Latest news with #PoliceChiefs
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
UK police should consider revealing ethnicity of suspects, says new guidance
Police forces should consider disclosing the ethnicity and migration status of suspects when they are charged in high-profile and sensitive investigations, according to new official guidance. After a row over claims that police 'covered up' the backgrounds of two men charged in connection with the alleged rape of a child, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing have backed plans to release details of nationality when there is a 'policing purpose' for doing so. This could be to reduce the risk to public safety, 'where there are high levels of mis- or disinformation about a particular incident', or in cases of significant public interest, senior police said. The decision to release new guidance has been praised by a former senior prosecutor, who said it could help counter rumours and disinformation which spread on social media. But it will also anger some anti-racist campaigners, who have expressed concern that such proposals could risk framing violence against women and girls as an issue of ethnicity instead of misogyny. The decision comes after Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, urged police to release the details of ethnicity last week. Forces are already encouraged to publicise charging decisions in serious cases, the NPCC said. Decisions on whether to release this information will remain with forces, an NPCC statement said, with wider legal and ethical considerations. The Home Office will decide if it is 'appropriate in all the circumstances' to confirm immigration status of a suspect, the guidance said. Failure to share basic facts about the Southport killer last summer led to 'dangerous fictions' which helped spark rioting, an independent watchdog found. Jonathan Hall KC, the UK's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said it would have been 'far better' for the authorities to share more accurate detail about the arrest of Axel Rudakubana on 29 July last year. Far-right agitators wrongly claimed that the killer was a Muslim asylum seeker. Deputy chief constable Sam de Reya, the NPCC lead for communications and media, said: 'We saw during last summer's disorder, as well as in several recent high-profile cases, what the major, real-world consequences can be from what information police release into the public domain. 'We have to make sure our processes are fit for purpose in an age of social media speculation and where information can travel incredibly quickly across a wide range of channels. 'Disinformation and incorrect narratives can take hold in a vacuum. It is good police work for us to fill this vacuum with the facts about issues of wider public interest.' Nazir Afzal, the former chief crown prosecutor for North West England, cautiously welcomed the decision. 'Trust is so low that more transparency is a good thing, as recent experience has shown. It has to be on a case by case basis though,' he said. The Warwickshire police and crime commissioner, Philip Seccombe, called for fresh national guidance after police were accused by Reform UK of failing to confirm that two Afghan men being prosecuted for an alleged attack on a 12-year-old girl were asylum seekers. The alleged rape, said to have happened on 22 July, was at the centre of a political storm after the Reform leader, Nigel Farage, amplified claims of a police cover-up. Ahmad Mulakhil has been charged with rape and Mohammad Kabir has been charged with kidnap and strangulation.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
UK police should consider revealing ethnicity of suspects, says new guidance
Police forces should consider disclosing the ethnicity and migration status of suspects when they are charged in high-profile and sensitive investigations, according to new official guidance. After a row over claims that police 'covered up' the backgrounds of two men charged in connection with the alleged rape of a child, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing have backed plans to release details of nationality when there is a 'policing purpose' for doing so. This could be to reduce the risk to public safety, 'where there are high levels of mis- or disinformation about a particular incident', or in cases of significant public interest, senior police said. The decision to release new guidance has been praised by a former senior prosecutor, who said it could help counter rumours and disinformation which spread on social media. But it will also anger some anti-racist campaigners, who have expressed concern that such proposals could risk framing violence against women and girls as an issue of ethnicity instead of misogyny. The decision comes after Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, urged police to release the details of ethnicity last week. Forces are already encouraged to publicise charging decisions in serious cases, the NPCC said. Decisions on whether to release this information will remain with forces, an NPCC statement said, with wider legal and ethical considerations. The Home Office will decide if it is 'appropriate in all the circumstances' to confirm immigration status of a suspect, the guidance said. Failure to share basic facts about the Southport killer last summer led to 'dangerous fictions' which helped spark rioting, an independent watchdog found. Jonathan Hall KC, the UK's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said it would have been 'far better' for the authorities to share more accurate detail about the arrest of Axel Rudakubana on 29 July last year. Far-right agitators wrongly claimed that the killer was a Muslim asylum seeker. Deputy chief constable Sam de Reya, the NPCC lead for communications and media, said: 'We saw during last summer's disorder, as well as in several recent high-profile cases, what the major, real-world consequences can be from what information police release into the public domain. 'We have to make sure our processes are fit for purpose in an age of social media speculation and where information can travel incredibly quickly across a wide range of channels. 'Disinformation and incorrect narratives can take hold in a vacuum. It is good police work for us to fill this vacuum with the facts about issues of wider public interest.' Nazir Afzal, the former chief crown prosecutor for North West England, cautiously welcomed the decision. 'Trust is so low that more transparency is a good thing, as recent experience has shown. It has to be on a case by case basis though,' he said. The Warwickshire police and crime commissioner, Philip Seccombe, called for fresh national guidance after police were accused by Reform UK of failing to confirm that two Afghan men being prosecuted for an alleged attack on a 12-year-old girl were asylum seekers. The alleged rape, said to have happened on 22 July, was at the centre of a political storm after the Reform leader, Nigel Farage, amplified claims of a police cover-up. Ahmad Mulakhil has been charged with rape and Mohammad Kabir has been charged with kidnap and strangulation.
