Daily Archives: 02/06/2011

Mobile Counter Service Locations

  By Kevin Morris | 02/06/2011 - 20:02 | Policing - Surrey
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Surrey police offer the latest in utter bu*****t

 

 

surrey map

Mobile Counter Service

There is a video here if you are not feeling nauseous!
The Mobile Counter Service allows you to access the majority of services available at a police station front counter. A local neighbourhood officer will also be available at every stop.

Mobile Counter Service:

The mobile counter vehicle will bring police counter services to towns and communities that have never had them before or have seen their local counter relocate.

Many police transactions are now being carried out over the phone or online and new technology allows checks to be done at the roadside reducing the number of people using police station counters.

But while the force can no longer justify the cost of having a permanent fixed counter in every town and village we want to continue offering the option of face-to-face service.

Timetable and locations

The mobile counter service will provide access to a counter service once every two weeks at each location and at different time sessions. It will visit two locations per day and spend around two hours at each so just pick the time and date that suits you best.


Q&A

What services does the mobile counter offer?

The mobile counter offers the majority of services you can access at a fixed police station counter. This includes being able to produce documents, apply for licences, hand in or report lost property and report accidents or crimes. There will also be a member of the local neighbourhood team on hand at each stop to discuss local crime matters.

What transactions cannot be done at the mobile counter?

The mobile counter will not process bail returnees, sex offenders and vehicle seizures. These tasks will be done at nominated police stations.
- If you have any concerns over whether you can use the mobile service for the transaction you require contact Surrey Police on 0845 125 2222 (or 01483 571212 for free with the right tariff) for advice.

Will it run evenings and weekends?

Yes the vehicle will have morning, afternoon and evening sessions on different days which will typically be a session of around two hours between 09:30-11:30am, 12:45-15:00 and 16:45-19:00. This will allow travel time between locations and meal breaks for the staff.

Will the vehicle respond to an emergency?

The mobile counter is not an emergency response vehicle but staff will be able to contact emergency teams directly should the situation require it.

Why are you closing my police station front counter and then starting a mobile service in my area?

As the majority of police transactions can be done over the phone or online, many of our smaller stations are now only receiving a handful of users per day. The force can no longer justify having a fixed front counter in all these locations but the mobile service will enable us to provide a flexible service to these areas for those that require it and is more cost effective. (And we can then sell them off to justify closing them in the first place)

Does closing a front counter have any impact on the number of officers in my area?

No. (Because we moved all the response officers/CID/support anyway leaving behind a dedicated but pitiful level of staff) When we close a front counter we are not removing officers from the streets – Neighbourhood Teams and Emergency Response Teams continue to have local bases and serve communities as they did before.

Out of hours where should I go if I need to see a police officer?

Policing remains a 24 hour service. You can call 999 (But we are unlikely to come) in an emergency or 0845 125 2222 for non-emergencies at any time of day (See above). Alternatively you can email or contact us via our website.

Whilst front counters in local authority buildings or smaller stations are open during business hours, our main stations at Guildford, Reigate, Woking and Staines are open between 8am – 10pm, 7 days a week to provide an evening and weekend front counter service.

The mobile front counter will of course add to the pollution of our planet as it drives around contributing to greenhouse gasses. It will cost money to buy, maintain and replace but we will not mention that. It also does not comply  with the Disability Discrimination Act but we will not mention that either. It may not comply with the requirements of reporting an accident but what the hell. All in all a fudge that we did not think through properly but we know you will like it. Well our surveys will say you do whatever the true outcome.


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Bank siege man was carrying bomb

  By surreywebmaster | 02/06/2011 - 16:33 | In The News
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Military and armed police surrounded the Co-operative bank, in Market Street, Watford, after the suspect threatened staff, Hertfordshire Police said.

A police spokeswoman said: “An explosive device of some kind – as yet we don’t know what this is – has been removed from this individual.”

Police said they secured the “successful arrest” after the man refused to leave the bank.

“Investigations into the nature of this device will continue,” the spokeswoman said. “The suspect has been arrested and will be taken to police custody for interview.”

