Policing News
Policing News
West Midlands Police service 'improved' despite cuts
The chief constable of the West Midlands says customer satisfaction with the force has been rising in the face of cut backs. The force will lose funding worth £125m over four years and plans to lose 1,100 out of 8,000 serving officers. However, Chief Constable Chris Sims said crime was down 9.5% in 2011, compared to 2010. A West Midlands Police Federation spokesman did not dispute Mr Sims' claim but urged caution over it. Mr Sims said the force's biggest expenditure is on staff costs, so to meet budget cuts he had to restructure. "There has been an improvement in our customer service that's been achieved while we have been making these significant changes," he explained. The changes include temporarily moving some officers into policing support roles, such as answering incoming 999 calls. He said call centres had been reduced from 21 to 10 and would be reduced again to "a lower number". Mr Sims said he expected to lose 2,700 staff in total, including 1,100 police officers and 1,500 police support staff. Federation chairman, Ian Edwards, questioned whether there would be the same customer satisfaction in four years. Mr Edwards said: "Whether that trend continues remains to be seen." He added he was worried further reductions in frontline officers would damage the force's reputation in the community it serves, although he did accept some restructuring was necessary.
Police hunt for Stephen Farrow over Reverend John Suddards murder
Police investigating the murder of a vicar have named a "dangerous" suspect and appealed for help in finding him. Det Ch Insp Simon Crisp said Avon and Somerset Police wanted to speak to Stephen Farrow over the stabbing of the Reverend John Suddards near Bristol. He said anyone who saw the 47-year-old, who is white and 6ft 4ins tall, should not approach him but should call 999. Mr Suddards, 59, was found stabbed to death in his vicarage at St Mary's Church, Thornbury, on Tuesday. A 43-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder has been released on police bail. Police said Mr Farrow goes by a variety of names - including Steven Lewis and Adrian Capel Farrow - and travels widely and regularly. He is known to frequent Norfolk, the Midlands, South East Devon and Cornwall. He often travels by bus but is also known to walk and hitchhike, and could be living rough in a tent. Police have warned Mr Farrow, who has a scar on his right brow, may seek to exploit the charity of the church community. "We need the public's help with this, we do not know where he is," said Det Ch Insp Crisp. "However, he is a dangerous man and under no circumstances should he be approached." Police investigating Mr Suddards' death seized a white van shortly after the 43-year-old man, who has not been named, was arrested. The Citroen van was taken away from a property in Knapp Road, around a mile (1.6km) from the vicarage, at about 23:30 GMT on Tuesday. Reports suggested a man had been sleeping in the vehicle. Officers also searched the house and grounds around the property on Friday. Police have appealed again for information about a man seen sitting on the pavement outside St Mary's Church on Monday evening between 18:00 and 20:00 GMT. He was of average build and wearing dark clothing. Detectives are thought to be trying to piece together Mr Suddards' personal and social life and are believed to have contacted clergy at his former parish. In a statement released by police, the vicar's family said: "We are devastated with the news of John's untimely and shocking death. "We would appreciate being left in peace at this time while we struggle to come to terms with what has happened." The body of Mr Suddards, a former barrister, was found by builders at his vicarage on Castle Street. Avon and Somerset Police said the builders, on a planned job, had been given a key by a caretaker. A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Suddards had died from "multiple stab wounds". Mr Suddards joined the clergy 22 years ago following a serious car crash. He moved to the Thornbury parish six months ago and previously spent a 10-year spell in the Diocese of Chelmsford in Essex. About 300 people took part in a church service at Thornbury Baptist Church on Friday to mark Mr Suddards' death. Church officials said they hoped the service would bring some comfort to the local community.
Wiltshire drugs gang ringleader told to pay £2.6m
The ringleader of an international drugs gang based in Wiltshire has been ordered to pay £2.6m or face an extra eight years in jail. Police believe David Barnes made as much as £29m from illegal activities and are seizing it under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Barnes, 42, of Berkshire, was convicted of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs and jailed for 12 years in 2010. Barnes claimed that he had made just £50,000 net profit from the operation. But Judge Jamie Tabor QC rejected the claim and said: "The Crown suggests that Mr Barnes has salted away the profits that he has made from the enterprise. "I suspect that the profit made was substantially more than that suggested by the prosecution. "Nevertheless, if the prosecution is correct, Mr Barnes made a minimum net profit of £2,652,925. "I am quite satisfied that Mr Barnes was the principal mover in this conspiracy in the UK. "Regrettably he has lied to the court yet again. As I said earlier I believe the prosecution formulation to be overgenerous, however, I am prepared to accept it. "Mr Barnes' net profit was £2,652,925. At least this figure has been hidden and probably spirited out of the country." During the trial, Bristol Crown Court heard Barnes and seven other gang members were caught after 10 tonnes of skunk cannabis was found at a farm in Wanborough near Swindon in April 2009. The gang had smuggled the cannabis into the UK among shipments of flowers such as tulips and chrysanthemums. It was then driven in lorries to Wiltshire. Wiltshire Police said it was one of the largest drug distribution operations seen in the UK. Police believe the gang transferred millions of pounds out of Britain by taking cash by car from Swindon to London. From there a courier would go to a high street money bureau and wire the cash to bureaux in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Dubai. It was then collected and the trail ends. Barnes has six months to pay the £2.6m or his jail sentence will be extended.