The Guardian
30-06-2025
- The Guardian
Most women in England and Wales report abusive behaviour to them or others, poll finds
A majority of women have direct experience of violence or harassment, or know someone who has suffered it in the last year, a poll has found. The poll finds little faith in police or government to stem the tide of male violence, and most believe the problem has got worse. The survey was presented to a private meeting attended by police chiefs and police and crime commissioners just under three weeks ago. It was conducted by Zencity and based on almost 1,800 female respondents aged over 16 across England and Wales. The large scale and high frequency of violence against and harassment of women is something law enforcement and the government are trying to get a grip on. Women were asked: 'In the last 12 months, have any of the following behaviours happened to a woman/girl that you personally know … or have you heard or seen them happening to any woman/girl … (in your daily life) … domestic abuse, sexual harassment, sexual violence, stalking, taking/sharing intimate images without consent.' Of women surveyed, 69% said they have first or secondhand experience of women being ill treated within the last 12 months. That includes a majority, 55%, of women aged 55 and over. For women aged 16-34 the figure was 74%, and similar for those aged 35 to 54. Three out of four women surveyed said violence and harassment was a serious problem, and asked whether it had got worse in the last five years, 42% agreed, 28% disagreed and 30% thought it was the same. Those who argue the system is failing have battled for years to have the issue taken seriously. A watershed occurred after a Metropolitan police officer kidnapped and murdered Sarah Everard in March 2021 and then Met officer David Carrick was unveiled as a serial sexual offender after the force missed repeated chances to identify him as a threat to women. The poll found that four out of 10 women do not believe police treat violence and harassment of women seriously, and 16% disagree. Asked about confidence in key institutions to keep them safe, that is police, the Crown Prosecution Service, the courts and local councils, confidence in police was 34%, and lower for courts and prosecutors at three out of 10, and lower still for councils. The new police national lead on violence against woman and girls (VAWG), Helen Millichap, said: 'We need to keep these issues at the top of the agenda, and the societal outrage we see in response to these crimes needs to remain. We need to challenge misogynistic views that only serve to drive these crimes. 'Policing has a role to play, and we are up for the challenge, but we are only one part of a wider system that must play their part. 'What I want, is to show the public that progress is happening and for them to be confident that it is happening everywhere.' Four out of 10 told the survey they would report online harassment, almost the same number said they would not, and more than one in 10 said they would not report a rape or assault by a partner. Police believe the extent of violence against women is under-reported and the survey said: 'The most common reasons for hesitation [in reporting] are the belief that the police wouldn't act (31%) or wouldn't believe them (25%). These concerns outweigh more practical barriers such as the process being too hard or slow (18%). This indicates that hesitation is driven more by distrust in the outcome than by the mechanics of reporting … Restoring trust that reports will be taken seriously and lead to action is essential to encouraging more women to come forward.'