The force said it was supported by specialist firearms experts in the military in making the arrest.

The man was forced on to his knees outside the bank as he was arrested by armed police officers, a picture published by the Watford Observer shows.

The black-haired suspect was wearing a short-sleeved white shirt and black trousers as he was held.

Sources said the incident was not thought to be terrorist-related.

Police were called to the bank at 10.18am to reports of a man threatening to harm members of staff.

Specialist firearms teams and military bomb disposal experts attended the scene in the centre of the town.

Witnesses described police marksmen aiming their guns at the bank and reported rumours that the man had a bomb strapped to his body.

Pat Sullivan, who works at local damp-proofing firm M Mansell, said police closed the main roads around the bank and the ring road, causing traffic to back up.

She said: “I’ve forced my way through the barriers to get in.

“There’s so many people out there – the police, police cars, fire engines, press and, I guess, bomb disposal teams.

“There’s groups of people out there just standing and waiting, the community is just wondering what’s happening really. You can’t walk out there because it’s all cordoned off.

“The traffic’s nose-to-tail because the police have closed most of the roads.”

Hertfordshire Police said in a statement: “Safety of members of the public was paramount and a cordon was put in place and people were evacuated from nearby premises.

“There will be police activity in the town centre for a while to come. Understandably this caused concern within the community and we would like to thank members of the public for their co-operation in this matter.”

Shop workers told of the panic when the area was evacuated by police.

Jacqui Bryan, from Edgware, who was working at Barratt Homes just behind the bank, said: “The police told everyone to move. We were just told to get out of the building. I thought it was a fire.”

Ryan Saunders, 22, who was heading to work at nearby BHS at the time, said: “There were lots of people panicking, and then I saw the bomb disposal van speed past me. Everyone was desperate to get away.”

His friend Michael Robinson-Collier, also 22, said: “It all kicked off as I was coming into town. I just saw all of the police rushing to the bank.”

Local councillor Rabi Martin said: “As a ward councillor, I was anxious there was no threat to residents or staff. This is the last thing we want for Watford. But the main thing is that there were no casualties.

“The police reacted so quickly and decisively in evacuating the area. Watford town centre has so many different entrances for them to seal off, so their efforts were commendable.”

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: “Defence explosive ordnance disposal team supported the police in the incident, in accordance with normal military assistance procedures.”

Bank siege man was carrying bomb

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Microsoft previews Windows 8

  By surreywebmaster | 02/06/2011 - 15:33 | Technology/Computing
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Microsoft offers a preview of the new functions they are bringing to the latest version of the Windows operating system.

Microsoft has offered its most extensive preview so far of the forthcoming Windows 8 operating system.

The new designs are heavily influenced by Windows Phone, with ’tiles’ on a new homescreen that the company hopes will be useful for both tablets and traditional PC setups.

Steven Sinofsky, President of the Windows Division of Microsoft, said that although the new operating system should be equally at home on very different platforms, it was important that it was also “no compromise”.

Bridging the gap between mobile and PC, Windows 8 will support both HTML apps, similar to the apps available on smartphones, and also the traditional applications that are familiar to users of Windows 7.

Details on more precise specifications and when the new software will ship are, however, not yet known. Microsoft has said that the new version of Windows will be less processor-hungry than Windows 7, and that more details will be revealed at a September developers conference.

Writing on the Windows blog, Julie Larson-Green said that Windows 8 was “reimagining” the 25-year-old operating system. She highlighted the new interface, touch optimisation, the ability to size two apps neatly on a single screen and the speed of switching between apps.

Some bloggers, including the influential John Gruber, claimed that Microsoft’s bid to use one OS for both tablets and PCs was a mistake, while others praised the software giant’s genuinely novel approach.

Microsoft previews Windows 8

Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer ‘stuck in the past’

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Prisons minister criticises custody suite plan

  By surreywebmaster | 02/06/2011 - 10:37 | Policing - Surrey
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A plan of the proposed custody suiteA plan of the proposed custody suite.
 

