National identity scheme a step closer to reality / Home Office, 21 November 2008
http://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/downloads/NIS_Legislation.pdf
A consultation has been launched, paving the way for the next step of the government's national identity scheme. The introduction of the first identity cards for British citizens moved forward today as the government began a 12-week consultation on the finer detail of the scheme's next phase.

Home Office: Closure of premises for persistent disorder or nuisance (HTML format)
Departments: Home Office
Document type: Information

Date of publication: 21 November 2008

http://www.respect.gov.uk/members/article.aspx?id=12676

Summary:
This document explains premises closure orders, which are tenure-neutral powers that can be used to offer communities immediate respite by temporarily closing premises for three months.

Under-age drinkers plaguing town / BBC, Friday, 17 October 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7676021.stm
"Police said youths are descending on Lochgelly from nearby towns
Up to 200 teenagers are descending on a Fife town every week for co-ordinated drinking sessions, it has been claimed. Locals said youths were descending on Lochgelly from nearby towns such as Cardenden, Ballingry, and Cowdenbeath. Children as young as 12 were said to be getting drunk before causing trouble in Friday night gatherings, which it is thought are arranged in the classroom. Community wardens have tried free cinema tickets and minibuses to youth clubs to curb the problem."

400 foreign criminals allowed to stay in Britain
Up to 400 criminals involved in a foreign prisoner scandal, including some of the worst offenders, have been told they can stay in Britain, the Home Office has disclosed. / The Daily Telegraph, 20 November 2008
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/3490635/400-foreign-criminals-allowed-to-stay-in-Britain.html
Less than a third of the 1,013 convicts have been deported two and half years after the scandal broke and subsequently cost Charles Clarke his job as Home Secretary.
And many more could end up staying because 90 are still missing, 31 are in jail again and 160 are still going through the process. The figures emerged as immigration minister Phil Woolas admitted too many migrant workers have been let in under previous Government policies. He also launched another attack on asylum lawyers as he revealed the case of a Nigerian who had his claim rejected four times and was removed, only to have to be brought back because his solicitor lodged a judicial review."

More than one million added to the DNA database as children
/ The Daily Telegraph, 17 November 2008
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/3473483/More-than-one-million-added-to-the-DNA-database-as-children.html
"Campaigners said the revelations showed how children are being criminalised and treated as "suspects for life". Official figures show that, since the DNA database was created, 1.07million profiles of children have been added. This is nearly a quarter of the 4.4million profiles on the database. Anyone who comes into contact with the police, as an offender or a witness."

Statement on Safeguarding Children: Speech by Ed Balls / Department for Children, Schools and Families, 20 November 2008
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/speeches/search_detail.cfm?ID=846
"This is a transcript of the statement by Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls in the House of Commons on 20 November 2008. He talks about the actions taken since the serious case review into the death of Baby P."

Councils have saved 1.2 billion says Audit Commission, but further back office saving will be tough / Public Technology, 10 Oct 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17479

"A new Audit Commission report on the efficiency of English councils' back office activities finds that they face an uphill struggle to contribute to a further £4.9 billion of savings before 2010. The report, Back to Front, focuses on savings from back office council operations, such as finance, human resources, IT, procurement, legal services, facilities management, marketing and communications. These areas were originally highlighted in Sir Peter Gershon's 2004 review, and have contributed £1.2 billion, over a quarter, of the £4.3 billion efficiency savings made by English councils in the last three years (equivalent to £240 a year off the average Band D Council Tax bill*)."

Australian investigation into sale of ID theft-kits / Public Technology, 10 October 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17472
"Finjan, a provider of secure web gateway solutions for the enterprise market, has confirmed the findings of an Australian investigation into the sale of stolen credit and debit card information on the Internet. "It seems that Sydney Morning Herald reporters have uncovered the fact that almost anyone on Internet can buy stolen payment card details for as little as US$1.50 a time for Aussie details, and US$2.50 a time for US and English cardholder information," said Yuval Ben-Itzhak, chief technology officer with Finjan."

