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Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Glasgow is a safe place for women' says top cop
A TOP COP says he believes Glasgow is a 'safe place' for women despite 'alarming' stats showing a rise in reported rapes and sexual assaults. Detective Superintendent Steven Bertram says while he understands concern over the numbers, he doesn't believe the city is unsafe. He told the Glasgow Times: 'I think it is a safe place. 'I get frustrated when we do lots of good things. There's lots of good things in the community and there's a lot of safety, and then one thing will happen and it sets everything back because of the actions of one person or a couple of people. 'But overall, for the amount of people in Glasgow and the size of Glasgow, it is a safe city, it is safe for women and children.' It comes after recent figures show the recorded number of rapes and attempted rapes in Glasgow has gone up from 243 in 2015/16 to 494 in 2024/25, marking a 103% rise. The increase in Scotland during that time is 60%. In that same period in Glasgow, the number of sexual assaults has gone up from 619 to 800. Det Supt Bertram agrees the stats are 'alarming' but says in context he thinks in part it is a sign of Police Scotland handling those crimes better. He said: 'When I look at it, it is alarming to see the number but when I look at the context, I'd bring that alarm down a bit and I do get comfort thinking we are doing things a lot better. 'We are getting that engagement. 'I would be worried if I didn't have the same context there and it isn't just a massive rise in people being able to commit sexual assaults.' He added: 'Those figures will be alarming for a lot of women and parents, but I think they need some peace of mind that the majority will go out, have a good time and come back unscathed and that's the way we want it to be.' Det Supt Bertram says in the last 10 years, as well as Police Scotland changing how they handle complaints of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault and while there has also been a change in society. He said: 'I think people are more willing to talk about rape and sexual crimes, it's not the taboo thing it used to be. 'In that 10-year period a lot has changed in policing. 'Our approach to sexual crime and rape is different to what it is 10 years ago. 'We've got a better understanding of trauma, making sure our officers are trauma informed, we've got a better focus on victims and being really victim-focused as opposed to driven for performance. 'We see a lot of reporting of really good convictions, really good jail sentences getting handed out and you like to think if a victim was seeing that and thinking 'should I come forward' that's going to be encouragement that people are listening.' Det Supt Bertram also praised survivors who have spoken publicly both for helping police learn how to better work with victims to also inspire other women to come forward. He said: 'We've seen a lot of survivors of rape and sexual crime standing outside court telling their story about where the criminal justice process either let them down or what could be improved. 'We're really proactive in that and try and contact these people and say 'would you be willing to speak to us' and then try to bring them in 'talk to us, in our case what did we get wrong, what could we do better'. 'I think that's really important.' He continued: 'We've seen a lot of younger women coming forward to stand up and say 'I want to speak about this, I'm not bothered about being anonymous' and use that to encourage other people to come forward. 'I think that's really good and starts to show a different attitude from 'lets not talk about this because its taboo' to 'I want to tell you my story'. 'I think the more that that happens, then I think we're going to see a rise in reports.' Prevention work is one of the key things police are working on, an example of which is the THAT Guy campaign which Police Scotland started in 2021 which aims to reduce rape, serious sexual assault and harassment by having frank conversations with men about attitudes and behaviour around women. Det Supt Bertram said: 'Men are the problem, not all men, but they're also the solution. 'We've realised that, and we've changed out tact to how we approach the preventative side. 'So instead of saying what was that kind of victim blaming thing of 'don't do this, don't do that', actually you should be allowed to go out and enjoy yourself because that's your God-given right to do. 'The messaging has to go to men of 'you need to think about your own behaviour, you need to challenge your pals, don't be a bystander, do something about it'.' Earlier this year, there were several posts on social media from women saying they were following by men, particularly in the city centre, and left feeling intimidated. The Glasgow Times asked Det Supt Bertram if police in Glasgow had seen a rise in such incidents being reported. He said police in Glasgow 'didn't see that' but has encouraged people to report such incidents. He said: 'If anyone has a genuine concern, we'll always take things seriously, we're not saying because it's on social media and didn't get reported that it didn't happen but that if that comes into police as formal report it will be investigated.' To report a rape or sexual assault, Police Scotland can be contacted on 101. The Rape Crisis Scotland National Helpline can be contacted on 08088 01 03 02 daily from 6pm to midnight. In an emergency call 999. NHS Scotland provide dedicated Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCS) throughout Scotland. 'Archway' currently provides a service to Greater Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire, Argyle and Bute, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde. They can be contacted on 0141 211 8175.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump is promising new steps to tackle homelessness and crime in Washington
