of development and change, there’s little wonder that a company’s processes vary just as frequently.” "

ID & technology gap between Councils and Citizens broadens says hard-hitting report / Public Technology, 12 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17298
"A report on identity management published by Experian, the global information services company, reveals that while citizens are embracing new technology, Local Government is behind the times when it comes to identity (ID) authentication. The research findings show that two out of three people want to apply online for benefits and services, such as parking permits, council tax/housing benefits and travel cards."
Experian press release http://press.experian.com/documents/showdoc.cfm

Public Sector organisations admit to poor attitudes towards treatment of confidential data / Public Technology, 9 Sep 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17243
"62% of public sector IT decision-makers are unaware of the possible introduction of data breach notification legislation. Research from Clearswift has found that public sector organisations are not dedicating enough time and resource to Information Assurance (IA), putting them perilously at risk of suffering from data breaches.
According to the first piece of research, conducted by Clearswift and IA08, the government’s Information Assurance Event, (“IA and Organisational Responsibilities in the Public Sector, 2008”), 53 per cent of respondents - all of whom either work within or for a public sector department - felt that their organisation didn’t spend enough time on IA issues. At the same time, a separate Clearswift research report (“Worldwide Data Loss Prevention Trends, 2008”) found that almost one in five (19 per cent) of UK IT decision-makers in the public sector admitted to having experienced at least one incidence of data loss in the last 12-18 months."

Clear Swift report news release http://www.clearswift.com/news/item.aspx?ID=1534

Fraudsters' website shut in swoop / BBC, 17 October 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7675191.stm
"DC Kevin Ives talks about a raid on a house in the hunt for a suspect
A website used by criminals to buy and sell credit card details and bank log-ins has been shut down after a police operation, the BBC has learned. International forum Darkmarket ran for three years and led to fraud totalling millions of pounds.

Security body 'overspent by £17m' / BBC, 17 October 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7675153.stm
"A government body which licenses bouncers and other security workers has overspent by more than £17m, the National Audit Office has said. The Security Industry Authority is also accused of failing to keep track of who exactly is working in the sector."

Knife sentencing 'not effective' / BBC, 16 October 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7672910.stm
"The study found young people were living in "constant fear" of attack
Longer jail terms are not an effective way of persuading teenagers to stop carrying knives, research suggests. Pentonville Prison governor Nicola Marfleet interviewed 14to 17-year-olds who had either been excluded from school or were serving time in custody."

News release Howard League - report can be purchased from themhttp://www.howardleague.org/fileadmin/howard_league/user/pdf/press_2008/Knife_crime_16_October_2008.pdf

Credit crunch 'behind crime rise' / BBC, 1 October 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/foyle_and_west/7645663.stm
"People in Londonderry may turn to violent crime because of the credit crunch, a police officer who works with the victims of armed robbery has said. There have been 22 armed robberies in Derry so this year, compared to 19 in the whole of 2007. On Tuesday, cash, cigarettes and Derry City match tickets were taken during an armed robbery in the Bogside."

Police hit squad moves into town / BBC, 30 September 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7642192.stm
"A new police hit squad is aiming to catch drug dealers and criminals in Arbroath while tackling anti-social behaviour and improving road safety. The team of nine officers will work in the area until mid-January."

Dangers from anonymous web proxies as kids return to school / Public Technology, 8 Sep 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17216
"Bloxx, a web content filtering specialist, warns that as the new academic year approaches, educational institutions should be aware of the escalating use of anonymous proxies by students trying to bypass web filtering technology and the risks associated with unrestricted internet access. The Internet is an incredibly important and useful resource for education, yet it can also impact productivity as students have the opportunity to waste time surfing social networking websites or bandwidth-sapping media download sites."

UK Border Agency trials an automated biometric border control system / Public Technology, 3 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17172
"UK Border Agency has unveiled a trial of an automated border control system at Manchester International airport. The system provided by Fujitsu Services in partnership with Vision-Box S A, allows passengers holding electronic passports and arriving through Terminal 1 at Manchester airport to fast-track through immigration with no prior registration. By using advanced facial recognition algorithms and intelligent sensor technology the system guides passengers through the ‘smart gates’ – alleviating pressure on queue times and improving the overall passenger arrival experience."

