New neighbourhood police base opens in Coventry
A new 24-hour police base has been officially opened with the promise it will help tackle local crimes.The West Midlands Police base in Canley, Coventry, is home to neighbourhood teams, emergency response officers and a specialist task force.It replaces a 1960s building which had been listed for closure since 2018 and was deemed not fit for purpose.The base on Bow Court was opened on Thursday by Ch Supt Paul Joyce and the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster.
Ch Supt Joyce said the team had already made a difference in the community."A recent patrol by local neighbourhood officers nearby resulted in the arrest of a man found with 14 wraps of heroin, two bags of suspected cannabis, £550 in cash and a ball of what was believed to be crack cocaine worth £10,000," he said.Foster added: "It's been pleasing to see the teams in action here in Canley and to see the impact they're having in the community to help prevent and tackle crime and anti-social behaviour."I will continue to rebuild community policing to ensure an accessible, reassuring and visible presence out on the streets."West Midlands Police said the money raised from the sale of the old base would be reinvested into policing.
Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
23 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Calling a colleague ‘weirdo' could be discrimination
Calling a colleague a 'weirdo' could be discrimination, a tribunal has ruled. Using the term, even if you are trying to put someone at ease, may 'violate their dignity' and breach equality laws, a judge has said. The ruling came in the case of Nicholas James, an autistic children's centre worker, who complained that he could not work with background music. Malcolm King, Mr James's boss, asked him: 'Why can't you be ordinary and perfect like the rest of us?' before referring to him as a 'weirdo', the tribunal heard. Mr King described Mr James's requested work adjustments as 'a pain in the arse', and likened the effect of Mr James's autism disorder on his work to having a hangover after a 'good booze-up'. The worker has now won more than £17,000 in compensation for disability discrimination and harassment. Comments 'violated his dignity' Employment Judge Stephen Jenkins said: 'We considered that the references to accommodating [Mr James's] requests as being a 'pain in the arse', to questioning why [Mr James] could not be 'ordinary like the rest of us', and to [Mr James] being a 'weirdo'...would clearly have been unwanted to [Mr James]. '[Mr James] himself clearly perceived the comments as violating his dignity, and we considered that, objectively, it was reasonable to conclude that the words had the effect of violating [Mr James]'s dignity. 'They were comments from [...] the most senior person within the executive structure of the organisation, and were comments which Mr King himself has, on reflection, agreed were inappropriate. 'In the circumstances, we were satisfied that the comments did involve unwanted conduct which had the effect of violating [Mr James's] dignity.' Requested no background music The hearing in Cardiff was told that Mr James had been working for The Venture, which provides community-based services for young people, in Wrexham since 2021. He was employed as a project worker on its inclusion project which provided play work for children with neurodevelopmental conditions, primarily autism. He later began working at events at which music was played on the radio, referred to as 'open access sessions' because they were open to the public. However, the tribunal heard he could not work with music playing in the background because this impacted his ability 'to concentrate on other matters'. It was not played while he worked at these sessions, but it continued to be played at public events that Venture held a few times a year. Mr King told him that to stop music being played at these events would be 'quite wrong' as the events needed to be 'enjoyable' for guests. Mr James reportedly felt 'continually disregarded because of his condition', 'accused of wanting to spoil children's fun' and 'not able to do his job'. Compensation for discrimination In November, another meeting took place between Mr James and several more senior employees at the company. The tribunal heard: 'After some opening comments which were complimentary about [Mr James's] qualities as a play worker, Mr King noted that for him, at the heart of it, they needed [Mr James's] gifts and they needed to find ways of making that work, 'even though it's a pain in the arse'. 'He followed that with what [Mr James] described as an ill-timed joke, saying, 'why can't you be ordinary and perfect like the rest of us? But no, jokes aside, having always been something of a weirdo myself, I have some sympathy'.' Mr James was subsequently removed from his role at the open access sessions and was later suspended from his role at the organisation because of concerns regarding his work and an alleged failure to report an incident. He then sued for discrimination. His employers have been ordered to pay him £17,154.86 in total, including £15,000 for injury to feelings. His other claims failed.
