Tuesday 19 October 2004

By Maria Ahmed, Shirley Kumar and Amy
Taylor

Community judge appointed

Sheffield district judge David Fletcher has been appointed as
the first community justice judge who will preside over the
country’s first US-style one-stop crime shop.

He will move to Liverpool to head the £3m Community Justice
Centre based on a scheme in Red Hook, New York.

Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 19 October 2004, page
8

Missing mother found safe

A pregnant woman who went missing with her two sons has been
found safe and well.

Louisa Vowles of Chignall, Smealy, near Chelmsford has a history
of depression.

Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 19 October 2004, page
8

Sicknote culture must end, GPs told

The work and pensions secretary Alan Johnson warned doctors to
rethink the way in which they allowed people to claim incapacity
benefit.

He signalled a change in procedure is included in the
forthcoming public health white paper.

Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 19 October 2004, page
12

Productivity in NHS shows decline on all measures
despite increased spending

Office for National Statistics has found productivity in the
health sector has fallen consistently since 1997 according to new
figures.

Researchers concluded it fell between four and eight per cent in
the six years to 2003.

Source:- The Financial Times, 19 October 2004, page
1

Government to fund trial of heroin clinics

The Home Office has agreed to fund treatment for heroin users
that involves prescribing heroin rather than methadone.

The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse said the
government had agreed to trial three centres for an initial 18
months. It will involve clinics in Manchester and London.

Source:- The Financial Times, Tuesday 19 October 2004,
page 2

Bail hostel closes after riot

A bail hostel in Nuneaton has closed after a
“serious” race-related disturbance involving 100 people
last week. The trouble began after hostel residents taunted local
Muslims returning from Ramadan prayers.

Four residents were arrested for being in breach of bail
conditions. A spokesman for the National Offender Management
Service said that no residents or staff of the hostel had been
injured.

Source:-The Times 19 October 2004 page 2
 
Antisocial OAP

Alexander Muat, 87, the oldest man in Britain to be given an
anti-social behaviour order has appeared before Liverpool Crown
Court accused of harassing his neighbours. Muat, who is profoundly
deaf, denies seven counts of breaking his Asbo.

Source:-The Times 19 October 2004 page 2
 
‘It’s getting worse for vulnerable
parents’

Two months ago, The Daily Telegraph explored the problem of
children being taken into care after their parents had been falsely
accused of ill-treatment. Since then more than 40 couples have
defied the rules of secrecy to tell of their own experiences.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph 19 October 2004 page
17
 
Welsh newspapers

Missing boy is found

A missing boy from Anglesey who has learning difficulties has
been found safe and well 40 miles from his home.

A major police search was launched after the 12-year-old went
missing from his home in Amlwch on Sunday. He was found in Rhyl,
Denbighshire.

Source:- Western Mail, Tuesday, 19 October, page 9

‘Only 38 asylum seekers’

Some people living in Wrexham when race riots took place thought
there were 6,000 asylum seekers in the town when there were only
38.
The misconception is revealed in a report on the fighting at the
town’s Caia Park estate in June 2003.

Source:- Western Mail, Tuesday, 19 October, page 17

Scottish newspapers

Convicts who sue cost public £1m

Prisoners who are suing the government under human rights laws
could cost the Scottish taxpayer £1 million.

Figures show a huge rise in the number of inmates embarking on
legal action and prison sources think the recent “slopping-out”
case against the Scottish executive has acted as a catalyst to
opportunists.

The number of applications for legal aid from prisoners has
risen by more than 1,000 per cent from 17 in 2000-1 to 210 this
year.

Source:- The Scotsman  Tuesday 19 October

Life for serial sex offender who strangled boy,
eight

A serial sex offender was jailed for life yesterday at Glasgow
High Court for strangling an eight year old boy then dumping his
body.

Stuart Leggate, who had three previous convictions for sexually
assaulting children and who was on the sex offenders register when
he committed the murder, confessed to killing  Mark Cummings.

Source:- The Scotsman  Tuesday 19 October

‘Serious weakness’ exposed in cities social work
system

Scottish executive inspectors have claimed that “serious
weaknesses” in Glasgow Council’s social work department means
offenders are not being encouraged to stop offending.

The quality of court reports was also weak, according to a
report into the city’s criminal justice social work department.

Source:-The Scotsman  Tuesday 19 October

Jamieson says action needed to help cut
re-offending

Justice minister Cathy Jamieson yesterday said persistent
criminals need better treatment to prevent the “revolving door of
re-offending”.

A Scottish executive consultation exercise found a lack of
services to help offenders reform.

Source:- The Scotsman  Tuesday 19 October

Locals to be surveyed over fate of
Sighthill

A social survey will target thousands of tenants in a bid to
decide the fate of one of Scotland’s most disadvantaged areas.

Almost 2,000 tenants will be canvassed in the consultation
scheme by Glasgow Housing Association over Sighthill, which is
notorious for tensions over asylum seekers.

Source:- The Herald  Tuesday 19 October

Six accused are first to appear at special domestic
abuse court

Six men charged with assaulting their wives or partners were the
first accused to appear in Scotland’s first dedicated
domestic abuse court yesterday.

All six pleaded not guilty to a series of charges. Four were
given bail with a trial date at the beginning of December on the
condition they did not contact their partners. Two were refusd bail
and had trial dates set for next month.

Source:- The Herald  Tuesday 19 October