Alertinfo

2008-11-24T10:52:00.000Z

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.

2008-11-24T10:47:00.000Z

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.

2008-11-21T16:26:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-21T14:27:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-21T14:25:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-21T11:57:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-19T16:37:00.000Z

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*)."

2008-11-19T16:34:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-19T16:29:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-19T16:26:00.000Z

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.” "

2008-11-19T16:14:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-14T11:57:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-12T14:21:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-11T17:44:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-11T17:32:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-11T16:50:00.001Z

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."

2008-11-11T16:47:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-11T16:45:00.002Z

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.

2008-11-11T14:46:00.000Z

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

2008-11-06T12:38:00.000Z

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.

2008-11-06T12:36:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-04T10:09:00.000Z

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

2008-11-04T09:28:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-04T09:25:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-03T15:53:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-03T15:51:00.000Z

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]

2008-11-03T15:28:00.001Z

'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."

2008-11-03T15:27:00.001Z

'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."

2008-11-03T15:21:00.001Z

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."

2008-11-03T15:20:00.001Z

[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."

2008-11-03T15:18:00.001Z

[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. "

2008-11-03T15:15:00.002Z

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."

2008-11-03T15:12:00.001Z

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."

2008-11-03T15:04:00.002Z

[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

2008-11-03T15:03:00.001Z

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."

2008-11-03T15:01:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-03T14:55:00.001Z

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."

2008-11-03T14:53:00.001Z

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."

2008-11-03T14:49:00.000Z

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..."

2008-11-03T14:42:00.002Z

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."

2008-11-03T14:40:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-03T14:39:00.000Z

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

2008-11-03T14:36:00.001Z

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."

2008-11-03T14:33:00.001Z

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."

2008-11-03T13:10:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-03T13:08:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-03T13:02:00.000Z

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.” "

2008-11-03T12:59:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-03T12:52:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-03T12:48:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-03T12:34:00.000Z

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."

2008-11-03T12:29:00.000Z

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.

2008-11-03T12:25:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-31T18:41:00.001Z

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."

2008-10-31T18:38:00.003Z

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."

2008-10-31T18:35:00.001Z

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."

2008-10-31T16:31:00.002Z

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

2008-10-31T16:25:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-31T16:20:00.000Z

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.

2008-10-31T16:17:00.001Z

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."

2008-10-31T16:11:00.001Z

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

2008-10-31T16:09:00.001Z

'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."

2008-10-31T16:06:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-31T16:04:00.001Z

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."

2008-10-31T16:02:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-31T15:58:00.002Z

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."

2008-10-31T15:54:00.001Z

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."

2008-10-31T15:50:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-31T15:42:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-31T10:43:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-31T10:41:00.003Z

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."

2008-10-31T10:39:00.002Z

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."

2008-10-29T16:01:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-29T10:54:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-29T09:13:00.000Z

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

2008-10-28T15:59:00.000Z

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

2008-10-28T15:57:00.000Z

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

2008-10-28T12:15:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-28T12:06:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-28T09:06:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-27T15:50:00.000Z

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

2008-10-27T15:46:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-27T15:38:00.001Z

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)."

2008-10-27T15:35:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-27T15:22:00.000Z

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..."

2008-10-27T15:17:00.000Z

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."

2008-10-27T14:50:00.000Z

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

2008-10-27T14:39:00.001Z

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."

2008-10-27T14:27:00.000Z

'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..."
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2008-10-27T14:18:00.000Z

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..."
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2008-10-27T13:56:00.001Z

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..."
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2008-10-27T13:54:00.001Z

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
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2008-10-27T13:53:00.000Z

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..."
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2008-10-27T13:50:00.001Z

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..."
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2008-10-27T13:48:00.000Z

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..."
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2008-10-27T13:46:00.001Z

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..."
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2008-10-27T13:38:00.001Z

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..."
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2008-10-27T13:36:00.000Z

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..."
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2008-10-27T12:20:00.001Z

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."
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2008-10-27T12:16:00.000Z

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..."
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