Latest news with #NationalPoliceChiefsCouncil
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Lincolnshire Police backs 2wheel summer motorcycle safety campaign
Lincolnshire Police has announced it is supporting a summer motorcycle safety 2wheel campaign, led by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), aims to reduce the number of motorcyclists and cyclists killed or seriously injured on our roads through education and Lincolnshire, of the 52 people who lost their lives in fatal collisions in 2024, 14 were motorcyclists and three were pedal cyclists, police Jason Baxter, of the Lincolnshire roads policing team, said: "Cyclists and motorcyclists are disproportionately at risk across the UK but specifically, here in Lincolnshire, we have a large proportion of rural roads." He added: "We know those on two wheels are some of the most vulnerable road users, and this campaign is a chance to remind drivers and riders alike of the importance of taking responsibly and using our roads safely."Simon Outen-Coe, of the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, urged motorcyclists to think about the risks associated with the county's rural road network."Unfortunately, we experience a minority who consider the roads to be akin to a racetrack, whilst we also see careful riders who are involved in collisions where they haven't been seen," he campaign runs from 2-15 June, with motorcyclists in Lincolnshire having the opportunity to take part in a BikeSafe workshop on 12 June. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
The Independent
6 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Police chiefs will disclose suspects' ethnicity more often to counter disinformation
Police should release details such as the ethnicity of suspects in order to be transparent with the public following major incidents, police leaders have said following the parade crash in Liverpool. Merseyside Police revealed that the suspect was a 'white British' man less than two hours after a car ploughed into the fans, injuring 79 people at Liverpool FC's Premier League victory parade on Monday. Gavin Stephens, chairman of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), defended the decision – which has been described as a 'complete step change' from the same force's approach to releasing information following last year's knife attack in Southport. Police were criticised for not releasing more information about the attacker, who murdered three schoolgirls, after false rumours about his religion and asylum status helped to fuel far-right riots which erupted across the country. Chief constable Stephens said police are operating in an age where information is shared rapidly online and the truth can be an 'antidote' to disinformation. 'We have to operate on a basis of transparency and openness,' he said. 'When it's the right thing to do to release the information, then we should do so.' However, he warned police never want to jeopardise any ongoing court proceedings, and there may be occasions where they cannot release information to the public. His comments come after the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley agreed forces will have to release personal details about suspects more often. Sir Mark told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I'm not going to criticise another police chief who makes a judgment in a really difficult, complex situation. "Every case needs judging on its merits. I think as we go forward in the future, we would always want to be more transparent in terms of the data we release. "Sometimes the nature of the investigation, the nature of case, makes that difficult, but in principle of course, transparency is good." Asked if moving in the direction of declaring a suspect's ethnicity sooner is the way to go, Sir Mark added: "In general, I think we have to be realistic and more often... put more personal details in public, earlier." He added that we are in an age of citizen journalism and some content will be 'all over social media very, very quickly". 'People will be making guesses and inferences – I think in that world, putting more facts out is the only way to deal with it,' he added. 'And if those facts embolden racists in some cases, then we need to confront those individuals. 'I think trying to avoid truths when half-truth is in the public domain is going to be quite difficult going forward.' Liverpool City Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham said it was 'absolutely the right thing to do' to release details about the parade suspect to put to bed online speculation. 'Because if you have a look at social media already, within minutes of the incident being posted, there was speculation, and there was some nefarious groups who were trying to stir up some speculation around who was responsible for it,' he said on Tuesday. 'So the whole idea was to put to bed some of that for, obviously, the misinformation and disinformation that was out there, and to try to calm people.' Officers were granted extra time to question the 53-year-old man, from West Derby, Liverpool, who is being held on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving, Merseyside Police said. A force spokesman said seven people remained in hospital in a stable condition on Wednesday and they have now identified a total of 79 people who were injured in the incident.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Early prisoner release ‘will make UK less safe' without extra cash, police chiefs warn
Plans to release violent criminals, including sex offenders, from prison early will make Britain less safe without more funding, police chiefs have warned. Six senior police officers have publicly called on ministers to provide 'serious investment' at this month's spending review - piling pressure on Rachel Reeves to rethink her fiscal rules. Writing in The Times, they argue that, without the 'necessary resources' from the government 's June spending review, the decision to release more people early could be 'of net detriment to public safety'. The officers, including the chiefs of Merseyside, West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire police and the head of the National Police Chiefs Council, argued forces needed more money and more officers to deal with 'increasing public demand'. As well as increasing demand and new online threats from organised crime, they said the emergency release of prisoners to alleviate overcrowding and recommendations in the sentencing review would put more pressure on policing. Speaking to the BBC's Today programme on Wednesday morning, Metropolitan Police chief, Sir Mark Rowley, said that while the government's pledges on law and order were 'balanced and sensible', they were also 'very, very ambitious'. He said: 'We're carrying the scar tissue of years of austerity cuts, and the effects of that. Forces are much smaller when you compare the population they're policing than they were a decade or 15 years ago.' However, he insisted that police forces were 'not just asking for more money', but wanted 'radical reform' as well.