Dept of Health uses Science well, but review finds it needs to improve joint working / Public Technology, 9 October 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17469
"The Government Office for Science review published today commends the Department of Health on good practice in the way it commissions, manages and uses science. The report highlighted examples of good practice including the 'Best Research for Best Health' strategy in setting direction for NHS research and development, the role of the Policy Liaison Officers in the Policy Research Programme to support evidence based policy, and the role of the Scientific Advisory Committees in providing advice. However, the GO-Science Review also found that given the importance of science to the Department of Health policies there could be more consistency in the effective management of science, joint working (both across disciplines and with stakeholder groups), developing mechanisms to share and manage knowledge effectively, and the use of external scientific advice and expertise."

62 per cent of companies use Data De-duplication to chase away Storage Inefficiency / Public Technology, 9 Oct 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17468
"Research by Storage Expo has found that 62% of companies use De-duplication to increase efficiency, reduce storage requirements and also costs. A further 27% intended to implement de-duplication technology within the next 12 months. At the other end of the spectrum 4% do not intend to join the bandwagon and 6% claimed that De-duplication was not delivering what they expected. Simon Robinson, Research Director, The 451Group, commented, “Data De-duplication has emerged as one of the most talked about technologies in storage, and IT departments are actually embracing it, suggesting that De-duplication can provide real value and return on investment to businesses that deploy it.” "

Organisations unaware of criminals stealing data right under their noses / 3 October 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17432


"In a podcast interview released yesterday on www.infosecurityadvisor.com, Peter Wood Member of the ISACA Conference Committee and founder of First Base Technologies reveals the ease with which criminals are able to steal data and gives 3 critical steps organisations can take to block them. Wood reveals how he and a colleague walked unchallenged into an insurance company and were able to steal all their data as part of a security exercise. And he is not the only one to get away with stealing data; very often companies unwittingly hire people whose sole purpose is to steal data."

Government Olympic Executive Newsletter / Department for Culture, Media and Sport
http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/2012_olympic_games_and_paralympic_games/5602.aspx

"This page links to the latest issue of a newsletter designed to keep stakeholders up to date with government activity on the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games."

Minister announces review over baby's death / The Independent, Tuesday, 11 November 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/minister-announces-review-over-babys-death-1010949.html
"Children's minister Beverley Hughes announced a nationwide independent review of child protection services today after the harrowing death of a toddler. The 17-month-old boy, who cannot be identified, was on the child protection register with Haringey social services in north London. His mother's 32-year-old boyfriend and another man, Jason Owen, 36, were convicted at the Old Bailey today of causing or allowing his death."

Home Office: Drugs interventions programme / Home Office, 11 November 2008
http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication-search/dip/dip-conditional-cautioning
"This page gives information on the Home Office's drugs intervention programme, which is a key part of the government's strategy for tackling drugs and reducing crime. A fact sheet on conditional cautioning has been added."

National Conference on Injecting Drug Use: Speech by Dawn Primarolo / Department of Health, 7 November 2008
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/News/Speeches/DH_090082
"This is a transcript of the speech by Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo at a drug conference on 28 October 2008. She says that maintenance and abstinence are equally important in treating drug misuse."

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary's Response to the Policing Green Paper / Home Office, 7 November 2008
http://inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk/hmic/inspections/special_humberside_police_report/HMCIC_s_response_to_the_pol11

"This is Sir Ronnie Flanagan’s letter to the Home Secretary in response to the policing green paper. He outlines a future for the inspectorate that champions the public interest by seeking to significantly improve public confidence in the analysis and assessment of police performance and improvement."

Responding to Rape: Speech by Alan Campbell / Home Office, 7 November 2008
http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/Speeches/alan-campbell-speech-resonding
"This is a transcript of the speech by Home Office Minister Alan Campbell to the Lancashire and Cumbria Constabularies Joint Conference on 7 November 2008. He talks about the Government's role in ensuring that police have the support needed to deliver a first-class service to all victims of rape and sexual violence."

The Future of Policing: Speech by Jacqui Smith / Home Office, 7 November 2008
http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/Speeches/home-sec-speech-police-future
"This is a transcript of the speech by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to the Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Group on 5 November 2008. She talks about the challenges facing policing.

