Latest news with #WestMercia
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Cash pressure forced PCSOs' 20:00 finish plan'
"Financial challenges" have forced the need for a consultation on police community support officers (PCSOs) finishing shifts by 20:00, a new police chief has admitted. Chief Constable Richard Cooper said West Mercia Police would be saving money on extra payment officers get when they work unsociable hours. Following a backlash over the plan by councillors in Shropshire last month, Mr Cooper stressed that if the consultation pans out, the same amount of PCSOs would still be working the same amount of hours. "Its not a case of do we need to save money, it's how do we save the money?," he told BBC Hereford & Worcester. "The cost of running the organisation is now stripping the funding available to us," he said, speaking on the mid-morning Hot Seat spot, on Thursday. "We've had to make some really difficult considerations. Our police staff and officers receive an unsociable hours payment for working into the evening and we need to save money." As chief constable Mr Cooper - who was appointed in March after working in the role temporarily since last August - is responsible for the delivery of operational policing across Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire. A caller on the programme's phone-in had asked about whether the PCSOs are needed later than 20:00. In response, Mr Cooper said many officers deal with anti-social behaviour issues, which generally "diminishes rapidly" by that time. "The data supports the fact the peak [for anti-social behaviour] is between 5 and 6. It starts dropping thereafter and stops dramatically after 8 o'clock," he explained. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Backlash over plan for no PCSOs after 8pm West Mercia Police
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Malvern shop fire treated by police as arson attack
A fire that broke out in a shop in Malvern is being treated by police as an arson West Mercia force said no-one was injured in the blaze in the early hours at The Fountain Stores but "it could have been a very different outcome if the building had been occupied".Emergency teams tackled the fire at the building on Court Road at about 04:00 for information, PC David Oczak urged people to contact him with information and asked those in the area to check doorbell and dashcam footage. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Guardian
7 days ago
- The Guardian
West Mercia police accused of ‘shaming' alleged victim of child sexual abuse
A police force that admits negligently breaching the anonymity of an alleged victim of child sexual abuse has been accused of 'victim shaming' after citing her subsequent public campaigning as reason for reduced compensation. The identity of Heidi Clutterbuck, 53, was revealed in error to a witness by a West Mercia police detective in 2015 as the officer carried out an investigation into her claims of being abused by her late brother. After years of legal wrangling at a cost to Clutterbuck of £193,000, the force formally admitted liability in court documents filed earlier this month, but police lawyers are arguing her decision to then go public about her experiences diminishes her claim for damages. West Mercia police cite in support of their defence Clutterbuck's decision to give evidence at the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse established by Theresa May and to speak to media, including to the BBC. The force claims: 'In or about July 2017, the claimant participated in a victim and survivor seminar held as part of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA), in the course of which the claimant disclosed her status as a survivor of child sexual abuse and shared her experiences of reporting the offence to the police. 'The claimant's comments/account appear alongside her name in transcripts of the seminars on the IICSA website; the claimant has also shared her experiences and commentary on the issue on Twitter (since 2016), via a Facebook blog, on a BBC programme etc. 'The claimant's decision to share her experiences (not long after the disclosure which is the subject of this claim, in much greater detail than in the disclosure and with the world at large rather than a single family member), while entirely within her rights and representing a valuable contribution to the public discourse, is nonetheless a highly material event which overtakes and supersedes the defendant's breach of duty.' Clutterbuck, a mother of five who lives in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, said she had been horrified to discover the officer's error in revealing her identity after receiving a message on Facebook late at night, but that she would not have gone on to make the legal claim if an immediate apology had been offered. She said: 'I was so scared, and I was so scared [for] my young children, and it just was awful. It was a Saturday night, so there's nothing I could do. Spent the whole night up crying. I was at the police station at first light … They were just really dismissive, and it just that's when everything changed. I became the enemy of them. Well, you know, that's my perception of it. 'I spent three and a half years going through the complaint system, being told at every step of the way, this is not a breach, this is not a breach, this is not a breach.' Clutterbuck got legal representation in 2018 and her claim was made in 2021 but the formal admission of liability by West Mercia police was only recently made in an amended defence filed at court. She said her decision to speak about her abuse after the officer had revealed her identity was made in an attempt to get control of her situation. She said: 'To my mind, the only solution to that type of thing happening is to actually take control and say, I give up anonymity, and I am going to speak on this topic, and I am going to not have the shame that you give me. Still in the papers that have gone to the high court, they criticise me and use it as a way of downgrading their damage. 'This is why victims don't challenge the police, because they have the public purse. It is appalling that they're using public money to fight these cases where actually: you've admitted liability.' Clutterbuck added: 'Nobody else really has the right to know I'm a victim of sexual abuse unless I choose to tell them. And the very notion that the people that you trust and that actually are protecting you are the ones that breach that trust and place you in that position is appalling.' Maria Mulla, a barrister who is working with victims of the late owner of Harrods Mohamed Al Fayed, is representing Clutterbuck. She said: 'The decision to disclose or not is a colossal one for survivors of sexual abuse and in particular child sexual abuse. 'West Mercia police stole Heidi's lifetime right to absolute anonymity, a right that is enshrined in legislation. Once this had been stolen from her Heidi had no choice but to be brave and take back control by advocating for others.' West Mercia police declined a request for comment.
