French boy is practising a gentle form of judo and adapted archery as he continues his recovery
The family of a boy thrown from the 10th floor of London’s Tate Modern art gallery has said he is practising a gentle form of judo and adapted archery as his condition slowly improves.
The French boy was six when he was badly injured in an attack by Jonty Bravery at the tourist attraction in August 2019.
Continue reading...Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says UK capital is a place to ‘live, work and enjoy yourself’
The Metropolitan police commissioner has described London as a “fantastically safe” city as the force announced a drop in homicide rates last year.
Sir Mark Rowley said the capital was a place to “live, work and enjoy yourself” as he visited a boxing gym in Ilford, east London, on Thursday.
Continue reading...Essex police make two arrests after body parts of local 59-year-old discovered on New Year’s Eve
Police have named the 59-year-old man whose remains were discovered in a pond in Essex.
Essex police announced on Tuesday that the remains had been discovered in Oakwood Pond in Harlow on New Year’s Eve and were likely to have been there for weeks.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Official adviser recommends giving those arrested for low-level crimes a choice to accept help or face jail
New legal terrorism orders specifically for children should be brought in to tackle the growing numbers being arrested, the official adviser on terrorism law has told the government.
Ministers are studying plans that would result in children being compelled to accept help or face jail, devised by Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation.
Continue reading...Figures uncovered by Lib Dems show that only 1.7% of 74,421 cases over 12 months resulted in a charge
Almost 90% of all bicycle theft cases reported to police over the past year were closed without a suspect even being identified, and just 1.7% resulted in someone being charged, analysis of crime statistics shows.
The Liberal Democrats, who uncovered the data from statistics for England and Wales from July 2021 to June this year, said it was indicative of under-funded police forces being unable to properly investigate such crimes.
Continue reading...Metropolitan police launch investigation and appeal to anyone with information to come forward
Police are investigating the death of a man who was stabbed in the chest in a London park.
Officers found the 29-year-old on Straker’s Road in Peckham Rye Park, south London, at about 8.30pm on Friday after reports of a stabbing.
Continue reading...Police launch murder inquiry after 23-year-old man was stabbed at Crane nightclub in Digbeth
Police have launched a murder investigation after a 23-year-old man was stabbed on the dancefloor of a nightclub in Birmingham on Boxing Day.
West Midlands police said they were called to Crane nightclub in Digbeth just before 11.45pm on Monday after reports that a man had been stabbed. Despite efforts to save him, the man was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later.
Continue reading...Man, 30, arrested on suspicion of murder and woman, 19, held on suspicion of conspiracy to murder
Two people have been arrested in connection with the “cold-blooded shooting” of Elle Edwards in Wallasey Village, Merseyside police said.
A 30-year-old man from Tranmere has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
Continue reading...Examination exposes failure to track repeat suspects and botched investigations by struggling forces
A damning official examination into how police forces tackle rape has exposed persistent failings in the criminal justice system, including a failure to track repeat suspects, “explicit victim-blaming” and botched investigations.
The long-awaited independent report into the first year of Operation Soteria Bluestone – launched by the government after a catastrophic fall in rape prosecutions – also paints a picture of a over-worked, traumatised and inexperienced police workforce in England and Wales, which is struggling to cope with an increase in rape reports after years of austerity.
Continue reading...Mohammed Abouagela Masud accused of setting timer for bomb that destroyed Boeing 747, killing 270 people
A Libyan accused of preparing the bomb that killed 270 people when an explosion ripped through Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 is now in US custody, officials have confirmed.
Scottish prosecutors, who have been closely involved in the investigation, said the families of those who were killed “have been told” that Mohammed Abouagela Masud had been extradited to the United States.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Mark McDonald believes Russell murders case will turn out to be a serious miscarriage of justice
“He rings me every day, we talk every day,” says Mark McDonald, the barrister who for the past two decades has represented Michael Stone, the man convicted of one of the most notorious crimes in British history: the murders by hammer of Dr Lin Russell and her daughter Megan, and the attempted murder of her eldest child, Josie, the sole survivor.
Sat at a table in a sparsely decorated office in his chambers off London’s Chancery Lane, McDonald reaches past a pile of papers for a phone to check his call records.
Continue reading...Head of West Midlands police warns of rising crime in poorest areas as forces are stretched beyond capacity
A child experiencing a mental health crisis had to live in a police station for two days due to a lack of psychiatric places, a chief constable has revealed, as he condemned austerity for hitting the poorest areas hardest.