Daily Mail
23 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The squalid life of Pheobe's housemate revealed as shocking new images expose the disgusting conditions they were living in
Shocking footage has captured the squalid conditions inside a bus that was being lived in by one of the housemates accused of murdering Pheobe Bishop. An ex-girlfriend of James Wood, 34, previously told Daily Mail Australia his partner Tanika Bromley, 33, had been banished to the rundown bus sitting outside their Gin Gin home, which they shared with Pheobe. Pheobe, 17, was last seen leaving the rental, near Bundaberg in Central Queensland, on May 15 and is assumed dead following the discovery of remains in Good Night Scrub National Park on Friday afternoon. Daily Mail Australia was granted access to the bus, which served as Bromley's room, on Tuesday. The bright exterior of the 1979 Volvo B59 , a staple for Queensland public transport in the 1970s and 80s, was in sharp contrast to the vehicle's dingy interior. Although Wood boasted of the converted motorhome being a 'great rig' in a Facebook Marketplace ad some six months ago, the bus has suffered more than it's share of wear and tear. The bus' narrow entry was littered with shoes, empty bottles and a pile of clothing. Up to 11 deceased dogs were discovered at the Gin Gin share house following Pheobe's disappearance. Wood (left) and Bromley (right) are accused of murdering Pheobe and moving her body Officers are believed to have found the missing teenager's remains on Friday but they will need to undergo significant forensic examination to determine her cause of death. Good Night Scrub, some 40km south of Gin Gin, is known to be filled with wild boars and dogs. Thin curtains were used to block sunlight directly coming into the bus, which was full of dust and water damage. A cabinet and benchtop were littered with broken furniture, empty food packaging and clothing. It's understood Wood and Bromley had been in a relationship since the end of last year, around the same time they moved into the Gin Gin home. Wood and Bromley fronted Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Friday accused of Pheobe's murder, three weeks to the day after she missed a flight and vanished. Police allege the couple moved her body more than once. Pheobe was reported missing after failing to check in and board a flight from Bundaberg to Perth, where she planned to meet up with her boyfriend, who Daily Mail Australia has not named because of his age. Last week during a hearing for firearm charges, a court heard Bromley cared for two children, including one with a disability, as part of a shared custody arrangement. Pheobe's mother, Kylie Johnson, has since urged the Gin Gin community to 'respect' Bromley's family following the charges against her. 'I know Tanika has been charged. I know her family live within our community and I expect them to receive respect... those kids mean the world to us as a family,' Ms Johnson said at a vigil for Pheobe. 'They meant the world to Phoebe as a family as well. It is imperative to us, as a family, that they are supported just as much as us. Pheobe's suspected remains were discovered in Good Night Scrub with pig prints spotted nearby 'They are hurting probably more than us, even though we have lost our child.' Neither Wood nor Bromley appeared in person or by video link for the hearing on Friday. Their matters will return to court on August 11.
Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Moment armed police arrest man, 64, who made 'assassination kits' for gangsters from his back garden as he burns 'treasure trove' of evidence
This is the moment a 64-year-old weapons collector, who made 'assassination kits' for gangsters in his garden, began burning a 'treasure trove' of evidence as armed police descended on his property. Ronald Knowles curated 80 'assassination kits' in his home in Alfreton, Derbyshire, which included at least 33 firearms, converted from replica pistols, bullets, as well as silencers and latex gloves. He made the killing kits in a makeshift workshop, before handing them off to notorious 'drugs general' Gary Hardy, 61, who sold them from his Ravenshead home in Nottinghamshire. Now CCTV reveals the dramatic moment armed police swooped on his home as they caught him setting alight to a hoard of evidence as plumes of smoke billowed into the sky. Drone footage shows Knowles step out of the outbuilding, holding his hands into the air as armed officers made their way into his home, before they took him into custody and marched him away. The gun factory, producing the 'lethal' self loading pistols, was discovered as part of an investigation into Hardy by Nottinghamshire Police and the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU). During the raid, police found lathes and a drill used by the weapons collector to make the silencers and convert the pistols and ammunition, as well as throwing stars, machetes, crossbows and air weapons, and around 1,000 bullets. Knowles and Hardy were convicted of serious firearms offences at Nottingham Crown Court and are due to be sentenced at a later date. Police began to make arrests after stopping a van in Measham, Leicesteshire, in August 2023, where they seized a box containing four 'lethal' self-loading pistols. Each weapon had been individually packaged with a silencer, blue nitrile gloves and ten rounds of live ammunition. Detective Chief Inspector Mark Adas said: 'The bullets had been converted from blank firing to live. 'If discharged they would effectively expand on impact. These were lethal assassination kits. 'I call them that because they were individually packaged. The firearms were designed to kill. It is highly concerning. 'With the amount of ammunition that we found, that was in our belief destined for conversion, another 80 assassination kits could have been converted. 'It was a significant find for us. This is the largest firearms manufacturing operation that I have ever seen, and to my knowledge one of the biggest we've seen in the East Midlands, if not wider'. Police launched a probe into Hardy following his release from a 20-year prison sentence, which eventually unearthed that an operation he led had been supplying lethal weapons to organised crime groups in the West Midlands and Essex. Police say the assassination kits were also passed to career criminal Stephen Houston, 64, who sold them to underworld gangs. Police say one of the weapons was used by drug dealer Jason Hill, 23, to murder rival Owen Fairclough in June 2023. When police searched Hill's home they found a safe buried in the garden containing two guns with silencers and two dozen 9mm bullets. A court heard police believe Houston supplied him with the weapons which had been converted by Knowles. 'We will never know the true scale of how many lives have been saved as a result of us dismantling this operation, but it is significant'. In September 2008, Hardy gained notoriety when he was jailed for 20 years following in a major drugs trial that was guarded by armed police. That jury heard Hardy was one of three 'drugs generals' supplying heroin and amphetamines to dealers in Nottinghamshire. He had a fleet of luxury cars and owned more than 40 properties as part of a string of businesses. The court heard Hardy smuggled heroin into the UK in lorry tyres. The lucrative profits from selling the drugs were then split with John Dawes, and his brother and international drug trafficker Robert. Knowles, Hardy, Houston and Hill were convicted of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. Knowles, Hardy and Houston will also be sentenced for conspiracy to convert a blank firing gun into a firearm, and conspiracy to sell or transfer a firearm.
