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| NEWS > 09 October 2007 |
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Iraqi police arrested over SAS
A senior Iraqi policeman who allegedly masterminded the abduction of two SAS soldiers last year was arrested today following a major security operation in Basra.
Under cover of thick fog, 800 British troops in tanks and armoured vehicles swooped on the home of the police officer and six other Iraqi officers.
Military sources indicated that a substantial blow had been struck against the rogue militias who have been responsible for killing hundreds in Iraq's second-biggest city.
All the officers come from Basra's notorious Serious Crimes Unit. That, as one mil... Read more
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Times Online - UK
09 October 2007
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To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Bedfordshire Police, UK
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Bedfordshire Police trail in l
Bedfordshire has been ranked as the worst police force in England and Wales, according to government figures released today, as Ministers warned forces that their funding was about to "flat-line".
The force was given just one point out of a possible 21 in the latest Home Office Police Performance Assessment, which was published this morning.
Ministers announced that inspectors were working with the force to improve its performance, which was ranked as either "poor" or "fair" in all seven categories examined under the assessment.
Presenting the report, Tony McNulty, the Home Office Minister, also warned forces that their funding would be "tight" in the coming years, after successive increases in investment. Further details were due to be announced by Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, in his Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) this afternoon.
However, the Conservatives immediately accused the Government of making little impact on police performance, with separate figures in the report showing almost no increase in the number of bobbies on the beat despite ministerial pledges to cut down the police paperwork burden.
The Police Performance Assessment, released annually, rates the 43 forces as either excellent, good, fair or poor in seven categories - tackling crime; resources and efficiency; serious crime and public protection; protecting vulnerable people; satisfaction and fairness; implementation of neighbourhood policing and local priorities.
Each "excellent" rating is worth three points, according to the Home Office. "Good" is worth two, "fair" is worth one and "poor" carries a rating of minus one point. Achieving maximum points in each of the seven categories would allow a maximum score of 21 points.
According to the latest figures, Bedfordshire Police fared worst with just one point, while the best results were achieved by Lancashire and Surrey, with 18 points each.
The force was given "fair" ratings in the categories of tackling crime, serious crime and public protection, satisfaction and fairness and resources and efficiency. It was rated as "poor" for protecting vulnerable people, implementation of neighbourhood policing and local priorities.
Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the Chief Inspector of Constabularies, said that Ministers would be working with the Chief Constable of Bedfordshire to improve performance levels.
"Bedfordshire has issues. There have been areas of concern in how the neighbourhood policing programme there is being rolled out and in terms of the force's ability to protect vulnerable people," he said.
However Gillian Parker, the Chief Constable, said that she was "puzzled" by the results, claiming that Bedfordshire was improving its performance.
"I am disappointed with this particular report and somewhat puzzled by some of the 'headline' results that in no way reflect the hard work that has been done," she said.
"However, we are not dwelling on it and instead are concentrating on a continual programme of improvements aimed at providing the residents of Bedfordshire with the service they deserve."
Mr McNulty today acted to dampen police hopes before this afternoon's Comprehensive Spending Review, admitting that the amount of resources being given to forces by the Government was now reaching a "tight" period after years of investment.
"We are now entering a more flat-line period in terms of resources after seven or eight years of growth," Mr McNulty said.
The Conservatives said that little progress was being made by forces in the UK, despite large levels of Government investment. The report disclosed that the amount of time officers were spending on the streets had gone up by just 0.6 per cent in the last year, indicating that pledges to reduce officer paperwork were achieving little.
David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, said: "The public will be dismayed that, despite all the rhetoric about slashing red tape and even by the Government's own generous measures, the amount of time the police spend on the front line has stayed virtually the same."
As the report was released, the public service union Unison called for a new uniform for Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) - the civilian employees who support regular police - claiming that the current attire often made them look too similar to traffic wardens and some council officers.
The union, which represents most PCSOs, presented its design for a proposed uniform to the Home Office.
However the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file police officers, said that the proposed design would make PCSOs look too similar to ordinary police officers, and confuse the public.
Jan Berry, the federation chairman, said: "I think it is going to build expectations on the part of the public, which will further confuse the situation and also it will make demands of PCSOs which they have neither the experience, the skills, or the powers to deal with."
The full Police Performance Assessments rankings, based on the number of points each force achieved, are:
1 POINT Bedfordshire
7 POINTS Greater Manchester, Humberside, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Thames Valley
8 POINTS Derbyshire, Gwent, South Wales, Wiltshire
9 POINTS Devon and Cornwall
10 POINTS Avon and Somerset, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cleveland, Durham, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire
11 POINTS Essex, Gloucestershire, Kent
12 POINTS City of London, Dorset, Merseyside, North Wales, Sussex
13 POINTS Metropolitan, North Yorkshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands
14 POINTS Norfolk, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire
15 POINTS Dyfed Powys, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Suffolk, West Mercia
16 POINTS Cumbria, Northumbria
18 POINTS Lancashire, Surrey
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