North Wales Chronicle
7 days ago
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
Police carrying ‘scar tissue' of austerity, says Met chief in bid for more cash
Sir Mark Rowley is one of six senior police officers who, writing in The Times on Wednesday, have publicly called on the Government to provide 'serious investment' at this month's spending review. The officers, including the chiefs of Merseyside, West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire police and the head of the National Police Chiefs Council, argued forces needed more money and more officers to deal with 'increasing public demand'. Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, Sir Mark said that while the Government's pledges on law and order were 'balanced and sensible', they were also 'very, very ambitious'. He said: 'We're carrying the scar tissue of years of austerity cuts, and the effects of that. Forces are much smaller when you compare the population they're policing than they were a decade or 15 years ago.' However, he insisted that police forces were 'not just asking for more money', but wanted 'radical reform' as well. He said: 'We think there should be fewer police organisations across the country that can be more efficient, more capable. We need a proper national police agency that helps co-ordinate things. 'So we're up for change, we're up for doing things differently, we're up for radically reforming. But it also needs more money, because policing is a people game.' As well as increasing demand and new online threats from organised crime, Sir Mark and the other chiefs said the emergency release of prisoners to alleviate overcrowding and recommendations in the sentencing review would put more pressure on policing. The policing settlement in Rachel Reeves' spending review, due on June 11, would directly influence whether forces are able to deliver as many begin to 'lose officer numbers and shrink', they said. 'A lack of investment will bake in the structural inefficiencies for another three years and will lose a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the service.' Shabana Mahmood has announced plans to release some offenders early in a bid to prevent prisons becoming full (Danny Lawson/PA) Meanwhile, Sir Mark along with the heads of MI5 and the National Crime Agency are also reported to have written to the Ministry of Justice to warn about the impact of releasing prisoners early. They argued that, without the 'necessary resources' from the spending review, the decision to release more people early could be 'of net detriment to public safety'. During his Today interview, Sir Mark said the policy had been enacted without any assessment of its impact on policing. He said: 'The Government have got a difficult problem to fix. 'For a very long period, sentencing policy and prison building policy aren't aligned, hence overcrowded, hence they've got to fix that, but the solution that they've come up with involves many, many more offenders being dealt with in communities rather than being in prison. That's why they're spending more money on probation. 'They've done no analysis on the impact on policing. No analysis of that whatsoever. So that has been settled without any analysis of the impact on policing, the effect on us.' The sentencing review released last week recommended measures to tackle prison overcrowding. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has agreed to allow some criminals, including violent and sexual offenders, to be released early for good behaviour. She also agreed to scrap short sentences of under 12 months and have more criminals serve sentences in the community instead. The Government has said the changes will ensure prisons do not become overcrowded, blaming the previous administration for failing to build enough prison places. Conservative shadow minister Helen Whately said Labour 'needs to sort this out' and 'take responsibility' for ensuring there were enough prison places, adding: 'They are the guys who are in government now.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We are backing the police to protect our communities and keep our streets safe with up to £17.6 billion this year, an increase of up to £1.2 billion. 'This includes £200 million to kickstart putting 13,000 additional neighbourhood police officers, PCSOs and special constables that the public will see back on their streets and patrolling communities, as part of our Plan for Change.' A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'This Government inherited prisons in crisis, close to collapse. We will never put the public at risk by running out of prison places again. 'We are building new prisons, on track for 14,000 places by 2031 – the largest expansion since the Victorians. 'Our sentencing reforms will force prisoners to earn their way to release or face longer in jail for bad behaviour, while ensuring the most dangerous offenders can be kept off our streets. 'We will also increase probation funding by up to £700 million by 2028/29 to tag and monitor tens of thousands more offenders in the community.'