Trump is promising new steps to tackle homelessness and crime in Washington WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is promising new steps to tackle homelessness and crime in Washington, prompting the city's mayor to voice concerns about the potential use of the National Guard to patrol the streets in the nation's capital. Trump wrote in a social media post that he planned a White House news conference at 10 a.m. Monday to discuss his plans to make the District of Columbia 'safer and more beautiful than it ever was before.' 'The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,' Trump wrote Sunday. 'We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong.' Last week the Republican president directed federal law enforcement agencies to increase their presence in Washington for seven days, with the option 'to extend as needed.' On Friday night, federal agencies including the Secret Service, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service assigned more than 120 officers and agents to assist in Washington. Trump said last week that he was considering ways for the federal government to seize control of Washington, asserting that crime was 'ridiculous' and the city was 'unsafe,' after the recent assault of a high-profile member of the Department of Government Efficiency. The moves Trump said he was considering included bringing in the D.C. National Guard. Mayor Muriel Bowser questioned the effectiveness of using the Guard to enforce city laws and said the federal government could be far more helpful by funding more prosecutors or filling the 15 vacancies on the D.C. Superior Court, some of which have been open for years. Bowser cannot activate the National Guard herself, but she can submit a request to the Pentagon. 'I just think that's not the most efficient use of our Guard,' she said Sunday on MSNBC's 'The Weekend,' acknowledging it is "the president's call about how to deploy the Guard.' Bowser was making her first public comments since Trump started posting about crime in Washington last week. She noted that violent crime in Washington has decreased since a rise in 2023. Trump's weekend posts depicted the district as 'one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World." For Bowser, 'Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false.' Police statistics show homicides, robberies and burglaries are all down this year when compared with this time in 2024. Overall violent crime is down 26% compared with this time a year ago. Trump offered no details in Truth Social posts over the weekend about possible new actions to address crime levels that he argues are dangerous for citizens, tourists and workers alike. The White House declined to offer additional details about Monday's announcement. The police department and the mayor's office did not respond to questions about what Trump might do next. The president criticized the district as full of 'tents, squalor, filth, and Crime,' and he seems to have been set off by the attack on Edward Coristine, among the most visible figures of the bureaucracy-cutting effort known as DOGE. Police arrested two 15-year-olds in the attempted carjacking and said they were looking for others. 'This has to be the best run place in the country, not the worst run place in the country,' Trump said Wednesday. The president called Bowser 'a good person who has tried, but she has been given many chances.' Trump has repeatedly suggested that the rule of Washington could be returned to federal authorities. Doing so would require a repeal of the Home Rule Act of 1973 in Congress, a step Trump said lawyers are examining. It could face steep pushback. Bowser acknowledged that the law allows the president to take more control over the city's police, but only if certain conditions are met. 'None of those conditions exist in our city right now," she said. 'We are not experiencing a spike in crime. In fact, we're watching our crime numbers go down.' ___ Associated Press writers Ashraf Khalil and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report. David Klepper, The Associated Press
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
B.C. man lied to steal brothers' A&W franchise, court rules
A man who tried to steal a fast food franchise owned by his two brothers was excoriated by a B.C. Supreme Court judge, who called him 'dishonest, entitled, ungrateful and jealous.' Norman and Bradley Phaneuf sued their brother, Vern Phaneuf, for claiming 50 per cent ownership of A&W restaurants they operated in Maple Ridge and for trying to cut them out of any profits from the restaurants — all because of a paperwork error. 'The consequence of this error, if allowed to stand, is that Vern … would be entitled to receive 100 per cent of the profit which was created by Norman's and Bradley's successful entrepreneurial efforts,' the judge wrote in a decision made on Thursday. The case stems from a holding company the brothers created for several new franchise locations they were planning to open in 2010 thanks to an expansion opportunity offered by A&W. All four brothers were shareholders in the holding company. Norman and Bradley, who ran the restaurants, owned 80 per cent. They offered 10 per cent each to Vern and Terry (now deceased), in non-voting class B shares, as gifts. Vern had done accounting work for the family's previous franchises and Terry had provided loans. When the ownership documents were being amended, Norman and Bradley's shares were mistakenly listed as 'non-participating,' which means they are not entitled to profits from the restaurants, while Terry and Vern's shares were 'participating,' giving them access to dividends and sale proceeds, despite only making up 20 per cent of shares. Vern, a certified public accountant with a Bachelor's degree who works as an investment banker, drew up the paperwork. Norman and Bradley, neither of which had a post-secondary education, told the judge they did not understand or know what the terms 'participating' or 'non-participating' meant. As a result of the error, which was only discovered in 2020, Vern claimed that he and Terry owned 50 per cent each of the holding company that controlled the franchises as part of a 'de facto shareholders' agreement' that would see Norman and Bradley's shares redistributed. The judge rejected the claim as 'irrational and nonsensical.' 'It defies all logic and credulity to believe that Norman and Bradley would invest heavily and work tirelessly in businesses they had no ownership interest in,' Basran wrote, calling Vern's claim 'irrational, self-interested, and a seeming product of his imagination.' 'Vern fabricated this entire 'de facto shareholders' agreement' narrative to try to take advantage of the mistake in the articles of the companies that describes the class A shares as 'non-participating', in an attempt to benefit himself,' Basran wrote. Basran praised the evidence from Norman and Bradley as 'logical, forthright, straightforward, consistent, and coherent.' The judge had far harsher comments for Vern's testimony, noting that he 'lied repeatedly and unrelentingly,' and that 'virtually every element of his evidence lacked truth, clarity, and logic.' The judge pointed out that despite claiming he always knew how the shares were structured, Vern originally denied that he created the shareholder documents. Vern also claimed that his brothers lured him to B.C. from a partnership in a Saskatchewan accounting firm, with an offer of 25 per cent ownership of one of the franchises. The judge pointed out that in reality, Vern received a 50 per cent interest in the franchise and that he had never been a partner in the accounting firm. 'This evidence cannot be reconciled because it is a fiction unsupported by any documents or logic,' the judge wrote. @njgriffiths ngriffiths@ Related B.C. woman sues psychiatrist, says prescribed drug made her gamble away her home equity, shop excessively B.C. court overrules 'biased' will that left $2.9 million to son, $170,000 to daughter