New York Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Six Ways Cities Are Trying to Keep Rental Properties and Tenants Safe
This spring, as lawmakers in the Illinois State Senate debated a bill that would restrict local programs known as crime-free housing, hundreds of witnesses showed up to share their views on the proposed changes. City officials and police chiefs argued that ordinances governing the programs, which can require landlords to evict renters who have had contact with law enforcement, should stay as they are. Aggressive ordinances are needed, they said, to help the police oust drug dealers who set up shop in apartment buildings, and to compel landlords to deal with problems at their properties. Housing advocates and renters spoke in support of major changes, pointing to multiple instances of discriminatory and unlawful enforcement. Landlords also pleaded for further regulation, telling senators they had no interest in acting as the enforcement arm of the police. It is a debate that has intensified over the past three decades as the number of crime-free housing programs spread from a handful of early adopters to more than 2,000 municipalities across 42 states. An investigation by The New York Times and The Illinois Answers Project found that in recent years, hundreds of people have been evicted in Illinois, many of them over minor infractions that occurred nowhere near their homes. Sometimes people were threatened with eviction after they called 911 for help. Over the years, many state and local governments have amended their ordinances to try to avoid such outcomes, often with mixed results. Some cities have looked to alternative strategies to keep rental properties and their tenants safe. Here are six of them. 1. Protect Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence In 2015, Illinois passed statewide legislation prohibiting what was found to be one of the most troubling unintended consequences of crime-free housing programs: The ordinances sometimes punished the victims of crimes. In many municipalities with these laws, the police order a landlord to evict a tenant after receiving a set number of 911 calls from or about a specific apartment; without much investigation, everyone in the household is forced to move. Victims of domestic violence were losing their homes after reporting abusive partners. Some survivors, fearing eviction, avoided calling the police for help. The 2015 legislation made it illegal to use crime-free housing laws against renters who called 911 to report incidents of domestic or sexual violence. Iowa and Pennsylvania made similar changes after the evictions of battered women in those states were publicized. But the new provisions have not adequately protected victims, according to many people who originally fought for the changes, because police officers still must decide whether to categorize an incident as domestic violence. A recent report issued by a coalition of housing advocates in Illinois found that in many municipalities, domestic violence reports were still triggering evictions. In the Chicago suburb of Rolling Meadows, for instance, a majority of the removal orders in 2023 were prompted by domestic violence calls. In Belleville, in Southern Illinois, domestic violence 911 calls led to more than a hundred eviction orders from 2021 to 2024. 'Ten years later, we're still seeing discriminatory enforcement,' said Emily Coffey, who worked on the report as part of her job at the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. 'We're still seeing enforcement against survivors of domestic violence,' she said, 'even though it's clearly a violation of state and federal law.' 2. Prohibit Evictions Based on 911 Calls A New York State law passed in 2019 required municipalities with crime-free programs to protect people who call emergency services for any reason. 'Despite their intent to aid communities, overly broad ordinances have instead had a harmful chilling effect deterring victims of violence and crime from accessing police assistance and have jeopardized public safety,' the legislation states. The law dictates that any renter in the state has the right to contact emergency services without reprisal, and it protects landlords from being fined or from losing their license if they don't evict a tenant based on the number of calls to the police. The American Civil Liberties Union of New York maintains a 'Know Your Rights' page about the law on its website, with a link to its services and a message for both renters and landlords in case an eviction order is prompted by calling 911: 'You can bring an action in court for damages or for the eviction to be undone.' 3. Limit Enforcement to Serious Crimes Cities that aggressively enforce crime-free housing laws can evict tenants for the violation of virtually any law or municipal code. In some cities, setting off fireworks or allowing a minor to drink a beer could lead to an eviction. In 2019, California issued statewide regulations limiting the enforcement of crime-free ordinances to serious offenses. The state prohibited cities from initiating evictions based on overly broad definitions of crime. Faribault, Minn., tried something similar after the A.C.L.U. accused it in a lawsuit of discriminating against Black residents, including a growing Somali population. As part of a 2022 settlement, Faribault agreed to revise its ordinance, which now spells out the specific offenses that can lead to an eviction. John Sherwin, who became Faribault's police chief as the settlement was being finalized, said the city of about 25,000 was small enough that each time an offense at a rental property occurred, his officers checked with him about whether it warranted a crime-free action. 'We are not evicting for anything less than a felony,' Chief Sherwin said. 'I think this is just a smarter way to do it. This ordinance is for dealing with what's causing the most social harm in the community, and those are serious felonies.' 4. Require Due Process and Oversight In Richton Park, 30 miles south of Chicago, Diamond Jones and her family were ordered out of their home after calling the police multiple times in 2022 to report shootings and threats against them. At the time, the city's crime-free housing program had no appeals process. Ms. Jones later sued, and as part of a settlement reached in 2025, Richton Park began giving tenants an opportunity to dispute the allegations against them and argue against an eviction. John Murphey, the town attorney who wrote the amended ordinance, said there had yet to be an appeal under the new policy. But he stressed that he designed the process to be convenient and low-cost for renters. 