Friday 15 November 2002

By David Callaghan, Nicola Barry and Alex Dobson.

Blunkett says young tearaways shouild be taught
boxing

Home secretary David Blunkett told the annual Youth Justice
Board conference that youngsters should be taught boxing to stop
them entering a life of crime.

He said it would teach them “self-restraint, self-esteem,
control and ability to use aggression in a different way”.

Blunkett said he admired the work of Sheffield boxing trainer
Brendan Ingle, who trained Naseem Hamed.

Source:- The Independent Friday 15 November page 2

Mental Health Bill is back on the agenda

The government will still press ahead with plans to reform
mental health laws, even though the draft mental health bill was
not included in the Queen’s Speech.

There had been speculation that reform would be dropped, but
health secretary Alan Milburn told the House of Commons the plans
had merely been delayed.

He said: “The draft bill we issue for consultation, after we
consulted through a greeen paper, and a white paper, has produced
around 2,000 responses. When we have finished considering those
responses we will bring forward a bill during the course of this
session.”

Source:- The Independent Friday 15 November page 10

10-year-old offenders to be sent to foster
homes

Persistent young offenders could be taken away from their
families and placed with foster parents under government plans to
deal with youth crime.

Home secretary David Blunkett told the annual Youth Justice
Board conference that 75 per cent of crime was committed by
children under 17.

He said: “We are looking at intensive fostering schemes, where
young offenders are placed with specially trained and supported
foster parents, but at the same time can keep in touch with family,
friends and school.”

Source:- The Guardian Friday 15 November page 1

Child kidnap news flashes to interrupt
broadcasts

A new system of alerts involving news flashes on television and
radio when a child goes missing, is being piloted in Sussex.

The initiative, called Child Rescue Alert, is based on an
American system used in 15 states. There will also be signs by the
side of motorways to alert motorists to a child abduction, and
giving information of any vehicle involved.

Sarah Payne, the mother of the murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne,
said the scheme may not have saved her daughter becuase the only
information they had was that she had been taken in a white van,
but she believes it may help other children.

Source:- The Guardian Friday 15 November page 13

Scottish newspapers

Three years for baby death mother
The mother who sat and watched as her partner battered her baby to
death has been sentenced to three years custody.

Andrea Bone, aged 20, was found guilty of the unique offence of
culpable homicide, by “witnessing and countenancing”
the attack, and “wilfully failing to protect her
child”.

Her partner, Alexander McClure, was sentenced to life for the
murder of baby Nicole, and ordered to serve at least 13 years
before being considered for release.

Source:- The Scotsman Friday 15th November page 3
Drink fear for mums
Drinking in moderation during pregnancy can lead to “behavioural
and psychological deficits” during the child’s teenage years,
according to a new report.

The University of New Mexico research warns pregnant women and
health workers about  “subtle, long-term cognitive impairments”
that can be the result of moderate drinking.

Source:- Daily Record Friday 15th November page 5
Setback for heroin-on-prescription plan
New research has called into question the executive’s plans
to prescribe heroin to drug users.

The proposals, which mirror the Swiss approach, sought to
distance users from the criminal market, reducing both levels of
offending and the health risks associated with illegal drugs.

However, trials carried out by the University of Berne revealed
that patients on their programme had traces of impurities present
only in street heroin in their blood and hair. Thirty per
cent tested positive yet only 15 per cent had admitted to using
illicit heroin.

Alistair Ramsay, of Scotland Against Drugs, a critic of the
executive’s policy, said: “The hard-nosed reality is that
people who have a heroin problem would seek out such a facility and
use heroin in a broader way than they would otherwise.”

Source:- The Herald Friday 15th November 2001 page
4

Welsh newspapers

‘Nurse saw father trying to kill
baby’

A hospital nurse disturbed a father allegedly trying to murder
his seven-week-old son, a court was told.

Cardiff crown court heard that Nurse Gillian Smith had found the
baby’s father clutching the child’s face against his
own body in a cubicle at the Royal Gwent hospital in Newport in
November 1999.

Prosecutor, Robin Spencer QC said that it appeared that the man
was trying to suffocate the baby.

A year earlier another child of the family, a six-month-old baby
boy had died, and it was later discovered that he had suffered
serious physical abuse in the weeks leading up to his death. The
case is proceeding.

Source:- South Wales Argus Thursday 14 November page
7

Sacked social worker defends
whistle-blowing

A senior social worker who claims that he was sacked because he
raised concerns about children’s services in Cardiff has
defended his decision to take part in a local TV documentary where
he outlined his fears.

Charles Faber told an employment tribunal that he was sacked
because he appeared on the programme where he claimed vulnerable
children were in danger because of lack of resources.

The council says that Faber was sacked because of “gross
misconduct” linked to poor financial management. The tribunal is
proceeding.

Source:- South Wales Echo Thursday 14 November page
13

Cleared, freed – but still jobless

A nurse who was jailed for a crime that she did not commit is
still haunted by her experience.

Karen Morrell’s nightmare began when she was working as a
nursing home general manager, and was found guilty of the wilful
neglect of an older patient in her care.

Although she was cleared on appeal, she is still jobless and the
experience she says has left her scarred.

And now the 37-year-old from south Wales is calling for an
inquiry into the way the police carried out their investigation at
Blackmill Nursing Home in Bridgend.

Source:- Western Mail Friday 15 November page 1 and
7