UK children 'at risk on internet' / BBC, 26 September 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7638533.stm
"UK children are more at risk from web dangers than those from other European countries, a study has found. Almost one in four British youngsters has received unwanted sexual comments online compared to one in 10 in Ireland and Germany, the report said."


London School of Economics study of 7,393 children - The full report is available at www.eukidsonline.net in the section ‘EU kids Online reports’
http://www.eukidsonline.net/

Scots drinkers down more spirits / BBC, 26 September 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7637381.stm
"Scots drinkers downed almost two litres more spirits last year
People in Scotland drank almost two litres more pure alcohol last year than those living in other parts of Britain, according to new research. The figures from Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (Shaap) were based on alcohol sales data."

Allegations against police rise / BBC, 25 September 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7633492.stm
"Allegations may have risen against the police - but complaints remained stable
A record number of allegations were made against the police in England and Wales last year, says the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). Figures show there were 48,280 claims in 2007/08 - an increase of 5% on the previous year."


IPCC Police Complaints statistics 2007/2008 http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/complaints_report_2007-08.pdf

[USA] Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2007 / U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS)
PDF - http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2007.pdf

[USA] Unfavorable Views of Jews and Muslims on the Increase in Europe / Pew Global Attitudes Project, 17 September 2008
PDF - http://pewglobal.org/reports/pdf/262.pdf
"Ethnocentric attitudes are on the rise in Europe. Growing numbers of people in several major European countries say they have an unfavorable opinion of Jews, and opinions of Muslims also are more negative than they were several years ago."

[USA] Homeland Security 3.0: Building a National Enterprise To Keep America Free, Safe, and Prosperous / Center for Strategic & International Studies, 18 September 2008
PDF - http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/080918_homeland_sec_3dot0.pdf

U.S. Asylum System: Agencies Have Taken Actions to Help Ensure Quality in the Asylum Adjudication Process, but Challenges Remain / Government Accountability Office (GAO), 25 September 2008
PDF - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08935high.pdf
GAO-08-935

U.S. Asylum System: Significant Variation Existed in Asylum Outcomes across Immigration Courts and Judges / GAO, 25 September 2008
PDF - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08940high.pdf
GAO-08-940

[USA] New Report on Illicit Nuclear Trafficking: Office of Nuclear Security Issues Report for 1993-2007 Period / International Atomic Energy Agency, 26 September 2008
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2008/itdb.html
"The IAEA Office of Nuclear Security has updated its Illicit Trafficking Database (ITDB) through December 2007."
ITDB Factsheet for 2007
PDF - http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Features/RadSources/PDF/fact_figures2007.pdf

[USA] SAMHSA Releases Latest Completed TEDS Report with Nationwide Data on Treatment Admissions for Substance Abuse / Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/0809233315.aspx
”The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is issuing the completed version of its latest Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), which provides information on substance abuse treatment admissions from state-licensed treatment facilities across the country.”
2006 TEDS Report
PDF- http://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/teds06/teds2k6aweb508.pdf

[USA] Closing Guantánamo: From Bumper Sticker to Blueprint / Center for Strategic & International Studies, 15 September 2008
PDF - http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/080905_mendelson_guantanamo_web.pdf
"During his first week in office, the next president should announce the date for closure of Guantánamo as a detention facility in conjunction with announcing the establishment of a new policy..."

[USA] Democracy in the Age of New Media: A Report on the Media and the Immigration Debate / Brookings Institution, September 2008
http://digbig.com/4xrkt
"The U.S. media have hindered effective policy making on immigration for decades, and their impact has been increasing in recent years as a result of an ongoing evolution in the media industry. Deeply ingrained practices in American journalism have produced a narrative that conditions the public to associate immigration with illegality, crisis, controversy and government failure..."