A PLAN to build a 24-cell police custody suite in a small village has been criticised by the minister in charge of prisons.

 

 

 

 

 

Crispin Blunt MP, (pictured), whose Reigate constituency includes the village of Salfords, was speaking on Wednesday (June 1) at a public inquiry into the proposed facility.

The custody suite is intended to replace the 12 cells at Reigate police station as the primary detention facility for criminals arrested in east Surrey.

An initial application for a 30-cell facility on Salbrook Industrial Estate, which is just 120m from the nearest home, was voted down by the Reigate and Banstead Borough Council planning committee last June.

Mr Blunt, who has ministerial responsibility for national offender management, urged police to consider alternative sites.

He said: “Whilst I am extremely impressed with the campaign that has been run by Salfords residents and their representatives, one cannot ignore the motivating factor that is their fear of crime.

“That concern is real and the police case has not been able to address those concerns over a year of well-attended public meetings and community engagement.

“The opposition to this proposal was not whipped up by the local leadership but did arise from the residents’ own deep concern about the consequences of the development for them.

“My view is that while an industrial estate may be financially convenient in the short term it is operationally sub-optimal to say the least and probably a poor financial decision for the long term.

Immence impact

Mr Blunt added: “I accept the fact that Surrey Police have need of a replacement custody suite as the one at Reigate police station is not fit for purpose.

“I have seen this first hand when I visited the station in November 2010.”

Dozens of concerned residents attended the first full day of the three-and-a-half-day hearing in the village hall on Wednesday as planning inspector Christine Newmark heard representations from concerned residents and Surrey Police.

David Brown, a founder-member of Salfords Against Custody Suite (SACS), warned that the suite could see as many as 11,000 people released from police custody into the village every year.

He said: “The impact on the village of a custody suite proposal is immense and would affect the village more than any application I can remember.

“We can agree that Salfords is, in fact, a low crime area and residents feel safe within it’s boundaries.

“We know the police have a duty of care to the detainees before they are released but I’m not so sure about the duty of care to the community.”

Johnny Baker, who has lived in the village for 32 years, expressed concern about antisocial behaviour on footpaths near the railway station.

He said: “I have a real concern for my personal safety. I use the footpath on a daily basis to walk my dog.

“To access the bridleway you need to use this footbridge next to Salfords railway station. If the proposition goes ahead this footpath and the bridleway will become no-go areas.”

Prisons minister criticises custody suite plan

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Waverley police front counter moves to The Burys

  By surreywebmaster | 02/06/2011 - 10:19 | Policing - Surrey
6 Comments

NEW front counter police services have been unveiled at the council offices in Godalming, following the closure of the town’s police station last year.

These happy faces will greet visitors in Waverley

The Surrey Police visitor point opened on Monday (May 23) and is designed to allow visitors to the Waverley Borough Council offices to easily speak to police.

The move comes after the decision to close Godalming police station in February last year, as part of a money-saving exercise by Surrey Police.

Since October, Safer Neighbourhood officers in Godalming have been sharing office space with the borough council.

The police station, on Flambard Way – part of the long-awaited Key Site development – is now one of the buildings being considered for sale by the Surrey Police Authority, though the decision to sell it was taken well before the results of the most recent public consultation.

According to Surrey Police, sharing the building is just one of the initiatives being taken by the police force to make accessing services more convenient, improve working partnerships and save costs to reduce the existing budget deficit.

Investing in more police presence on the streets is also part of the ongoing programme of change.

Waverley Neighbourhood Inspector Tom Budd said: “Neighbourhood officers have already been based at The Burys for the last eight months enabling them to work much more closely with their council colleagues.

“Having the police front counter services move into the building as well is the next step in the change programme and creates a one stop shop for local services all under one roof.

“Members of the public will be able to do all the transactions they can at a main station, including producing documents, reporting crime and accidents, handing in lost property and getting advice and guidance on crime matters.”

The borough council’s deputy chief executive, Cllr Mike Band, said: “Many of Waverley’s services link with the police – licensing, housing and community safety, to name just a few – so having the police in the building makes working together that little bit easier.