Kent Police unit 'protecting children'
Kent Police has said it is protecting more children from sexual abuse since it set up its child exploitation investigation team. Officers rescued 16 children suspected of being sexually abused in the last financial year after finding their images online. More than 70 children were also taken from situations where there was suspected child abuse. The online sexual crime team was set up in 2006. Ch Insp Matthew Long said: "In terms of what we find on the internet, we look for indecent images of children where children are being abused and we make a point of investigating them and trying to identify the children. "We will follow the intelligence wherever we think a child is at risk." A further 83 child "safeguarding referrals" have been made by Kent Police since April 2011, with 66 people being arrested.
Blackburn man charged over Stansted Airport hoax bomb call
A man from Blackburn has appeared in court over a hoax bomb threat to Stansted Airport, police said. Two men were detained on Friday by counter-terrorism officers after calls to Stansted suggesting a van containing a bomb was on its way to the airport. Forensic teams spent several hours searching two houses in Infirmary Street, where the men were arrested. The man, 40, was remanded in custody by Blackburn Magistrates' Court, charged with making a false communication. Police said he was due before the court again on Monday. The other man has been released without charge. Security at the airport was stepped up but the threat turned out to be a hoax.
British Airways steward on 'bomb threat' charge
A British Airways flight steward has been charged with making a mid-air bomb threat. Matthew Davis, 22, was on the Tokyo to London flight where it is alleged he scrawled a message on a toilet door that caused a scare. Mr Davis was arrested as the Boeing 777 safely touched down at Heathrow Airport on Sunday after a 6,000-mile journey. Mr Davis, from Crawley, West Sussex, was charged on Monday with communicating a bomb threat. He is due to appear at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on 28 February. About 150 passengers were onboard the flight.
Metropolitan Police lose track of 123 sex offenders
The whereabouts of 123 registered sex offenders are unknown to the Metropolitan Police (Met). Some of them have been missing for as many as 14 years. The Met believes 48 have been living outside the UK. Police said they lost track of offenders after they failed to notify the police of their change of address. The number is only just up from the 121 reported missing last May but sex abuse victims' groups said every offender "going off the radar is a concern". Donald Findlater, from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a UK-wide charity dedicated to reducing the risk of children being sexually abused, said: "It's important that if within this 123 there are any sex offenders who pose a likely immediate risk to children, that information needs to be put across to the public. "If the police don't know where they are then it is vitally important that police share that information with other agencies and the public." He added: "Many of them fail to keep police informed because they just don't want to be monitored, not because they're dangerous. "The biggest risk to children across the country isn't posed by registered sex offenders, it's posed by people not on it at all." He said police and other agencies are responsible for monitoring more than 4,000 convicted sex offenders in the capital. A spokesman for the Met said: "We take this matter extremely seriously and officers are proactively following lines of inquiry in order to trace these offenders to ensure that they are dealt with robustly for having breached the terms of their conditions."
Steven McInulty sentenced for driving wrong way in Coleshill
A Coventry man has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence for driving the wrong way along a dual carriageway in Warwickshire. Steven McInulty, of Heathcote Street, admitted dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance in Coleshill last year. The 25-year-old was banned from driving for three years, ordered to pay £1,800 costs and do 200 hours of unpaid work. Film of the incident in Faraday Avenue on 5 June had been posted on YouTube. McNulty, who also pleaded guilty to furnishing false particulars, was on licence after being released from prison for robbery when he was caught illegally driving his Citroen Saxo. Warwick Crown Court heard the defendant already had a string of motoring offences. Judge Richard Atkins QC told McNulty, whose sentence was suspended for two years, that it was "more by luck than judgment" that there had been no serious repercussions. Mr Atkins said: "When the police officer went after you, you then drove appallingly. "You caused all sorts of vehicles to have to take evasive action as you drove the wrong way. "And you then drove past your pals, who all thought it was tremendously funny and who had the stupidity to film you. "What you did, it is lucky nobody was killed or seriously injured. "I am not going to forget that piece of driving. I know that road and I will remember you. "And I will tell you here and now, you will remember me, won't you?" McNulty, dressed in a grey tracksuit, replied: "Yes." His car has already been seized, with video of it being crushed uploaded on the internet, according to Warwickshire Police.
Boy and grandmother found dead in Holywell Lake named
A six-year-old boy and his 71-year-old grandmother found dead in a Lincolnshire lake have been named locally by friends and villagers. Laurie Mullany-Mills, from Ketton in Rutland, was staying with his grandmother, Dawn Mullany from Castle Bytham, at the end of half term. Their bodies were found in Holywell Lake after a search by emergency services on Thursday and Friday. The deaths are being treated as an accident, Lincolnshire Police said. Officers said a search had been carried out after the mother of the boy, who had stayed the previous night at his grandmother's, contacted police. Ms Mullany's car was found near to the water at the parkland in the village of Holywell, near Castle Bytham, at 22:45 GMT on Thursday. Soon afterwards the grandmother's body was pulled from the lake and she was confirmed dead at the scene. The boy's body was recovered from the water by police divers just before 04:00 GMT. Police said the boy's mother had become concerned for the welfare of the child and her mother after she had been unable to contact them. The boy had been due to return home on Thursday evening. Det Ch Insp Dave Wood said: "We don't believe this is suspicious. We believe this is a tragic accident." Det Wood said one theory police were looking at was that the pair stopped at the pond to feed the ducks on the way back to the boy's home. Lyn Betts, a friend of Ms Mullany, said Dawn was a devoted grandmother who doted on her grandson. Lincolnshire Police have asked anyone who saw the pair at the lake to contact them.
