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The Independent
11 minutes ago
- The Independent
Man, 76, charged with child cruelty offences over summer camp
A 76-year-old man has been charged with child cruelty offences after children became unwell at a summer camp in Leicestershire. Leicestershire Police said it received a report on Sunday that children at a summer camp at Stathern Lodge in Canal Lane, Stathern, had become unwell. Eight children, all boys aged between eight and 11, and an adult, who were taken to hospital as a precaution, have all since been discharged. Jonathon Ruben, of Landmere Lane, Ruddington, Nottingham, will be charged with three counts of wilful ill treatment relating to three boys at the summer camp between July 25 and July 29, the Crown Prosecution Service said on Friday. He was remanded into custody and will appear at Leicester Magistrates' Court on Saturday. Leicestershire Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over its handling of the incident. The force originally said the incident happened on Monday, before amending it to Sunday, and it is still unclear whether officers only responded on Monday, and whether that is why the force has referred itself to the IOPC. Janine McKinney, chief crown prosecutor for CPS East Midlands, said: 'The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised the prosecution of a 76-year-old man with child cruelty offences following a police investigation into a summer camp held at Stathern Lodge, Leicestershire. 'This decision has been made after reviewing a file of evidence from Leicestershire Police. 'Jonathon Ruben will be charged with three offences of wilful ill treatment of a child relating to three boys. 'This has been an extremely upsetting and shocking moment for the community, and especially for the children and parents most directly affected. 'We would like to remind all concerned that there are now active criminal proceedings against Mr Ruben, and he has the right to a fair trial. 'There must be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online that may in any way prejudice these proceedings.' Leicestershire Police said the 'owners and operators of Stathern Lodge are independent from those people who use or hire the lodge and are not connected to the incident'. The IOPC said: 'Our assessment team has examined all available evidence and concluded the matter should be independently investigated by the IOPC. 'The investigation will look at whether there were any breaches of professional behaviour – namely a failure to carry out duties and responsibilities – that resulted in a delay in Leicestershire Police's response to what was later declared a critical incident.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Police pay rise: Officers' salary to increase 4.2% in England and Wales
Police officers are set to get a 4.2 per cent pay rise for police officers in England and Wales. The increased salary, which has been approved by the government, will apply to all ranks up to and including chief superintendent. It will also be backed by £120 million of extra funding from the Home Office. The Police Federation said the pay award 'barely treads water' with the current rate of inflation and equates to 'a Big Mac per shift'. The pay rise puts the starting salary for a police constable at £31,163, typically going up to £50,257 after six years, while the average salary for a chief superintendent will be £98,500. Allowances for on-call, away from home and hardship will increase by £10 and London weighting will go up by 4.2 per cent. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'Our brave police officers work day and night, often making enormous sacrifices, to keep us safe. 'This government is proud to back them in doing so and today's pay award is a clear signal of our gratitude, and our determination to ensure they are properly rewarded for their service.' Brian Booth, deputy national chairman of the Police Federation, said: 'Today's pay award of 4.2% barely treads water, with inflation currently at 4.1%. 'We note that chief constables argued for a pay rise of just 3.8%. We welcome the government's decision to reject that position and instead listen to the strong case we have been making on behalf of police officers across the country. 'However, after more than a decade of real terms pay cuts, this award does little to reverse the long-term decline in officers' living standards or address the crisis policing faces. 'A pay rise worth the price of a Big Mac per shift won't stop record levels of resignations, record mental health absences, or the record number of assaults on officers.' The federation, which represents more than 145,000 officers, will now ask its members whether they want to accept or reject the award. The National Police Chiefs' Council's lead for pay and conditions, Philip Wells, said: 'We are pleased that the pay review body recognised the evidence that was presented by chief constables and the pay award that has been announced today is what we believe our officers deserve and reflects the nature of the work they are required to undertake to keep our streets safe. 'Today the Home Secretary also announced an extra £120 million towards funding the pay award. 'With more than 85% of police spend being on pay costs, it is vitally important that additional costs for pay are fully funded if we are to maintain services and be able to continue to invest in areas such as neighbourhood policing and technology.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Miscarriage of justice watchdog investigates cases of 175 people handed abolished indefinite jail terms