[USA] When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2006 Homicide Data: Females Murdered by Males in Single Victim/Single Offender Incidents / Violence Policy Center, September 2008
PDF - http://www.vpc.org/studies/wmmw2008.pdf

[USA] Guide to Bluetooth Security: Recommendations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology / National Institute for Standards and Technology, September 2008
PDF - http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-121/SP800-121.pdf

[USA] MPI Backgrounder Examines Redesigned Citizenship Test Taking Effect October 1st / Migration Policy Institute, 29 September 2008
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/2008_09_29.php
"More than a decade in the making, the redesigned citizenship test that becomes mandatory for all applicants effective Oct. 1, 2008, has two main goals: Provide a more meaningful opportunity for would-be Americans to demonstrate knowledge of U.S. history and civics, and allow greater standardization in test administration."
High Stakes, More Meaning: An Overview of the Process of Redesigning the U.S. Citizenship Test
PDF - http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/BR6_NatzTest_092908.pdf

FOI in the EU: When is a “document” not a “document”? / Statewatch, September 2008
PDF - http://www.statewatch.org/news/2008/sep/foi-in-the-eu-what-is-a-document.pdf
"The European Commission has put forward a number of changes to the Regulation on access to EU documents adopted in 2001. Controversially it proposes to change the definition of a “document” which in turn affect which would or would not be listed on its public register of documents."

[USA] ODNI: Trade-off information security for good intel / NextGov, 30 September 2008
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20080930_6397.php
"The Office of the Director of National Intelligence have issued a directive that recommends managers of information technology systems accept a lower level of security if it provides the United States with better intelligence."
Intelligence Community Directive 503
PDF - http://www.dni.gov/electronic_reading_room/ICD_503.pdf

[USA] Progress Made In Strengthening DHS Information Technology Management, But Challenges Remain / U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, September 2008
PDF - http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/assets/mgmtrpts/OIG_08-91_Sep08.pdf

[USA] Gun shows do not increase homicides or suicides / Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, 1 October 2008
http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6759

U.S. Asylum System: Agencies Have Taken Actions to Help Ensure Quality in the Asylum Adjudication Process, but Challenges Remain / GAO, 25 September 2008
PDF - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08935high.pdf
GAO-08-935

The Shape of Things to Come: EU Future Group / Statewatch, September 2008
PDF - http://www.statewatch.org/analyses/the-shape-of-things-to-come.pdf
"This analysis looks at the ideology in the Future group report, Freedom, Security and Privacy - the area of European Home Affairs. The EU is currently developing a new five year strategy for justice and home affairs and security policy for 2009-2014. The proposals set out by the shadowy ‘Future Group” include a range of extremely controversial measures including techniques and technologies of surveillance and enhanced cooperation with the United States."

[USA] ICE arrests more than 1,700 during largest ever nationwide gang surge / U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), September 2008
http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0810/081001washington.htm
"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today the arrests of 1,759 gang members and associates, criminals and immigration violators as part of a comprehensive law enforcement operation led by ICE agents. Law enforcement agencies at the federal, state and local level partnered during this four-month long public safety surge, which ended yesterday, that targeted violent street gangs and their criminal associates in 53 cities across 28 states."
Factsheet: Operation Community Shield: Targeting Violent Transnational Street Gangs
http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/factsheets/opshieldfactsheet.htm

Interpersonal and Physical Dating Violence among Teens / National Council on Crime and Delinquency, September 2008
PDF - http://www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pubs/Dating%20Violence%20Among%20Teens.pdf
"This Focus attempts to bring to light various aspects of a little-studied issue of critical importance, especially to youth."

Information Technology: Management Improvements Needed on the Department of Homeland Security’s Next Generation Information Sharing System:
Report to Congressional Requesters / GAO, October 2008
PDF - http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0940.pdf

Anti-corruption champion / Ministry of Justice, 15 October 2008
http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/announcement151008a.htm
"Jack Straw has made a statement on the UK's anti-corruption strategy following his appointment as the government's anti-corruption champion. "

Britain learns Chicago gang plan / BBC, 15 October 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7671279.stm
"Experts on gang culture in the United States are offering advice on how to tackle the issue in Britain. Two officials from Chicago are speaking at a conference in Glasgow organised by the Scotland's Violence Reduction Unit. They will describe how gang violence can be tackled through counselling, mediation and the use of role models. "

Indian IT/BPO industry supports new UK points based system / workpermit.com, 4 September 2008
http://digbig.com/4xrkp
NASSCOM, an industry organization and leading advocate for India's information technology and business process outsourcing industry (IT/BPO) has voiced its support for the United Kingdom's new points based immigration system."