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Backlash over plan for no PCSOs after 8pm
A decision by a police force to stop employing PCSOs after 20:00 has faced a backlash from local Bayliss, Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner for West Mercia Police, said the change would mean no reduction in hours, with shifts switching to earlier in the he said the chief constable had suggested the 20:00 cut off, because it would mean PCSOs would not need to be paid an additional shift councillor Roger Evans, a member of the Lib Dem group which now runs the authority, said the idea was "intolerable". He said he could not recall the change being part of budget consultations and he worried it would leave some areas without police cover in the evenings."!A number of people have contacted me saying they're very upset about the loss of police and availability in the evenings, especially in the summer," he Bayliss said there would be extra police officers on duty to "bolster our availabilities to cover those night time economy areas".Viv Parry a Shropshire councillor in Ludlow, also raised concerns and said she has struggled to speak to a police officer about issues in her Bayliss said he shared her concerns about overstretched police officers and said: "The policing guarantee is likely to mean more officers in Ludlow int he very near future." This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Shopkeeper is 'gobsmacked' after picture of Enoch Powell in her window is recorded by police as 'non-crime hate incident'
A grandmother is under investigation over a 'non-crime hate incident' after she displayed a photo of Enoch Powell in her shop window. The portrait was placed next to an extract of the late Conservative MP's famous 1968 "rivers of blood" speech in which he warned mass migration would lead to violence on Britain's streets. West Mercia Police are now carrying out enquiries into the image, saying it was reported as 'offensive content'. It comes as shopkeeper Elizabeth Griffiths had also given photos of Winston Churchill, Jesus, St Francis of Assisi and Donald Trump pride of place in her street-facing window. The rivers of blood speech got its name from its allusion to the Roman poet Virgil where Mr Powell famously stated 'as I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding. Like the Roman, I seem to see the River foaming with much blood'. It was condemned by the mainstream media at the time and effectively ended the then-55-year-old's political career. Mr Powell has since proved a controversial figure, though there are claims Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer's "Island of Strangers" speech earlier this month has vindicated him - with the late MP having said over 50 years ago British people would find themselves 'strangers in their own country'. The rivers of blood speech got its name from its allusion to the Roman poet Virgil where Mr Powell famously stated 'as I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding. Like the Roman, I seem to see the River foaming with much blood' What was Enoch Powell's "rivers of blood" speech? Enoch Powell became a Conservative MP in 1950 and had risen to become Shadow Defence Secretary at the time of his speech. It was first delivered to local Conservative party members in Birmingham, ahead of a second reading of the Race Relations Act 1968. Feeling distressed at what he felt was his party's weak opposition to the Labour government's immigration policy, he resolved to speak out, in the strongest possible terms, about what he felt had to be done. Powell's 25-minute speech contained high rhetoric and vivid language. It warned, in the starkest possible terms, that unless immigration was stopped — and immigrants already in the UK were given financial incentives to return home — there would be racial strife of a seriousness never before seen in Britain. He quoted the poet Virgil when he said: 'Like the Roman, I seem to see the River Tiber foaming with much blood,' from where the speech takes its 'rivers of blood' name. In his speech, Powell also quoted extensively from two of his own constituents. One was 'a middle-aged working man' who, he claimed, had told him: 'I have three children; all of them been through grammar school and two of them are married now, with family. I shan't be satisfied till I have seen them all settled overseas. 'In this country in 15 or 20 years' time the black man will have the whip hand over the white man.' The other constituent was an elderly woman who claimed to be the last remaining white British person on her Wolverhampton street. 'She is becoming afraid to go out,' said Powell. 'Windows are broken. She finds excreta pushed through her letterbox. When she goes to the shops she is followed by children — charming, wide-grinning piccaninnies.' Ms Griffiths, a Reform UK activist and grandmother of 12 said she had showcased the images to 'promote powerful leaders'. The trader, who runs Mumfords, an ironmonger in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire placed the image of Mr Powell in her window in February. Following the police investigation, which began last week after a member of public claimed the portrait was offensive, Ms Griffiths has since placed a photo of Mr Starmer in her window to suggest his recent speech proves Mr Powell was correct. A spokesman for West Mercia Police said: 'On 16 May, we received a report of offensive content displayed in a shop window on Church Street in Cleobury Mortimer. 'This is being treated as a hate incident, and inquiries are ongoing.' The spokesman later clarified it was being treated as a non-crime hate incident (NCHI). Ms Griffiths claimed the report to police was a 'vendetta' because she had campaigned for Reform UK in the local elections earlier this month. She added she had received 'absolutely no police contact whatsoever' about the alleged 'hate incident' and had not been spoken to by officers about it. The Brexiteer explained: 'I am gobsmacked and baffled beyond belief. I did it to promote powerful leaders. 'For some reason, three and a half months later, there is a decision to try and focus on just one picture. 'I am not racist in any shape or form. Oh, good gracious no. I deal with Muslims every week. The Muslims I deal with are generally entrepreneurial. They are successful in business. They haven't come across on boats.' She concluded: 'I'm used to being bullied for standing up for what I believe in.' Mr Powell spoke German, French, Italian, Modern Greek, and Urdu. A poll taken after his controversial speech reported 74 per cent of Britons agreed with his opinions on mass immigration. But some public figures denounced it as 'evil', claiming the speech would stoke division and encourage generalisations. Conservative politician Michael Heseltine stated in its aftermath that if Enoch Powell had stood for leadership of the Conservative party he would have won 'by a landslide' and if he had stood to be Prime Minister he would have won by a 'national landslide'.