'Rather than hiring a lawyer and fighting it out in eviction court, this gives an early opportunity for the tenant to tell his or her side of the story,' Mr. Murphey said. The legislation under consideration in Illinois would require that all crime-free programs have a similar appeals process. 5. Rental Registration, Complaint Hotlines and Code Enforcement When asked about the underlying problems crime-free housing policies are meant to solve, local officials often point to absentee landlords, investors who buy properties but aren't around to properly manage or maintain them. According to Chief Sherwin, it was a 'recipe for crime to thrive.' But there are other ways to make rental properties safer and more orderly. By creating a detailed registry for all rental buildings, municipalities could maintain control over unresponsive landlords by threatening them with the loss of their registration or with fines if they repeatedly fail to deal with code violations or problematic tenants. To identify issues early, towns could conduct routine inspections of rental properties and create a hotline for tenant complaints. Peoria, Ill., which in 2020 settled a federal housing discrimination lawsuit tied to its crime-free practices, now relies heavily on other tenant laws governing lease violations and evictions, and its code enforcement division seeks to connect renters with support services and free legal aid. Peoria also expanded a rehousing program, which allows the city to sue landlords for code violations and gives part of any recouped funds to tenants to help them find a new home. A crime-free ordinance 'is a tool we have,' said Joe Dulin, the city's community development director. 'It's not the first tool we ever want to use.' 6. Repeal or Ban Ordinances Several years ago, St. Louis Park, a city in the Minneapolis suburbs, went through an elaborate process to analyze possible improvements to its crime-free housing practices following local news reports that showed the city had evicted hundreds of people, often for incidents that weren't even crimes. After nine months, the group appointed by the city to study the issue proposed two solutions: St. Louis Park could keep its ordinance but carry out a long list of needed changes, or the city could repeal it, while also requiring landlords to get licenses and register their properties. In the end, the St. Louis Park City Council voted unanimously to do away with crime-free housing. Other municipalities across the country have also repealed their crime-free ordinances, usually after facing lawsuits or threats of legal action. Last year, California banned the regulations statewide. In Illinois, the proposed legislation would not go that far. Cities could still require landlords to evict renters convicted of a felony that occurred on a rental property. But most other enforcement would be curtailed. 'It's a community safety issue,' said State Senator Karina Villa, the bill's chief sponsor, of the efforts to restrict the policies. 'People should feel safe to contact their law enforcement without fear of repercussions, without fear of ending up on the streets.' Reporting for this article was supported by a grant from the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. Funders have no control over the selection and focus of stories or the editing process and do not review stories before publication. The Times retains full editorial control of this story.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police chiefs hit back at watchdog over call for action on social media posts
Police chiefs have hit out at a watchdog report that called on forces to work faster to counter misleading social media posts such as those that fuelled last summer's riots. His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services called on social media companies, Ofcom and the police to take quicker action to tackle false information in times of disorder. Head of the watchdog, Sir Andy Cooke, told journalists that misinformation and disinformation posted on social media helped fuel the disorder across England last summer, and misleading posts were left up too long. He spoke to journalists as the watchdog's second report on the policing response to the riots was published. The report said forces had not heeded recommendations given by the inspectorate in 2011 and 2021 about intelligence relating to disorder, as well as dealing with social media. Force chiefs need to be prepared to counter false information or a lack of information with the truth, Sir Andy said, and should consider how to be more open with journalists from established mainstream media outlets about all major investigations. 'Forces can't control or counter the speed and volume of online content, that goes without saying, but they need to better appreciate how fast-moving events will require them to counter the false narratives online and be innovative in their approach,' he said. 'They need to fill the information void that we saw throughout this disorder that was filled with so much misinformation and disinformation, because that misinformation, disinformation, could go viral very, very quickly. 'So policing cannot be passive when public safety is at risk.' Some forces have an 'exceptionally limited' ability to deal with content online due to a lack of resources, the report said. But the chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council, Gavin Stephens, said 'a more balanced assessment' is needed. He said: 'While there are lessons to learn, it is crucial to acknowledge that law enforcement does not – and should not – regulate online content. 'Responsibility for ensuring information is accurate and does not fuel harm lies with those posting it, platform providers and regulatory bodies.' The report included a comment from one force head of communications who told inspectors the police service had 'no proper answer' for managing misinformation and disinformation. Mr Stephens continued: 'The report states that policing has 'no proper answer' for tackling misinformation and disinformation, but the issue extends far beyond law enforcement. 'No public sector organisation or body responsible for public safety is fully equipped to address the scale and complexity of the problem.
