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What Cambridgeshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Should Do
A Holistic View Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s Police and Crime Commissioner should provide strategic direction not just for the police, but for the work of the courts, prison and probation services, local councils and other bodies with an impact on policing, crime and justice matters in the area; including schools and health service providers. The creation […]
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Cambridge City Council Covert CCTV Deployed In Someone’s Home
A report on Cambridge City Council’s use of covert surveillance is to be taken to the council’s Strategy and Resources Committee on Monday the 15th of October at 17.00 in the Guildhall. The key message from the report is simply: [The council] has not authorised the use of RIPA powers in the period covered by […]
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Policing Histon, Milton, Impington, Cottenham, Oakington and Waterbeach – October 2012
On the 9th of October 2012 I attended the police priority setting meeting for the area covering Histon, Impington, Cottenham, Milton, Chittering, Oakington and Waterbeach. The priorities were not set by democratically elected representatives, but by mob rule, anyone who turned up would have been given a vote. A number of councillors were present, but […]
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Discussing The Police And Crime Commissioner Election on BBC Cambridgeshire
On the morning of the 8th of October 2012 I went on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire’s breakfast show hosted by Paul Stainton to talk about the election of Cambridgeshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner. The subject was being discussed as the returning officer was expected to kick off the process by posting the formal notice of the […]
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Debating UK Police TASER use on BBC Radio Wales
On the 24th of September 2012 I went on BBC Radio Wales to argue against the arming of all front-line police in the UK with TASER weapons. The decision on arming the police with TASER on a routine basis is one for society as a whole, and not just for the police. It’s a decision […]
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Cyclists Branded Anti-Social For Trying to Stay Alive
Arrows highlight the only remnants of markings showing this is the start of a shared use cycle/pedestrian path. On Thursday the 27th of September 2012 councillors in North Cambridge set “anti-social cycling” as one of their three top policing priorities for the area. Councillors set the priority to apply throughout North Cambridge, but expressed concern […]
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Cambs Police Still Holding Back Phone Answering Data
On the 13th of September 2012 I observed, and was unexpectedly invited to participate in, Cambridgeshire County Council’s Police and Crime Scrutiny Committee. In December 2011 the committee had requested detailed statistics from Cambridgeshire Police on their failure to answer non-emergency 101 phone calls in a reasonable amount of time in many cases. In June […]
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Taxpayer Should Fund Science Based on Excellence of Proposals
On the 20th of August 2012 Cambridge MP Julian Huppert announced the publication of a science policy paper he has produced. Huppert is expected to ask Liberal Democrats to adopt his paper as their party policy during the upcoming party conference in September 2012. One phrase in the paper stands out for me: Decisions about […]
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Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Panel Meeting in Secret
Police and Crime Panel Members Key Points Cambridgeshire’s Police and Crime Panel met for the first time, in shadow form, in secret, behind closed doors, on the 12th of September 2012. The panel is called a shadow panel until it formally becomes the Police and Crime Panel following election of Police and Crime Commissioners. The […]
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Million Pound a Year Personal Office for Cambs Police and Crime Commissioner
One Million Pounds (as seized by West Midlands Police [licence]) The chair of Cambridgeshire Police Authority, Ruth Rodgers, was called to appear before Cambridgeshire County Council’s Police and Crime Scrutiny Committee on the 13th of September 2012. Rodgers was asked to explain why the authority was not giving notice to its staff despite its impending […]