Western Telegraph
7 days ago
- Politics
- Western Telegraph
Police carrying ‘scar tissue' of austerity, says Met chief in bid for more cash
Sir Mark Rowley is one of six senior police officers who, writing in The Times on Wednesday, have publicly called on the Government to provide 'serious investment' at this month's spending review. The officers, including the chiefs of Merseyside, West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire police and the head of the National Police Chiefs Council, argued forces needed more money and more officers to deal with 'increasing public demand'. Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, Sir Mark said that while the Government's pledges on law and order were 'balanced and sensible', they were also 'very, very ambitious'. He said: 'We're carrying the scar tissue of years of austerity cuts, and the effects of that. Forces are much smaller when you compare the population they're policing than they were a decade or 15 years ago.' However, he insisted that police forces were 'not just asking for more money', but wanted 'radical reform' as well. He said: 'We think there should be fewer police organisations across the country that can be more efficient, more capable. We need a proper national police agency that helps co-ordinate things. 'So we're up for change, we're up for doing things differently, we're up for radically reforming. But it also needs more money, because policing is a people game.' As well as increasing demand and new online threats from organised crime, Sir Mark and the other chiefs said the emergency release of prisoners to alleviate overcrowding and recommendations in the sentencing review would put more pressure on policing. The policing settlement in Rachel Reeves' spending review, due on June 11, would directly influence whether forces are able to deliver as many begin to 'lose officer numbers and shrink', they said. 'A lack of investment will bake in the structural inefficiencies for another three years and will lose a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the service.' Shabana Mahmood has announced plans to release some offenders early in a bid to prevent prisons becoming full (Danny Lawson/PA) Meanwhile, Sir Mark along with the heads of MI5 and the National Crime Agency are also reported to have written to the Ministry of Justice to warn about the impact of releasing prisoners early. They argued that, without the 'necessary resources' from the spending review, the decision to release more people early could be 'of net detriment to public safety'. During his Today interview, Sir Mark said the policy had been enacted without any assessment of its impact on policing. He said: 'The Government have got a difficult problem to fix. 'For a very long period, sentencing policy and prison building policy aren't aligned, hence overcrowded, hence they've got to fix that, but the solution that they've come up with involves many, many more offenders being dealt with in communities rather than being in prison. That's why they're spending more money on probation. 'They've done no analysis on the impact on policing. No analysis of that whatsoever. So that has been settled without any analysis of the impact on policing, the effect on us.' The sentencing review released last week recommended measures to tackle prison overcrowding. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has agreed to allow some criminals, including violent and sexual offenders, to be released early for good behaviour. She also agreed to scrap short sentences of under 12 months and have more criminals serve sentences in the community instead. The Government has said the changes will ensure prisons do not become overcrowded, blaming the previous administration for failing to build enough prison places. Conservative shadow minister Helen Whately said Labour 'needs to sort this out' and 'take responsibility' for ensuring there were enough prison places, adding: 'They are the guys who are in government now.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We are backing the police to protect our communities and keep our streets safe with up to £17.6 billion this year, an increase of up to £1.2 billion. 'This includes £200 million to kickstart putting 13,000 additional neighbourhood police officers, PCSOs and special constables that the public will see back on their streets and patrolling communities, as part of our Plan for Change.' A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'This Government inherited prisons in crisis, close to collapse. We will never put the public at risk by running out of prison places again. 'We are building new prisons, on track for 14,000 places by 2031 – the largest expansion since the Victorians. 'Our sentencing reforms will force prisoners to earn their way to release or face longer in jail for bad behaviour, while ensuring the most dangerous offenders can be kept off our streets. 'We will also increase probation funding by up to £700 million by 2028/29 to tag and monitor tens of thousands more offenders in the community.'