Regulating the Security Industry: REPORT BY THE COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL HC 1036 Session 2007-2008 / TSO, 17 October 2008
PDF - http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/07-08/07081036.pdf

Police Reform e-Bulletin / Home Office, 5 November 2008
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/police-reform-e-bulletin/policing-policy-e-bulletin-119?view=Standard&pubID=592181
"This page links to the Police Reform e-Bulletin, which is published every fortnight for those working on the police reform programme. Issue 119 has been added.

Neighbourhood Crime and Justice Areas / Home Office, 5 November 2008
http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/police-reform/neighbourhood-crime-justice-area?view=Standard&pubID=592256
"This document lists the 60 areas across the country that have signed up to become new neighbourhood crime and justice pioneer areas."

Privacy watchdog calls on CEOs to take responsibility for data protection safeguards / Information Commmissioner's Office, 29 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xtkw
"On 29 October 2008, the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, announced to the RSA Conference Europe that the number of data breaches reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office had soared to 277 since HMRC lost 25 million child benefit records in November 2007.
He highlighted the risks associated with large databases, the need for tougher sanctions to deter data breaches and called on chief executives to take responsibility for the personal information their organisations hold.
http://digbig.com/4xtkx

Getting on, getting ahead: A discussion paper: analysing the trends and drivers of social mobility / Cabinet Office, November 2008
PDF - http://digbig.com/4xtkr
"The Prime Minister's Strategy Unit has published 'Getting on, getting ahead,' an independent research paper analysing the evidence base on social mobility. The discussion paper identifies key trends and drivers of social mobility, highlighting four key areas where the Government can have the most significant impact on improving social mobility."

Time for Action: Equipping Young People for the Future and Preventing Violence - the Mayor’s proposals and call to partners / Greater London Authority, November 2008
PDF - http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/crime/timeforaction/docs/timeforaction-main.pdf
"Time for Action sets out the Mayor’s vision for a programme of action for Equipping Young People for the Future and Preventing Violence. As this is the Mayor’s call to partners, feedback is sought on his proposals to improve youth opportunities and prevent violence through a programme for action."

Code of Practice on Consultation / HM Government, July 2008
PDF - http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file47158.pdf
"The Government has a Code of Practice on Consultation. This Code sets out what people can expect from the Government when it runs formal, written consultation exercises on matters of policy or policy implementation."

New stop and search saves officers time
Jane's Police Review, 29 October 2008
http://jpr.janes.com
"West Midlands Police officers estimate they could to save 21,000 hours a year - the equivalent of 875 working days - after the force changed the way stop and searches are carried out. The force is one of four taking part in the national 'stop and encounter pilot' on behalf of the Home Office."
[Sub required]

'I picked her up by her throat' / BBC, 31 October 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7700257.stm
"The Home Office says it is making "significant progress" in a drive to tackle domestic violence, but concedes that more needs to be done - including in managing perpetrators. One man convicted of assaulting his girlfriend describes being the person who metes out the violence."

'Wizard Stick' Parties a Binge Drinking Concern / Join Together, 19 September 2008
http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2008/wizard-stick-parties-a.html
"A drinking game that encourages young men to drink enough beer to make a stack of cans exceeding their own height has some experts concerned that it's contributing to rising binge drinking rates."

Cultural Attitudes Influence Excessive Drinking / Join Together, 23 September 2008
http://digbig.com/4xtkb
"Cultural influences are a dominant factor in youth attitudes about drinking and drunkenness, according to new research reported in Science Daily Sept. 23."

[Canada] Insite Prevents Two to 12 Deaths a Year, Study Concludes / Join Together, 7 October 2008
http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2008/insite-prevents-two-to-12.html
"Researchers say that Vancouver's Insite supervised-injection facility saves two to 12 lives each year by preventing fatal overdoses."

[USA] Unmet Need for Drug Treatment / Join Together, 7 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xtjk
"According to data from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 82% of the estimated 7.5 million who needed treatment for an illicit drug problem in the past year did not receive it. "

Youth Cannabis Use Commonly Extends into Adulthood / Join Together, 9 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xtjg
"Investigators analyzed 4- and 10-year follow-up data from youth enrolled in a prospective population-based cohort study."

