England News » Law And Order

Parents drinking outside schools

admin — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:12:06 +0000

Parents in Barnsley have been criticised by police for drinking alcohol when dropping off and collecting their children from school.

Complaints have been made about drinking in the street around Doncaster Road primary school in the town.

Councillors and police are to meet to discuss banning drinking alcohol in the streets around the school.

If the ban is implemented police will have the power to confiscate alcohol and drinkers could face a £500 fine.

'Not acceptable'

Det Insp Mark Spooner, of Barnsley's Central Safer Neighbourhood Team, said they had been getting reports of drinking in the streets around the school and also of parents drinking whilst waiting to pick up their children.

He said: "In my view that's clearly not acceptable. It's not acceptable in a modern society and we will put a stop to it."

Safer Neighbourhood Teams consist of police, community support officers, impact wardens and neighbourhood wardens. They work within communities to deal with local problems such as street drinking.

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council will meet to discuss the proposed ban on 7 October.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/8288396.stm

RSPCA urges dog fight law change

admin — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:07:54 +0000

A change in the law is needed to tackle a rise in dog fighting that is leaving an increasing number of animals with horrific injuries, the RSPCA has said.

The existing ban on four breeds was inadequate and the law must "focus back on the real problem... the owner", said the charity's Claire Robinson.

Dog fighting-related calls to the RSPCA had risen 12-fold since 2004, with two thirds involving youths, it said.

Ministers say penalties for dog fighting have been toughened.

The new wave of dog fighting, known as "chain fighting" or "rolling", involves informal fights often held in inner city public parks, says the RSPCA.

"[People] are seeing young people, often gangs of young people, in parks, on estates, some even put two dogs in a lift at the top of the block of flats and will press the button and let the dogs fight until they get to the bottom," Ms Robinson told BBC News.

"Fortunately they are reporting it to us and the police, but often by the time we get there the people are gone and the dogs can't be found."

The RSPCA says a new generation are using rottweilers (left) in dog fights

The charity is seeing dogs with "unprecedented levels" of injuries, says the RSPCA's David Grant.

"We see two or three fights most days. At the weekend it can be quite bad - a few weekends ago we had 10", he said.

"We frequently see ears torn off, eyes torn out. In my career as a vet - nearly 42 years - this is the worst it has ever been.

"I have never seen things as bad as this."

'Limited powers'

The Dangerous Dogs Act, which came into force in 1991, bans four different breeds - the pit bull terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiro.

But NHS figures show dog attacks have tripled since 1991, with many blamed on cross-bred dogs which are not illegal.

Rottweilers or Staffordshire bull terriers were often involved in the "ad hoc" fights staged by gangs of young men in parks, the RSPCA said.

The charity wants the law to focus on people keeping aggressive dogs as a status symbol or weapon, with more checks on owners and stiffer penalties for people mistreating dogs or keeping them for criminal use.

"It's a lot to do with the sort of MTV gang culture - people want to look hard, they want to look tough, with a dog that looks tough," Ms Robinson said.

The RSPCA insists the authorities still have limited powers to seize dogs kept by their owners as weapons.

Ministers say there are now tougher penalties for dog fighting and that the new Policing and Crime Bill will make it easier to seize dogs owned by criminal gangs.

BBC News Rspca

Domestic passengers flying to Scotland have to show their passports

admin — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:03:50 +0000

Passengers on domestic flights to Scotland face having to show their passports to police when they land under terrorism laws

Despite already proving their identity to airline operators before boarding, passengers on internal flights will still face routine checks by police when they disembark.

The move emerged after five Tory front bench MPs, including Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, were among travellers ordered to show their passports when they arrived at Prestwick Airport on Wednesday.

Mr Grayling accused police of abusing powers designed to combat terrorists and warned it was “mission creep”.

He said: “"It is utterly and completely unacceptable for any police force to be doing routine identity checks on passengers travelling within the UK.

“Do we want to end up with border check points at Gretna Green?

“Of course we need security but there has to be a balance.”

There is no blanket policy to check every passenger on domestic flights but police forces in Scotland confirmed officers do carry out checks on a regular basis.

Officers can ask someone to prove their identity and that can include showing a passport.

Strathclyde Police, which covers Prestwick and Glasgow airports, said the power was under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Currently those on domestic flights will show a form of ID to the flight operator but are rarely required to prove their identity a second time when they land, unlike those arriving on international flights who have to go through border controls.

Mr Grayling and his colleagues were flying to Prestwick to carry out some political campaigning.

He said it looked far from an occasional operation as the officer was sat at a fixed desk in the airport.

He added: “No powers should be used in this way.

“Acting like this simply undermines the credibility of our security legislation and will heighten concerns about civil liberties.”

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: “Police officers, similar to other Border and Law Enforcement Agencies, operate at UK Air and Sea Ports in furtherance of their role of protecting our communities.

“As part of their duties, Police require to establish the identity of persons present at or transiting through a Port and, in recognition of this, legislation is provided for that purpose (Terrorism Act 2000).

“In particular, specific powers are afforded to Police examining officers to require production of a passport, or other recognised identity document bearing a photograph.

“Strathclyde Police endeavour to apply these powers proportionately bearing in mind the threat levels that apply currently, particularly in respect of aviation."

A spokesman for Grampian Police, which covers Aberdeen Airport, said: “We do carry out passenger checks on both international and domestic flights and we do check identification, which could include passports."

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police, which covers Edinburgh Airport, was unavailable for comment.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/6228232/Domestic-passengers-flying-to-Scotland-may-now-have-to-show-their-passports.html