Tuesday 16 November 2004

By Maria Ahmed, Clare Jerrom and Amy Taylor

Short prison sentences should be scrapped because they
create overcrowded prisons and do not reform criminals, a report
commissioned by the think tank Rethinking Crime and Punishment
says.

The inquiry headed by Lord Coulsfield says early release schemes
undermine confidence in the system.

Source:- The Times Tuesday 16 November 2004 page 4

Could you be related to a real-life Oliver Twist?

The National Archive releases prison records of children as young
as 10 from the Victorian era online at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Source:- The Times Tuesday 16 November 2004 page 11

Spalding, Lincs: drug death capital

Country towns joins inner-city sink estates scarred by the effects
of fatal substance abuse, according to a new report by the
National
Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths.

The report, published by Melanie Johnson, Minister for Public
Health, was based on the number of deaths reported by
coroners.

Source:- The Times Tuesday 16 November 2004 page 19

Doctor fighting for his future after slapping a girl of
three

GP Dr Martin Wolson could be barred from practising for smacking a
girl of three after she hit out at him.

The local healthcare trust investigated and ruled he presented no
danger to patients but the girl’s parents have reported him
to the General Medical Council and are pressing for
compensation.

Source:- The Daily Mail Tuesday 16 November 2004 page
5

The growing link between drug use and mental illness

Drug abuse could be fuelling a surge in mental health problems, say
researchers.

The findings by a team from Keele University in Staffordshire
reinforce earlier evidence of a link between psychotic symptoms,
schizophrenia and depression and the use of illegal drugs,
particularly cannabis.

Source:- The Daily Mail Tuesday 16 November 2004 page
17

Give contraceptive jab to underage girls, says Hodge

Children’s Minister Margaret Hodge said contraceptive
injections should be given to sexually active girls under the age
of consent.

Her remarks were quoted in a newspaper interview.

Source:- The Daily Mail Tuesday 16 November 2004 page
27

Child abuse will spread, report warns

Child abuse will become increasingly widespread unless radical
action is taken, a report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation warns.
Only two out of every 100 sex offences results in conviction.

Source:- The Independent Tuesday 16 November 2004 page
12

Bullying partner to be tracked

Mark Taylor will be Britain’s first domestic violence
offender to be tagged with satellite tracking technology, it
emerged yesterday.

Taylor, from Oldbury, West Midlands, was fitted with the device and
ordered to stay away from his ex-partner’s home after he
admitted assaulting her.

Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 16 November 2004 page
6

Blair intervened in move to expel asylum seekers

Tony Blair repeatedly intervened in an attempt to deport asylum
seekers to Egypt despite being told that they might be tortured and
sentenced to death.

Court documents show how he tried to get Egypt to give assurances
that the men would be humanely treated.

Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 16 November 2004 page
7

Girl, 14, hanged herself

A coroner yesterday recorded an open verdict on a 14-year-old girl
who hanged herself after hearing false rumours that her boyfriend
was about to leave her.

Kathryn Wise was found by her mother, Suzanne, at home in Alton,
Hampshire, in September.

Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 16 November 2004 page
7

Public get online voice on court TV

The lord chancellor, Lord Falconer, yesterday invited the public to
take part in an interactive forum to decide whether cameras should
be allowed into the English courts. The forum is on the website of
the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 16 November 2004 page
9

Charity attacks rural retreats

Homelessness is increasing more quickly in rural than in urban
areas, according to Shelter, the housing charity in a report
released today, ‘Priced out: the rising cost of rural
homes.’

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Tuesday 16 November 2004 page
3

88-year-old nuisance escapes jail

A great-grandfather who made his neighbour’s lives a misery
has escaped jail but was warned he will be locked up if he offends
again.

Alexander Muat, 88, was the oldest person to receive an antisocial
behaviour order (Asbo) when it was imposed by magistrates in
Huyton, Merseyside, last year.

Muat tormented his neighbours by verbally abusing and threatening
them. The judge said Muat would not go to prison because of his age
after he breached the Asbo.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Tuesday 16 November 2004 page
6

Scottish newspapers

Community backs couple’s bid to save gypsy-style home

A young couple who want to continue living in a gypsy-style caravan
on the outskirts of a Highland village have been backed by the
villagers.

John Gibson and his partner Maz Pinto have lived in a horse drawn
wagon in the Moray village of Urquhart for three years. But Moray
Council officials are opposing plans for Gibson to retain his wagon
as a permanent residence claiming the proposal is contrary to the
local development plan.

In an unprecedented move, more than 200 villagers in Urquhart and
the neighbouring village of Lhanbryde have submitted a petition to
the local authority, urging it to allow the couple to remain in
their caravan home.

Source:- The Scotsman  Tuesday 16 November

Trial delay

No evidence was heard at the trial of Luke Mitchell
yesterday.

The 16-year-old is accused of murdering his girlfriend Jodi Jones
in their home town of Dalkeith in Midlothian in the summer of last
year.

Lord Nimmo Smith gave no reason for the trial not resuming.

Source:- The Scotsman  Tuesday 16 November

Computer link to blindness

People who spend hours watching computer screens may be at
increased risk of developing glaucoma and ultimately going blind, a
study has found.

Researchers at the Toho University School of Medicine in Tokyo
suggest the stress of using a computer may cause damage to the
optic nerve.

Source:- The Herald  Tuesday 16 November

Welsh newspapers

‘Rampant’ bullying problem probed

An investigation into bullying is set to be launched by the Welsh
children’s commissioner.

In his annual report, published today, Peter Clarke said that
bullying was “rampant in too many schools”.

He goes on to call for all occurrences of bullying to be treated as
formal complaints by head-teachers.

Source:- Western Mail Tuesday 16 November

Teenagers’ mental health is on the decline

Mental health of teenagers has declined dramatically over the past
30 years, according to new research.

The study of 15-year-olds across Britain, which was published in
the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, found that the rate
of emotional problems such as anxiety and depression has increased
by 70 per cent.

Time Trends in Adolescent Mental Health also found that the rate
for emotional problems was higher for 15-year-old girls than boys
with one in five being affected.

Source:- Western Mail Tuesday 16 November

High-risk paedophile goes missing

A paedophile considered a high risk by police has gone missing
after failing to sign the sex offenders’ register.

Carl Germon, from Cardiff, was jailed in 1998 for assaulting a
13-year-old boy and was previously imprisoned for attacking three
children aged, six, seven and 10.

He was released from jail in October and placed on the sex
offenders’ register.

Source:- Western Mail Tuesday 16 November