Latest news with #JillRogers
BBC News
09-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
WW2 pigeons remembered as racing season opens
The role of pigeons during World War Two has been remembered as owners gathered for the start of a pigeon club's racing birds carried vital messages about troop positions and early news of the D-Day landings. The British International Championship Club (BICC) - a pigeon racing organisation - held a commemorative party at Sarisbury Green in Hampshire, as fanciers met to prepare for the first official race on Jill Rogers said: "Pigeons were a very important part and they got medals for their saving of lives." She added: "People gave their racing pigeons up to be part of the war effort."A quarter of a million birds were used. There wasn't the same technology and also they could do it securely without it being got at by enemy forces."Thirty-two pigeons during World War Two received Dickin Medals for animal recipient - RAF bird Winkie - was released by the crew of a plane that came under fire and ditched in North Sea. Winkie made it home covered in oil and led to the crew's also carried D-Day despatches home from Allied forces and journalists in Normandy. Heroic World War Two pigeons Winkie was the first pigeon to be responsible for the rescue of airmen during World War Two when she flew 120 miles in February 19443 to alert rescue services that a Beaufighter had crashed in the North SeaUS Army pigeon G.I. Joe carried news of the liberation of an Italian village in 1943 just in time to save at least 100 Allied soldiers from being bombed by their own planesRAF pigeon Gustave brought back the first despatch from the Reuters news agency on D-Day - 6 June 1944The pigeon Duke of Normandy brought back the first message on D-Day from British airborne forcesOn 12 June 1944, the pigeon Paddy carried coded information on the Allied advance from Normandy to Hampshire, setting a record homing time of four hours and 50 minutes(Sources: IWM, Larne & District Historical Society, PDSA) Bill Edwards from BICC said modern-day fanciers are proud of the role of pigeons during the said: "There was the National Pigeon Service that mobilised lofts around the front line."All the aircraft... took two pigeons with them in case the aircraft were shot down."A previous commemorative race, organised by another club in Normandy on 3 May, was won by a pigeon called VE Day Surprise from Wales. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Scoop
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Police Commit To Removing Thousands Of Incorrectly Applied Historic ‘hate Flags'
Training previously released by Police to recognise, record, and respond to hate speech and hate crime was a reckless path to pursue. The Free Speech Union welcomes the commitment made today by Acting Deputy Police Commissioner, Jill Rogers, that Police will remove all 'non-criminal incidents' that were flagged for 'perceived hate' prior to 1 November, 2024. Following pressure from the Free Speech Union last year, Police changed the subjective threshold for hate perception, and have entirely abandoned subjective 'non-criminal hate incidents' as a category. These are important steps to ensure Police remain focused on actions, not thought, and retain the trust of the community, says Jonathan Ayling, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union. 'Training previously released by Police to 'recognise, record, and respond' to 'hate speech and hate crime' was a reckless path to pursue. We applaud Police's willingness to acknowledge the unavoidable weaknesses of subjective thresholds for hate, and their decision to change the training they implemented, and to abandon subjective non-criminal hate incidents (NCHIs). 'However, at a recent meeting between Police and the Free Speech Union, we were told it was not possible for Police to correct the data that had been collected while the subjective threshold for 'hate' was in place. This meant Police were choosing to keep records of Kiwis linked to subjective 'hate incidents', even though those incidents no longer matched the Police's own definition of 'hate incidents'. And these Kiwis may not even have known about this. 'Under the previous threshold, as many as 100 flags a month were applied to individual's records held by Police for perceived hate. Once the subjective threshold was removed, this dropped to two or three a month – some months with none at all. This clearly demonstrates how worthless these subjective flags were. The Free Speech Union insisted Police had no place retaining this data that had no value to them, and that could easily be weaponised. 'Police are right to commit to taking steps necessary to remove these misleading flags from profiles over coming months, and to reject perception-based tests for questions as unavoidably subjective as 'hate'.'
RNZ News
08-05-2025
- RNZ News
Police to hold training courses at Massey University after signing long-term lease
Photo: Police have signed a long-term lease with Massey University in Auckland to begin training courses next month. Police will now have exclusive use of the Ōtehā Auckland campus, where they'll have access to gym and recreational areas with a small number of dorm rooms for police staff. "We are thrilled we have signed an agreement with Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University for space at their Ōtehā Auckland campus," Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said. Rogers said police and Massey have worked closely over the past couple of months to deliver an agreement that worked for both sides. "As part of the agreement, police has exclusive use of part of the campus, which includes multiple classrooms with capacity to seat up to 155 people, a locker room, storage space, offices, and car parks," Rogers said. "These are high quality facilities and will be a great environment for police officers to learn and develop in. Extensive planning and organisation are essential to delivering training at the new Auckland training base." Rogers said police are already onsite working to get everything up and running for a range of police courses. "This training space in Auckland is pivotal for running our senior courses and continuing to free up space at the Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC) for recruit training," she said. "This space will also enable the Tāmaki Makaurau recruit Wing 390 to start on 30 June." Wing 390 will complete the same curriculum as the recruits at RNZPC which is located in Porirua, Wellington. Some elements of recruit training, which cannot be completed at the campus, including tactical training and swim assessment, will be completed offsite. "We know that being away from home for several months has been a deterrent for people wanting to join police," Rogers sad. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Police Commit To Removing Thousands Of Incorrectly Applied Historic ‘hate Flags'
The Free Speech Union welcomes the commitment made today by Acting Deputy Police Commissioner, Jill Rogers, that Police will remove all 'non-criminal incidents' that were flagged for 'perceived hate' prior to 1 November, 2024. Following pressure from the Free Speech Union last year, Police changed the subjective threshold for hate perception, and have entirely abandoned subjective 'non-criminal hate incidents' as a category. These are important steps to ensure Police remain focused on actions, not thought, and retain the trust of the community, says Jonathan Ayling, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union. 'Training previously released by Police to 'recognise, record, and respond' to 'hate speech and hate crime' was a reckless path to pursue. We applaud Police's willingness to acknowledge the unavoidable weaknesses of subjective thresholds for hate, and their decision to change the training they implemented, and to abandon subjective non-criminal hate incidents (NCHIs). 'However, at a recent meeting between Police and the Free Speech Union, we were told it was not possible for Police to correct the data that had been collected while the subjective threshold for 'hate' was in place. This meant Police were choosing to keep records of Kiwis linked to subjective 'hate incidents', even though those incidents no longer matched the Police's own definition of 'hate incidents'. And these Kiwis may not even have known about this. 'Under the previous threshold, as many as 100 flags a month were applied to individual's records held by Police for perceived hate. Once the subjective threshold was removed, this dropped to two or three a month – some months with none at all. This clearly demonstrates how worthless these subjective flags were. The Free Speech Union insisted Police had no place retaining this data that had no value to them, and that could easily be weaponised. 'Police are right to commit to taking steps necessary to remove these misleading flags from profiles over coming months, and to reject perception-based tests for questions as unavoidably subjective as 'hate'.'