International Migration Outlook 2008 / OECD, 10 September 2008
http://www.oecd.org/document/3/0,3343,en_2649_33931_41241219_1_1_1_1,00.html
"OECD countries should adapt their labour migration policies more closely to likely future demand for workers in all areas of their economies, opening up to lower-skilled workers as well as to those with high skills, according to an OECD report."

European Union: 'Blue Card' gains new life / workpermit.com, 26 September 2008
http://digbig.com/4xrkn
"European Union interior ministers met in Brussels on 25 September to discuss an EU-wide immigration pact that would include endorsing the 'blue card' skilled immigration directive. First proposed in October of 2007, the blue card faced opposition at first but is now being accepted by most of the 27 member nations."

EU opens immigration 'job center' in Africa / workpermit.com, 6 Ocotber 2008
http://www.workpermit.com/news/2008-10-06/europe/eu-opens-job-centers-africa.htm
"The European Union has opened a job center in the Mali capital of Bamako to help people in Africa find legal work in the EU, according to the BBC. Each year, thousands of people illegally migrate to the EU from Africa and many die trying...."

[Scotland] Report of the Audit undertaken to monitor progress made in developing the Throughcare Addiction Service: Period covering 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 / Scottish Parliament, 7 October 2008
PDF - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/240138/0066281.pdf

[Scotland] Developing an Acknowledgement and Accountability Forum for Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse -A Discussion Paper: Acknowledgement and Accountability consultation paper / Scottish Parliament, 10 October 2008
PDF - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/240981/0066913.pdf

Factors linked to reoffending: A one-year follow-up of prisoners who took part in the Resettlement Surveys 2001, 2003 and 2004 / Ministry of Justice, 13 October 2008
PDF - http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/research-factors-reoffending.pdf

Working with the third sector to reduce reoffending: Securing effective partnerships 2008-2011 / Ministry of Justice, 13 October 2008
PDF - http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/third-sector-effective-partnerships.pdf

Counter-Terrorism Bill: Oral ministerial statement by Jacqui Smith / Home Office, 14 October 2008
http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/Speeches/counter-terrorism-bill-statement
"This is a transcript of the oral statement to Parliament by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on 14 October 2008. She talks about the government's reaction to the Lords' decision on the counter-terrorism bill."

Cannabis: Classification and public health / Home Office, 13 October 2008
http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication-search/cannabis/acmd-cannabisreclassification
"This document is the Government's response to the recommendations made by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on the classification of cannabis."

Working with the Third Sector to Reduce Reoffending / Ministry of Justice, 13 October 2008
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/third-sector-reoffending.htm
"This report sets out principles for the Ministry of Justice's work with the third sector to reduce reoffending and protect the public. It contains specific commitments and actions to support these principles and to reduce barriers to third-sector involvement."

Not in My Neighbourhood Week: Handbook for local agencies and police forces / Home Office, 13 October 2008
http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/regions/regions017handbook.pdf
"This handbook is designed to support local areas that are taking part in this week of action. Its audience will include community safety teams, neighbourhood watch schemes, youth offending teams and the police."

Security guards could become the new bobbies on the beat / The Times, August 27 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4616088.ece
"Private security staff, council wardens and football stewards may be given the power to issue on-the-spot fines for public disorder. A Home Office plan, which chief constables are considering, comes after an admission that in some parts of the country people see police enforcement as excessive."

Criminals given 'unduly lenient' sentences must serve extra time in prison / The Times, August 30 2008
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article4636650.ece
"More than 60 judges have imposed “unduly lenient” sentences on offenders convicted of some of the most serious crimes, according to figures published yesterday. The Court of Appeal ruled in 86 cases across England and Wales last year that judges had given criminals — including terrorists, murderers and rapists — a sentence that was too light. The appeal judges increased sentences overall in 70 per cent of cases that were referred for reconsideration — with the biggest single category of increases, 83 per cent, being for violent offences."