New Cathinone-Based Drugs Raise Alarm in U.K. / Join Together, 10 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xtjf
"Researchers in London expressed concern over a new family of drugs based on cathinone, the active ingredient in the plant khat."

[USA] Task Force Offers Recommendations for Reforming Juvenile Justice System / Join Together, 10 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xtje
"A national task force has recommended policy changes at all levels of government in order to improve alcohol and drug treatment for youth in the juvenile-justice system."
Model Policies for Juvenile Justice and Substance Abuse Treatment: a Report by Reclaiming Futures / Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
PDF - http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/3426.33714.reclaimingfutures1.pdf

Police 'pimp their ride' into mobile youth club / 24dash.com, 27 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xtjd
"Equipped with a plasma TV, stereo and games console this is one police van people might not mind being thrown in the back of. [...] Equipped with a plasma TV, stereo and games console this is one police van people might not mind being thrown in the back of."

Off the streets into the great outdoors / 24dash.com, 27 October 2008
http://www.24dash.com/news/Housing/2008-10-27-Off-the-streets-into-the-great-outdoors
"Taking kids off the beaten track is helping them to follow the straight and narrow on an activity programme that uses outdoor activities to stop youngsters getting into trouble. Riverside Housing worked with Merseyside police to send 12 young people from Seacombe and Poulton on the Wirral on an outdoor experience to find out more about themselves and develop confidence and self-esteem, in a bid to curb anti social behaviour in the area."

Home from Home: Addressing the Issues of Migrant Workers' Housing / Building and Social Housing Foundation, 2008
http://digbig.com/4xtjb
"Migrant workers come to the UK to seek employment but all too often find themselves living in expensive, overcrowded and poor-quality accommodation. This report seeks to make a fresh assessment of this important issue."

Help white working class, or risk fuelling anti-immigrant surge, warns Trevor Phillips / Equality and Human Rights Commission, 29 October 2008
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/newsandcomment/Pages/CBIMigrationsummit.aspx
"Trevor Phillips, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, today warned that Britain risks fuelling anti-immigrant sentiment unless it takes active steps to help those hit hardest by the economic crisis -- including the white working class."

Landlords and residents - making communities safer / 24dash.com, 20 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xthy
"When Pauline Beckett and the Sycamore Way and Area Tenants and Residents Association (Sycamore Way and Areas TARA) were faced with Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) in their community they rose to what most would consider a daunting challenge. After it became apparent a local convenience store was strongly linked with selling alcohol to underage drinkers, as well as adults buying alcohol for youngsters congregating outside the premises, Pauline and the Sycamore Way and Areas TARA decided to..."

Reporting of Hate Crime increased by 50% in Wyre area. / 24dash.com, 29 October 2008
http://digbig.com/4xthx
"Victims of hate crime have been encouraged to report incidents through a unique, specialised project set up just over twelve months ago to cover the Wyre area. And the results of Hate Crime reporting in the area has increased by 58% since the Wyre Community Safety Partnership Hate Crime Project funded jointly by Wyre Borough Council and Wyre Housing Association, part of the Regenda Group, was launched in July 2007."

Driving down crime in Manchester / 24dash.com, 30 October 2008
http://www.24dash.com/news/Housing/2008-10-30-Driving-down-crime-in-Manchester
"Police officers in east Manchester now have an extra vehicle to help them drive down crime in the area – thanks to sponsorship from Eastlands Homes. The housing association has provided the car to allow officers to respond to incidents of anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse in Beswick, Clayton and Openshaw."

DCMS Statistical Bulletin: Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment Licensing, England and Wales, April 2007 – March 2008 / DCMS, 30 October 2008
http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/5571.aspx

New Dimension: Enhancing the Fire and Rescue Services' capacity to respond to terrorist and other large-scale incidents: Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General / National Audit Office, 31 October 2008
PDF - http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/07-08/07081050.pdf
HC 1050 2007-2008
"A £330 million programme has enhanced the 46 English Fire and Rescue Services’ capacity to respond to terrorist attacks and other catastrophic incidents such as major flooding. But better value for money could have been secured in the procurement of the specialist vehicles and equipment, according to a National Audit Office report out today."