“The move to the council offices is a common sense solution that makes financial sense for the council and the police and offers convenience to residents.”

The Godalming team’s relocation follows in the footsteps of Runnymede Borough Council in 2008, when a police front counter was opened in Addlestone’s Civic Centre.

Since then, Surrey neighbourhood policing teams have gone on to share council buildings in Woking, Reigate and Banstead, Guildford and Surrey Heath, and plans are underway to do the same for every borough and district in the county.

These happy faces will greet visitors in Waverley

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‘Police used baton’ on sick man who died after being CS gassed

  By surreywebmaster | 02/06/2011 - 10:12 | In The News
1 Comment

A SERIOUSLY-ILL patient who died after being CS gassed and restrained may have also been struck with a baton by police, an inquest was told.

Healthcare assistant Jonathan Hill told a jury at Nottingham Coroners’ Court that he saw three or four police officers drag Victor Massey into the corridor after CS gas had been used.

Mr Hill, who was working at King’s Mill Hospital at the time, said he also heard the officers say they needed back-up and shields.

Police had been called to ward seven at the hospital, in Sutton-in-Ashfield, by security staff after they were unable to get father-of-three Mr Massey out of a shower room, where he had locked himself in.

Mr Massey, of Palmerston Street, Westwood, had been admitted on August 2, 2006, with pancreatitis with complications and was in great pain. The inquest had previously heard that 20-30 per cent of sufferers were likely to die of the condition.

While he was at hospital, his wife of more than 30 years, Jane, continually raised with staff her concerns about him hallucinating, which she put down to the painkillers he was on, including tramadol and morphine. But she said nothing was done or recorded in his notes.

On August 7, he ran from his bed to a shower room, where he locked himself in. Hospital staff said he kept shouting “help, get the police” and they heard smashing, later found to involve a mirror.

Ward staff and security were unable to coax him out and security asked for the police, who used CS gas and restrained him. Mr Massey died shortly afterwards in the early hours of August 8.

Mr Hill said that when police arrived on the ward, they managed to open the door slightly – which by now had been unlocked – and show Mr Massey their ID cards in a bid to calm him down but this did not work.

Mr Hill went to check on other patients and when he returned, he saw CS gas being sprayed into the shower room.

He went to find fans to ventilate the corridor and when he got back, he could see Mr Massey’s hand reaching round the shower room door “as if he was trying to pull himself up”.

“I then saw a police baton out by one of the officers and I do believe, although I didn’t see, that Mr Massey was struck with the police baton.”

He said Mr Massey was then dragged out of the room by three or four officers and sat against the wall in handcuffs.

He heard the officers say Mr Massey had glass in his hand, though he never saw this.

Mr Hill added: “He couldn’t hold his position.”

He then noticed that Mr Massey had handcuffs on with his arms were behind his back.

“He kept falling from one side to the other down the wall. I also noticed as he slid down the walk there was a streak of blood from the back of his head.”

A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was a cardiac arrest following restraint, combined with acute pancreatitis and tramadol administration.

‘Police used baton’ on sick man who died after being CS gassed

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Chinook Crash – On This Day 1994:

  By surreywebmaster | 02/06/2011 - 10:07 | Historic Events
1 Comment

I post this historical news as this has been a long standing disgrace in that the pilots of this Chinook were blamed for the crash when there is ample evidence to show that the on-board computer equipment was known to be faulty.

According to the BBC and venerable IT mag Computer Weekly - which has investigated the Mull of Kintyre crash with almost unbelievable thoroughness (vast pdf here) – unpublished documents indicate that the UK military flight-test centre at Boscombe Down had serious concerns about the reliability and safety of the Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system used to run the RAF Chinook Mark 2′s engines.

Flt Lt Richard Cook, left, and Flt Lt Jonathan Tapper

Relatives want to clear the dead pilots’ names

Flt Lt Jonathan Tapper, 30, from Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, and Flt Lt Richard Cook, 28, from Church Crookham, Hampshire, were initially cleared of blame by an RAF board of inquiry.