Taser adds shock and awe to every bobby’s arsenal / The Sunday Times 14 September 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4748616.ece
"FRONTLINE police officers across the country are to go on patrol armed with the controversial Taser stun gun under plans to be announced by ministers later this year. A stockpile of the weapons, which fire a 50,000-volt charge, will be kept at each police station so that patrolling officers can use them if required, Whitehall officials said."

Paedophiles use internet blackmail to claim victims, says CEOP / The Times 12 September 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4735360.ece
"Paedophiles are publishing an increasing number of sadistic and violent images of younger children on the internet and are abandoning the slow grooming of victims, instead using threats to force them into commiting indecent acts, an intelligence review has found. The review, published today by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), also found evidence that individual paedophiles are running multiple e-mail accounts, sending out hundreds of messages a day to children."

Schemes for giving public information on paedophiles add to risk, says Barnardo’s / The Times, September 15 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4753637.ece
"A pilot scheme that will allow the public to seek information about paedophiles may put youngsters at greater risk of attack, a leading children’s charity has cautioned. The Home Office scheme will give parents, carers and guardians the right to seek information from the police about whether a person with unrestricted contact with their children has a record for child sex offences or domestic violence."

Flaws in YouTube gangster video vetting exposed / The Times, September 18 2008
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article4775927.ece
"A Times investigation has exposed failures in the video-sharing website’s monitoring system and prompted action to tighten security Clips show how gangs are using the internet to intimidate rivals YouTube, the world’s largest video-sharing website, this week removed over two dozen videos glorifying gangs and gang violence which had been on its website in some cases for over 18 months."

Police scour social websites to tackle brutality and boasts of young criminals / The Times, September 18, 2008
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article4776358.ece
"Social networking websites such as Bebo, YouTube and MySpace have been identified by police as having a big influence over gang culture and youth violence. Teenage gang members across Britain are using online forums to bait each other and to brag about their use of knives, guns and drugs."

Father of the internet: 'web is running out of addresses' / The Times, September 25 2008
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4819803.ece
"The world is about to run out of the internet addresses that allow computers to identify each other and communicate, the man who invented the system has told The Times. Vint Cerf, the “father of the internet” and one of the world’s leading computer scientists, said that businesses and consumers needed to act now to switch to the next generation of net addresses. Unless preparations were made now, he said, some computers might not be able to go online and the connectivity of the internet might be damaged."

Steep rise in 'stop and search' complaints / The Independent, 25 September 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/steep-rise-in-stop-and-search-complaints-941727.html
"The number of complaints made about "stop and search" incidents have risen by nearly a quarter, the police watchdog said today. Police forces in England and Wales received 536 complaints about stop and search in the last financial year, up from 434,the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said."

report - Arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) and the operation of certain police powers under PACE 2006/2007 annual statistics Published on 30 July 2008. Revised on 30 September 2008.
http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/arrests-recorded-crime-engl-wales-2006-07-b.pdf

Big Brothel research 'seriously flawed'Poppy Project research into sex workers "was based on flawed data" and "cannot be substantiated" / The Guardian, October 03 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/oct/03/research.women
"Top academics involved in sex research have launched an attack on "seriously flawed" research into British brothels.The academics claim that research into prostitution in the UK published last month by the Poppy Project, which is partly funded by the Ministry of Justice, is inaccurate and unethical.The research in the Big Brothel report "exhibits serious flaws in its mode of data collection and analysis," they warn."

POPPY Project’s comments in response to ‘Academics’ Response to Bindel & Atkins’ “Big Brothel” report
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Education/documents/2008/10/07/poppyresponse.pdf

Concern over funding for vulnerable children: Funds diverted away from projects for children with special needs and young asylum seekers / The Guardian, October 2 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/oct/02/socialexclusion.children
"Financial support for some of Britain's most vulnerable social groups is being undermined by the government's decision to end ringfencing of grants from the Children's Fund, experts have warned."

Labour conference: Total ban for sex soliciting and kerb-crawling / The Guardian, September 22 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/sep/22/labourconference.labour1?gusrc=rss&feed=politics
"Kerb-crawling and soliciting for prostitutes on the streets are to be outlawed as part of a wide-ranging tightening of the law, the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, annnounced yesterday. Warning of the "blight" of prostitution, Smith outlined a three-point plan at the Labour conference."

