A summary of social care stories from the main newspapers

By Clare Jerrom and Reg McKay.

Joyrider, 14, is first tagging guinea pig

A teenage joyrider became the first persistent young offender to
be punished through a surveillance programme yesterday.

The computer system can recognise youths’ faces if they appear
on CCTV footage in town centres, and a voice recognition system
that telephones the juvenile at various times of the day.

The £600,000 a year system will today be inspected by David
Blunkett in Newham, east London, before it is rolled out to 41
other areas at a cost of £45 million.

If the offenders are caught by the system, members of youth
offending teams or police are then instructed to deal with the
youth.

The first intensive supervision and surveillance programme was
imposed at a youth court in Stratford yesterday.

The 14 year old had his tag fitted yesterday afternoon.

Source:- The Times Tuesday 17 July page 9

Mother of son shot dead by police may sue

The mother of the mentally ill man shot dead by police has
claimed her son was no threat and may sue Merseyside police.

Marie Kernan called for the introduction of stun guns and
criticised the officers who shot her son dead last week.

Andrew Kernan, who suffers from schizophrenia, was shot twice
outside a pub near his home after officers repeatedly asked him to
drop a Samurai sword he was brandishing.

Greater Manchester Police are investigating the incident.

Source:- The Times Tuesday 17 July page 9

No 10 urged to act over tunnel stowaways

Tony Blair was urged last night to act to stop the growing
lawlessness at the port of Calais as hundreds of people a week
attempt to stowaway to Britain.

Eurotunnel said it was time the British government faced up to
its responsibilities to curb the violence against the tunnel
operator’s staff, and minimise the death of illegal
travellers.

Five have been killed and many injured having fallen off trains
or been electrocuted, but night after night hundreds of illegal
immigrants return to the Calais terminal.

Eurotunnel said it hoped French prime minister Lionel Jospin
would raise the issue with Blair as they are due to meet tomorrow
night at Downing Street.

Source:- The Times Tuesday 17 July page 13

‘Abused son’ loses estate claim

A man lost his battle for his mother’s £220,000
estate yesterday, having claimed the woman abused him as a
child.

A high court judge ruled that Raymond Marks could not prove the
abuse to the standard required for such serious allegations.

Marks claimed his mother interfered with him as a child, and had
full intercourse with him at the age of 13.

His mother left her estate to her two sisters having received a
letter from her son, blaming her for his traumatic childhood.

Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 17 July page 9

‘Reform or bust,’ Blair tells union
leaders

The prime minister announced his determination to make
increasing use of the private sector to improve public
services.

Tony Blair warned unions that he would not “flinch from the
decisions and changes to deliver better public services, no matter
how much opposition”.

The unions reacted angrily and demanded the proposals were put
to vote at the Labour conference. A poster campaign will now
begin.

Blair spelt out his public sector reforms in a document showing
how the private sector could be bought in to help “failing schools”
and prisons.

Source:- The Independent Tuesday 17 July page
8

Scottish newspapers

S cotland is a nation of drunks

A leading gastroenterologist, Dr W Stuart Hislop, of
Paisley’s Royal Alexandria Hospital, has accused the Scots of
failing to face up to the country’s abuse of alcohol. Dr
Hislop’s comments were made as the latest statistics revealed
that the number of annual deaths caused by alcohol abuse is three
times as high as deaths from drug abuse. Even more deaths from
alcohol abuse are hidden in factors such as cirrhosis of the liver,
ischaemic heart disease and accidents. Hislop warned that the
impact of alcohol abuse would place an intolerable burden on NHS
resources unless liberal attitudes to its availability were
reversed.

Source:- The Herald Tuesday 17 July page 1

New bedding designed to prevent cot deaths

A Scottish woman, Adrienne Nicol, has launched her own design of
blankets designed to prevent cot deaths which claims the lives of
eight babies a week in the UK. The design – a breathable
inner sheet and three removable thermal layers – is based on
government guidelines which have reduced the incidence of cot
deaths since their introduction in 1991.

Source:- The Herald Tuesday 17 July page 5