Tuesday 16 September 2003

By Amy Taylor, Clare Jerrom and Alex Dobson.
Child charity takeover
A children’s cancer charity was taken over by managers from the
Charity Commission last night after giving £75,000 to
charitable work from an income of £9 million.
The government watchdog said it had taken over the Cancer Care
Foundation due to concerns about alleged “serious mismanagement of
the charity and risk to its assets”.
The charity raises money for children’s hospices across Britain.
The commission’s concerns relate to the operation of Caring
Together Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary. This also provides
fundraising services to 150 other charities.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph 16 September Tuesday page 6
Met faces boycott in race row
The Metropolitan Black Police Association is telling new recruits
to avoid the force until an investigation into unfounded
allegations against an Iranian superintendent is launched.
Ali Dizaei, who was once tipped to be the first ethnic minority
chief constable, was subject to a four-year investigation by the
Met into allegations that he abused drugs, used prostitutes and
endangered national security. All were found to be false.
Source:- The Guardian 16 September Tuesday page 1
Reform to end anomalies in child death cases
Laws that according to the Law Commission leave three out of four
child killers unpunished must be quickly changed, the body said in
a new report.
Under present law, if a child was killed by two people and it is
believed that one of them is the killer, but there is no evidence
to prove which one, then they both go free.
The government has pledged to change the law, but was waiting for
today’s report from the official law reform body that also includes
a draft bill.
Source:- The Guardian 16 September Tuesday page 9
Number of offenders being tracked after release
rises
The levels of potentially dangerous and violent sex offenders being
tracked in the community has risen by 12 per cent in the past
year.
Paul Goggins, the prisons and probation minister, said the increase
was a result of the setting up of the multi-agency public
protection arrangements (Mappa) set up in April 2001.
The number of the “critical few”, hardcore paedophiles and others,
in England and Wales was published for the first time. These 2,843
criminals are under supervised tracking arrangements by probation,
social services and the police.
Source:- The Guardian 16 September Tuesday page 9
Seven years’ jail proposed for ignoring child
abuse
Relatives and neighbours who fail to take “reasonable steps” to
stop a child from being seriously injured or killed after
suspicions have been raised, could face up to seven years’
imprisonment under new proposals from the Law Commission.
The offence will only be enforced where it can be proved that any
adult with responsibility for a child was aware or should have been
aware that there was a “real risk” to their safety.
The commission said that parents will obviously be covered by the
new law, but that relatives and other possible carers such as
neighbours should also be included in times when they are looking
after the child such as if the parents are on holiday.
The Law Commission said that social workers and teachers should be
excluded from the ambit of the new crime. The government is
currently considering their proposals.
Source:- The Independent 16 September Tuesday page 8
Scottish newspapers
Pupils fear gang violence in Glasgow more than in
London
Pupils in Glasgow are more worried about gang violence than their
counterparts in south London, according to a study yesterday. Of
the pupils surveyed 39 per cent said they had been threatened in
the past year, and 18 per cent said they had been attacked
physically. Researchers say the results show a greater fear of
violence than in a similar survey in Croydon.
The survey was carried out by Mori for Glasgow Council and
Strathclyde
Police.
Source:- The Herald Tuesday 16 September
Teens think crime pays
Many Scottish teenagers think that crime pays while most wouldn’t
give breaking the law a second thought.
Just over half of Scots youths in Glasgow thought that crime paid
compared with the national average of 41 per cent.
However the figure rose to nearly 80 per cent of teenagers in some
of Britain’s inner cities.
Source:- Daily Record Tuesday 16 September
Drunk woman lets boy play in filthy flat
A drunken woman neglected a five-year-old child in a flat littered
with beer cans and dog excrement, a court heard yesterday.
Ann McKay downed drinks with friends leaving the boy unattended in
the Glasgow home.
Yesterday Sheriff Rita Rae gave McKay 18 months probation and
ordered her to attend alcohol counselling after being found guilty
of neglect.
Source:- Daily Record Tuesday 16 September
Electronic tags spark a warning
The Scottish executive has been warned that tagging
juveniles would be counter productive as the electronic devices are
liable to be worn as “badges of honour” by young offenders.
Simon Jacquet, director of Youthlink, an umbrella organisation for
youth services in Scotland, said that while wearing an electronic
tag would be a disincentive to commit crime to most people,
teenagers could view it as something to show off to their
friends.
Instead there should be more diversionary activities such as sport
and theatre workshops.
Source:- The Herald Tuesday 16 September
Guidelines on taking pictures of school pupils back on
agenda
Plans to prevent parents in Edinburgh filming their
child’s school nativity play are back on the table for
discussion.
The issue is being put to parents at a meeting next week and fresh
guidelines could be in place before this year’s festive season. The
scheme aims to protect children from paedophiles.
Source:- The Herald Tuesday 16 September
Welsh newspapers
Help for street children
A south Wales couple who went to Iraq to act as human shields are
returning to the country, to set up an orphanage.
Kevin and Helen Williams from Newport said that they want to help
children who have been left homeless following the war.
Helen Williams said that there are now thousands of children living
on the streets of Baghdad because their homes have been destroyed
and family members killed.
Source:- South Wales Argus Monday 15 September page 3
Teachers targeted by bullies
A two-page report looking at the growing problem of physical abuse
that teachers face from violent parents and children.
Welsh education minister Jane Davidson has been so concerned about
the rise in disruptive behaviour in the classroom that she has
recently announced new proposals for excluding violent
pupils.
Source:- South Wales Argus Monday 15 September pages 8-9
Poor transport means disabled miss out
Hundreds of disabled people in Wales are missing out on leading
full lives because of poor transport.
More than six out of 10 disabled people have not been to the cinema
for at least a year, and some even have to reject job offers
because of transport problems, according to new research from
disability charity, Leonard Cheshire.
The report-Mind The Gap- also found that two-thirds of disabled
people cannot visit family and friends when they want to because of
lack of accessible and affordable transport.
Source:- Western Mail Tuesday 16 September page 10
Elderly call on the Assembly to act
Older people in Wales should be kept high on assembly
members’ agendas during the second term of the Welsh
Assembly.
The charity Age Concern Cymru will launch its ‘Key
Messages’ for policy makers to coincide with Age Concern week
(27 Sept-4 Oct),  and it is calling on politicians to tackle a
range of issues affecting the lives of older people in the
principality.
Source:- Western Mail Tuesday 16 September page 11