Public 'must assert' data rights / BBC, 24 September 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7632740.stm
"Several high profile cases of data loss have emerged in the last year. People need to take control of how much information about them is being stored by organisations, says the UK's data protection watchdog. Laws to protect privacy are not being used enough, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) says."

Students attack drink sales ban / BBC, 23 September 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7630119.stm
"The plan would see only the over 21s being able to buy alcohol from a shop
Plans to raise the age at which young people can buy alcohol from shops from 18 to 21have come under further pressure at parliament. A coalition of student and young person's groups said the Scottish Government plan would demonise young people."

Child custody numbers 'too high' / BBC, 22 September 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7628565.stm
"Barnardo's say locking up young people is expensive and ineffective
An increasing number of children have been locked up in England and Wales over the past decade, according to the charity Barnardo's. There was a five-fold surge in the use of custody for 10 to 14-year-olds from 1996-2006, said the charity."

Barnardo's briefing - Locking up or giving up – is custody for children always the
right answer?
http://www.barnardos.org.uk/locking_up_or_giving_up_final1_sept_08.pdf

Improving Performance: A practical guide to police performance management - Case studies - Volume two / Home Office, 8 October 2008
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/performance-and-measurement/Practical_Guide_to_Police_2.pdf?view=Standard&pubID=585585
"This report illustrates how police forces have implemented the principles of effective performance management and show the application of performance management in a range of policing situations."

Sexual Assault Referral Centres: 2008 funding round / Home Office, 7 October 2008
http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/sexual/sexual028.htm
"This page gives information on the funding available for sexual assault referral centres and how to apply."

Crime on the map
Jane's Police Review, 9 September 2008
http://jpr.janes.com/
"The Government's Green Paper on policing proposes ¡compelling police forces to make detailed maps showing where crimes are committed available to the public. Gary Mason examines the technology available and how it might work across the country. "
[Sub required]

Stress relief by numbers set to address officers' mental health
Jane's Police Review, 10 September 2008
http://jpr.janes.com
"Japanese number puzzles could be the answer to relieving the stress and depression associated with police work, according to mental health experts. Spending an hour working on Sudoku puzzles each evening can alleviate symptoms of stress, according to Mind, the national association for mental health."
[Sub required]

Beard ban 'will turn off ethnic minorities'
Jane's Police Review, 10 September 2008
http://jpr.janes.com/
"Banning officers from growing beards while on duty will put people from ethnic minorities off joining the police service, a Lancashire Constabulary recruitment specialist has warned. Norfolk Constabulary issued new guidelines last week aimed at smartening up the force, including a rule preventing officers from attempting to grow their facial hair while at work."
[Sub required]

Report red cards force's public order training after UEFA riot
Jane's Police Review, 10 September 2008
http://jpr.janes.com
"A lack of training and equipment provided to Greater Manchester Police officers contributed to 50 of them being injured in the 2008 UEFA Cup final riots in May, a report has shown. In the light of the incident, the force needs to review its training of staff to respond to public order incidents, the National Policing Improvement Agency has said."

US releases emergency communication plan
Jane's Intelligence Digest, 15 September 2008
http://jid.janes.com
"The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its long-awaited National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP) on 31 July 2008, in co-operation with more than 150 public and private sector emergency communications officials. The 83-page document establishes the many gaps to be overcome, a vision of a desirable future, three strategic goals, seven national objectives and many initiatives to achieve those objectives."

Chemical attack training must be standardised, demands Fed
Jane's Police Review, 17 September 2008
http://jpr.janes.com
"The differing levels of training given to officers in urban and rural forces on chemical attacks must be addressed, the Police Federation of England and Wales said this week. Neil Hickey, who jointly leads the federations' operational sub-committee on terrorism and allied matters, told Police Review training needed to be more standardised as any chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attack would probably involve officers from all over England and Wales responding."

Review of criminality information (ROCI) report / Home Office, 6 October 2008

http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/review-criminality-information/?view=Standard&pubID=585377
"Conducted by Sir Ian Magee, this review examined how police forces record and share information about crimes and criminals within the UK and between the UK and other countries. The final report contains recommendations about how those processes could be improved. The documents below are the official outcomes of that review."