It ruled it was impossible to establish the exact cause of the crash and a fatal accident inquiry reached the same conclusion.

But an official RAF inquiry into the incident concluded the aircraft was airworthy and found the pilots guilty of gross negligence.

As a personal aside to this story one of the deceased on-board was a senior SB Officer who was a brother to a respected RUC Dog Sergeant whom I got to know very well whilst judging in Police Dog Trials. I also know that Robin has had some interest in this story from the outset.

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An RAF Chinook helicopter carrying more than 20 of Britain’s top intelligence experts has crashed on the Mull of Kintyre, killing everyone on board.

An investigation is under way to find out why the aircraft – described by RAF officials as “state of the art” – came down during a routine flight from Belfast to Inverness, killing 29 people.

The deaths of 25 senior police, army and MI5 officers – some of the most experienced intelligence experts in the country – were described by the Chief Constable of Northern Ireland as a “catastrophic loss in the fight against terrorism”.

Three separate inquiries will be held, and questions are expected to be asked as to why so many senior staff were flying in the same aircraft.

The Chinook crashed into a hillside near the Mull of Kintyre lighthouse in thick fog.

The explosion scorched surrounding heather and gorse as the helicopter was turned into a huge fireball.

The bodies of the dead are being taken to a temporary mortuary in Machrihanish air base. The full identification process is likely to continue until early next week.

The RAF has maintained a fleet of more than 30 Chinook helicopters since 1980. They are used for transporting troops and equipment. The aircraft which crashed had recently been refitted.

Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Patrick Mayhew insisted the Chinooks had a “remarkable” safety record. None of the remaining aircraft in the fleet is being grounded.

As the investigation gets under way some RAF officers admitted the crash could have been caused by many things – pilot error, instrument failure, mechanical collapse, or even “birdstrike”.

There are fears that an explanation may never be conclusively established.

Timeline of events in the Chinook crash and inquiry

‘The pain has not subsided’
Relatives and colleagues of the dead still want answers

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The ‘Drugs War’

  By surreywebmaster | 02/06/2011 - 09:24 | In The News, Policing - General
4 Comments

Kevin’s post about the ‘drugs war’ failing globally is echoed by two other reports in the papers today suggesting that drugs use should be legalised.  Am I alone in feeling that this is not joined up thinking?  The legalisation of drugs seems to be a trendy thing to suggest and usually it is suggested because ‘we are losing the war on drugs’.  Does that mean then that we should legalise burglary or robbery because we are failing to stop those crimes?

There is so much information out there to prove that the illegal use of drugs causes psychosis and there are so many youngsters that are left by the wayside through the use of drugs today that I cannot in all honesty agree with anybody who says that drug use should be legalised.  It has been tried in Holland and now they are having to tighten up on the use of drugs –

Whilst I know that as many that argue drugs use causes mental and physical illnesses there are equal numbers that say the contrary but it cannot be denied that the use of drugs causes a chemical imbalance in the brain and the long term use of such chemicals cannot be good for health.  Somebody has to pick up the tab for the treatment of someone so affected and it will not be the drug user who as become incapable of making a useful contribution to society due to the effects of his/her drug taking.

Against:

Cannabis users face higher psychosis risk: study

Experts from Germany, the Netherlands and London’s Institute of Psychiatry studied 1,900 people aged between 14 and 24 over a period of eight years.

The study found that those who started using cannabis only after the experiment had begun and those who used it before and after both had a higher risk of psychotic symptoms than those who had never used it.

“Cannabis use is a risk factor for the development of incident psychotic symptoms,” the report concluded.

“Continued cannabis use might increase the risk for psychotic disorder by impacting on the persistence of symptoms.”

Robin Murray, professor of psychiatric research at the Institute of Psychiatry, said the latest results backed up claims that the drug caused long-term psychological effects.

“This study adds incremental information to the already fairly solid evidence that continued use of cannabis increases risk of psychotic symptoms and psychotic illness,” he said.

“In short, this study adds a further brick to the wall of evidence showing that use of traditional cannabis is a contributory cause of psychoses like schizophrenia,” he added.