Sir David Thompson, who leads West Midlands police, said his force – which is still missing officers and funding after cuts – was being asked to do too much, and warned of rising crime as desperation increases in the poorest areas.
Dismissed attacks from government and rightwing media that claim the police are too woke.
Condemned those trying to drag policing into the “culture wars”.
Revealed fears that the poorest areas would be hit hardest again by the cost of living crisis, fuelling a “real risk” of rising crime.
Said that bias explained some of the reasons that black people experienced more use of force and coercive powers than other groups.
Called for a radical rethink on tackling the problems blighting society, as public services work in “silos”.
Warned that police were being expected to do too much, including in the field of mental health.
Continue reading...Analysis by the Observer raises questions over whether policing is fit for purpose and will put more pressure on the home secretary
• Read more: ‘In Gloucester, young boys are carrying weapons’
Half the English police forces inspected since last year are failing to meet required standards at investigating crime, according to analysis by the Observer that raises questions over whether policing is fit for purpose.
The findings will pile renewed pressure on the home secretary, Suella Braverman, who has told police leaders she “expects” them to cut crimes including murder by 20%, without detailing how, as part of her “back to basics approach”.
Continue reading...Prime minister says he was upset by killing of Olivia Pratt-Korbel and is willing to increase prison numbers to make UK safer
Rishi Sunak has said he fears for his daughter’s safety when out alone, saying that men have often taken their own freedoms for granted.
Sunak spoke candidly about his elder daughter Krishna’s desire for more independence but said he was disturbed by a number of crimes including the killing of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, the nine-year-old shot dead in Liverpool.
Continue reading...William Warrington slipped out of hospital in Gloucestershire and stabbed his mother before taking her car to kill father
A man with paranoid schizophrenia has admitted stabbing his parents to death on the same night in two attacks 15 miles apart, after slipping out of a psychiatric hospital in Gloucestershire.
William Warrington killed his mother, Valerie, 73, a hospital worker, at her home in the Cotswolds village of Bourton-on-the-Water in March. He then drove her car to his father, Clive’s, home in Cheltenham and killed him. Neighbours heard Warrington say “I’m going to enjoy this” as he attacked his father, 67.
Continue reading...Chief constables most to blame for crises sapping legitimacy of policing, says Police Federation leader
Police chiefs have been covering up the misogyny suffered by female officers and staff, and must stop using gagging orders to silence victims, the leader of rank and file officers has revealed.
Steve Hartshorn, chair of the Police Federation, which represents 130,000 officers up to the rank of chief inspector, said there should be a “hostile environment” for corrupt officers. He told the Guardian that chief constables bore the brunt of the blame for the crises that were sapping the legitimacy of policing.
Continue reading...Steven Craig served prison time for 1998 attack on Jacqueline Kirk and was re-arrested after her death in 2019
A man has been convicted of murdering his ex-partner, who died 21 years after he doused her with petrol and set her on fire.
Steven Craig, now 58, inflicted horrendous injuries on Jacqueline Kirk in a car park in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, in April 1998. Kirk had burns to 35% of her body, required a tracheotomy and operations including skin grafts, and was in hospital for nine months.
Continue reading...Rucksack also found near site of 2019 disappearance, but formal identification expected to take some time
Detectives investigating the disappearance of Leah Croucher three and a half years ago have launched a murder investigation after discovering human remains at an address in Milton Keynes.
Thames Valley police made the discovery along with other items, including a rucksack, at a property in Loxbeare Drive, Furzton, on Monday after receiving a tipoff from a member of the public.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.
Continue reading...Jail term reduced by a year owing to legal oversight in original sentencing at Chester crown court
The court of appeal has reduced the jail sentence of a serial cyberstalker who harassed women by creating fake social media accounts to spread fake claims about them.
Matthew Hardy, 31, was jailed for nine years last January at Chester crown court after pleading guilty to stalking involving fear of violence and harassment after breaching a restraining order.
Continue reading...Detectives are analysing a small sample of the remains and some clothing on Saddleworth Moor near Manchester
Police are digging on Saddleworth Moor near Manchester after a skull was reportedly found that could belong to Moors murder victim Keith Bennett.
Keith was murdered 58 years ago at the age of 12 by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, but his body has never been found. Brady died in 2017 and Hindley in 2002.
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