The UK public finances: ready for recession? / Institute for Fiscal Studies, 31 October 2008
PDF - http://www.ifs.org.uk/bns/bn79.pdf
IFS Briefing Notes, BN79
"As the UK economy begins to shrink for the first time in 16 years, the two main political parties have been arguing over whether the public finances are stronger or weaker now than they were at the outset of the last recession in 1990 and when Labour came to power in 1997. This note looks at a couple of key indicators of the health of the public finances in historical and international perspective to assess this."

Home Office bullying "soft targets" to spin ID scheme says NO2ID / Public Technology, 26 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17391
"The Home Secretary will round off the Labour Party conference by re-announcing "ID cards for foreigners". A system of biometric visas is being introduced for some foreign residents from November, but it is not really part of the National Identity Scheme, which has not been built yet.[1] This fact does not stop the government using the words "ID cards" together with a sly appeal to xenophobia, to buttress support for its unpopular scheme."

SNP says ID Cards 'will not make our communities more secure' / Public Technology, 26 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17389
"SNP Home Affairs Spokesman Pete Wishart MP has yesterday commented on the publication of the UK Government’s ID card design that will initially be rolled out for foreign nationals. Mr Wishart said: “The SNP has opposed ID cards from the very outset. The UK Government’s abysmal record on data protection is reason enough to cancel ID cards."

Cybercriminals inject malware into PDF & Flash files using latest Web 2.0 tech / Public Technology, 24 Sep 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17370
"Finjan, a supplier of secure web gateway products, has announced that its Malicious Code Research Center (MCRC) discovered examples of obfuscated code embedded not only in HTML-webpages on legitimate websites, but also in rich-content files. “Since JavaScript is the most-used scripting language for communication with web browsers, third-party applications such as Flash player, PDF readers and other multimedia applications have added support for JavaScript as part of their application,” said Yuval Ben-Itzhak, CTO of Finjan. “This offers crimeware authors the opportunity to inject malicious code into rich-content files used by Ads and user-generated content on Web 2.0 websites.” "

Lancashire strives to cut digital divide using library web access / Public Technology, 23 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17367
"West Lancashire District Council and Lancashire County Council have teamed up to launch a new campaign to encourage people to use free internet access in their local library if they want to get in touch with their local council. The campaign will be launched on Tuesday 30 September. The six libraries in West Lancashire run by the county council – in Tarleton, Burscough, Ormskirk, Parbold, Skelmersdale and Up Holland – offer people the chance to use the “People’s Network” computers to get internet access."

EU's Criminal Records Information System needs solid infrastructure says European Data Protection Supervisor / Public Technology, 22 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17359
"On 16 September 2008, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) adopted an opinion on a proposal for a Council Decision on the establishment of an electronic European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS). The Decision is part of a package designed to help EU Member States to share the criminal records of their citizens and exchange information on past criminal convictions."

IBM Confirms Finjan's Report on Crimeware-as-a-Service / Public Technology, 22 September 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=17352
"Finjan, a provider of secure web gateway solutions for the enterprise market, stated last week that a blog posting from IBM Internet Security Systems, in which the rapid ascendance of hacking-as-a-service is discussed, confirms an earlier report from Finjan on Crimeware-as-a-Service. “It is indicative of the domination of criminal gangs in the malware and security attack business these days,” says Yuval Ben-Itzhak, Chief Technology Officer of Finjan."

Population in Custody: Monthly tables / Ministry of Justice, 31 October 2008
http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/population-in-custody-september08.pdf
"This is a monthly statistical release presenting tables on the population in custody, with summary figures on the population in prison establishments, police cells, secure children's homes and secure training centres. The tables for September 2008 have been added."

National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan: Annual progress report 2007-08 / Departments: Home Office, 31 October 2008
http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/domesticviolence/domesticviolence069.htm
"This report covers progress on early identification of domestic violence, capacity building to improve support for victims and improvements to the way the criminal justice system deals with domestic violence.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary: Inspection of resource leverage - Metropolitan Police Service / Home Office, 31 October 2008
http://inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk/hmic/inspections/special_humberside_police_report/An_Inspection_of_Resource_H1.pdf
"This report evaluates the financial health and resource efficiency of the Metropolitan Police Service."