Review of Criminality Information - executive summary (645 K )
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/review-criminality-information/roci-summary-report?view=Binary
Review of Criminality Information - full report (1 M Warning - large file)
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/review-criminality-information/roci-full-report?view=Binary

Arolwg o Wybodaeth Troseddoldeb (Welsh version of the executive summary) (815 K )
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/review-criminality-information/ROCI-summary-welsh?view=Binary

Yr Arolwg o Wybodaeth Troseddoldeb (Welsh version of the review of criminality information) (2 M Warning - large file)
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/review-criminality-information/roci-report-welsh?view=Binary

India's Sino cyber concerns
Jane's Intelligence Digest, 23 September 2008
http://jid.janes.com/
"While the media focuses on state-sponsored cyber operations against Georgia, Estonia, the United States and other countries, India - a developing information technology (IT) powerhouse - is also experiencing problems with cyber infiltration of its government websites. While no formal complaints have been made, some Indian analysts are concerned about the threat posed to India's IT infrastructure from neighbouring China, which is not only a technological rival in terms of IT development, but also a potential territorial rival, although all border disputes are currently quiescent."

Human trafficking in Egypt's Sinai
Jane's Islamic Affairs, 10 September 2008
http://jiaa.janes.com/
"Egypt is coming under growing pressure to staunch the rising flow of sub-Saharan African asylum seekers and migrants being trafficked across its eastern border into Israel. The problem of illegal crossings has increased dramatically since 2006 as shown by the number of new registrations with the United Nations Humanitarian Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Israel"

MI6 terror suspect photos sold on eBay / PC Advisor, 30 September 2008
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=105044
"Photographs and confidential documents regarding Al-Qaeda terror suspects thought to belong to MI6 have been found on online auction site Ebay."

[New Zealand] Violent crime up 11 per cent / stuff.co.nz, 1 October 2008
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4712593a11.html
"Violent crime, including murders, jumped dramatically in the year to June, according to annual crime statistics released today."

[Scotland] Crime figures: 'The statistics raise the issue of perception' / Scotsman, 1 October 2008
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion/Crime-figures-39The-statistics-raise.4544993.jp

Growing Up In Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children: 2006-07 Annual Report / Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2008
http://www.aifs.gov.au/growingup/pubs/ar/annualreport2006-07.html
"This third annual report on the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children focuses on the Wave 2 data collection and early trends emerging from this second wave, as well as recent research findings and dissemination activities completed in the past year."

Police Lieutenant in Taser Case Commits Suicide / New York Times, 6 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xqnc

ID cards: a badge to prove you're 'one of us' / Spiked, 2 October 2008
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/5774/
"New Labour's ID cards scheme is a desperate attempt to magic up some sense of British togetherness."

Manners Vital To The Community, Says Tory Hopeful / Sunday Herald, 6 October 2008
http://www.sundayherald.com/display.var.2457227.0.0.php?utag=29817
Call for respect and end to 'dependency culture'By Rachelle Money
"...Shaun Bailey, co-founder of children's charity My Generation, will tell the Social Evils Debate, a conference to be held at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh this week, what many grown-ups have long suspected - that young people are too selfish and should be taught about responsibility."

Criminalising Our Youth Is Not The Answer / Suday Herald, 6 October 2008
http://www.sundayherald.com/display.var.2457180.0.0.php?utag=29817
Ian Bell on criminal acts

Shelter launches new project to tackle anti-social behaviour in Birmingham / 24dash.com, 6 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xqmp
"Housing and homelessness charity Shelter, in partnership with the Trinity Centre, is launching an innovative new project that will work with families to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB), and therefore prevent homelessness."

Black police officers to discourage new recruits from joining 'racist' Met / 24dash.com, 6 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xqmn
"...The Metropolitan Black Police Association said it was boycotting all drives by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to attract black and ethnic minority recruits."

Fighting back against electronic crime / Home Office, 30 September 2008
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news/fighting-electronic-crime
"A new police unit dedicated to tackling electronic crime and internet fraud will kick off in 2009.
Dubbed the Police Central e-crime Unit (PCeU), the team will provide advanced training for those investigating internet crime. It will also oversee initiatives designed to crack down on on-line offences."