The country's miscarriage of justice watchdog is investigating at least 175 cases which saw offenders, including children and young people, handed abolished indefinite jail terms. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has announced it has launched a major project to review applications from prisoners languishing on Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) jail terms. The open-ended sentences, which were scrapped in 2012 and have been described as 'psychological torture' by the UN, have left thousands trapped in jail for up to 22 times longer than their original tariff. This includes many who were children at the time of their offence and handed a type of IPP sentence for under-18s called a Detention for Public Protection (DPP) jail term. Now scores of cases are set to be reviewed by the watchdog after a string of IPP and DPP sentences were overturned by the Court of Appeal. Eight of 12 cases referred to the appeal judges for review have resulted in the sentences being quashed, reduced or substituted. This includes father-of-three Leighton Williams, who was wrongly handed an IPP sentence with a 30-month tariff for a drunken fight aged 19. He served almost 16 years under the sentence – mostly in custody – before it was quashed and replaced with a five-year determinate sentence in the Court of Appeal last year. If he had served half of that time in custody, he would have been out of prison by the time he was 22. Three appeal judges finally set him free on 9 May last year, aged 36, after finding the original sentencing judge had wrongly counted a previous offence, committed when he was 17, against him. After he was released, he told The Independent the jail term had robbed him of 16 years, adding: 'I have missed out on growing up with my friends. Going out. Getting a trade, being able to work. Just living a normal life. 'I deserved to go to jail – I understand that. There is no doubt about that. But for the length of time – I don't think you can justify that.' In a similar ruling in October, Darren Hilling's IPP sentence was quashed and substituted because the sentencing judge had failed to attach the necessary importance to his age and maturity when he committed his crime aged 21. Other victims of the scandal, whose tragic cases have been highlighted by The Independent, include: Leroy Douglas, who has served almost 20 years for robbing a mobile phone; Thomas White, 42, who set himself alight in his cell and has served 13 years for stealing a phone; and Abdullahi Suleman, 41, who is still inside 19 years after he was jailed for a laptop robbery. At total of 2,486 IPP prisoners were still languishing in overcrowded prisons without a release date at end of June. Almost 700 of them have served at least ten years longer than their original tariff. At least 94 IPP prisoners have taken their own lives in prison as they lose hope of getting out, according to campaigners. The CCRC project will see the body – tasked with independently reviewing alleged miscarriages of justice – consider up to eight current applications from people serving IPP and DPP sentences, before systematically re-reviewing a backlog of 175 historic applications to see if they should be referred to the Court of Appeal in light of the recent judgments. 'This starts with young people principally because that's where the chink of light is from the Court of Appeal,' CCRC chair Dame Vera Baird told The Independent. Reviews will start with those who were handed indefinite jail terms as children, before looking at those aged 18 to 25, followed by those over 25. This is because sentencing judges may have considered previous convictions as children when they handed out the jail terms to adults. However there is no timeline for the wide-ranging review and Dame Vera warned the CCRC has been allocated no additional resources for the project. The news has been welcomed by campaigners, including the Howard League for Penal Reform, which this summer called for a special CCRC process for IPP prisoners in a major report on the jail term. Other recommendations put forward in the report, including seeing all remaining prisoners given a release date to work towards at their next Parole Review, are being considered by the government. Their director of campaigns Andrew Neilson said he was thrilled to see the CCRC take this 'hugely positive' step, adding: 'Justice is long overdue to the thousands of people serving IPP sentences in prisons and in the community, and we hope that this will be one of many similar policies that will finally end the suffering of this abolished sentence for good.'