See also: Cannabis ‘can cause psychosis in healthy people’

For legalisation:

Celebrities call for drug decriminalisation

Dame Judi Dench has joined a coalition of celebrities, politicians and former police chiefs to urge David Cameron to decriminalise possession of all drugs.

Dame Judi Dench

In an open letter to the Prime Minister, they called for “a swift and transparent review of the effectiveness of current drug policies” because the current laws have failed.

The campaign is backed by actresses Dame Judi and Julie Christie, singer Sting, entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson and former Home Office minister Bob Ainsworth.

Film director Mike Leigh, actress Kathy Burke, three former chief constables and leading lawyers have also put their name to the letter.

It came as a separate group of former world leaders and high profile figures called on governments around the world to “urgently” consider decriminalisation because the “war on drugs” has failed.

Sting said: “Giving young people criminal records for minor drug possession serves little purpose – it is time to think of more imaginative ways of addressing drug use in our society.”

The letter, which was published by the campaign group Release, reads: “We call on the Coalition Government to undertake a swift and transparent review of the effectiveness of current drug policies.

“Should such a review of the evidence demonstrate the failure of the current position we would call for the immediate decriminalisation of drug possession.”

It concludes: “The failure of the current UK system of criminalisation is clear. It is time for the UK to review its policy and adopt a health focused, evidence based approach to drug use.”

Niamh Eastwood, deputy director at Release, said: “ Nearly, 80,000 people last year were convicted or cautioned for drug offences – this is a waste of resources both in terms of the cost to the public purse and the restrictions on people’s futures in regards to employment and education”.

In a separate move, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, whose members include former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, warned that major drugs policy reforms were needed.

Sir Richard, founder of the Virgin Group and co-founder of a group of global leaders called The Elders, said: “The war on drugs has failed to cut drug usage.”

Instead, it has “filled our jails”, cost millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money, “fuelled organised crime and caused thousands of deaths”, he said.

and

Drugs and the law: state of confusion

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Global war on drugs has ‘failed’ say former leaders

  By Kevin Morris | 02/06/2011 - 07:51 | In The News, Policing - General
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Opiate use increased by 35% worldwide from 1998-2008, in spite of anti-drug efforts

The global war on drugs has “failed” according to a new report by group of politicians and former world leaders.

The Global Commission on Drug Policy report calls for the legalisation of some drugs and an end to the criminalisation of drug users.

The panel includes former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the former leaders of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, and the entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson.

The White House rejected the findings, saying the report was misguided.

As well as Mexico’s former President Ernesto Zedillo, ex-Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria, the 19-member commission includes the former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker and the current Prime Minister of Greece George Papandreou.

The panel also features prominent Latin American writers Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa, the EU’s former foreign policy chief Javier Solana, and George Schultz, a former US secretary of state.

Their report argues that anti-drug policy has failed by fuelling organised crime, costing taxpayers millions of dollars and causing thousands of deaths.

It cites UN estimates that opiate use increased 35% worldwide from 1998 to 2008, cocaine by 27%, and cannabis by 8.5%.

The authors criticise governments who claim the current war on drugs is effective:

“Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won,” the report said.

Instead of punishing users who the report says “do no harm to others,” the commission argues that governments should end criminalisation of drug use, experiment with legal models that would undermine organised crime syndicates and offer health and treatment services for drug-users.

It calls for drug policies based on methods empirically proven to reduce crime and promote economic and social development.

The commission is especially critical of the US, saying it must abandon anti-crime approaches to drug policy and adopt strategies rooted in healthcare and human rights.

“We hope this country (the US) at least starts to think there are alternatives,” said former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria.

“We don’t see the US evolving in a way that is compatible with our countries long-term interests.”

The office of White House drug tsar Gil Kerlikowske rejected the panel’s recommendations.

“Drug addiction is a disease that can be successfully prevented and treated,” said a spokesman for the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

“Making drugs more available – as this report suggests – will make it harder to keep our communities healthy and safe.”

Full article from the BBC

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