Figures reveal 1,300 prison officers guilty of misconduct over six years

By Mithran Samuel, Caroline Lovell and Maria Ahmed

Figures reveal 1,300 prison officers guilty of misconduct over six years

More than 1,000 prison officers in England and Wales were found guilty of misconduct between 2000 and 2006 for offences including improper sexual relationships and endangering the safety of their jails.

Prisons where guards were disciplined most frequently for bad conduct were Birmingham, Manchester, Risley in Cheshire and Belmarsh and Brixton in London.

Source:- The Guardian Monday 22 October 2007 page 4

Batons age limit may be lowered

Staff at young offender institutions could be allowed to use batons on children as young as 15 after the Ministry of Justice said it would review current guidelines, which set an age minimum of 18.

The news came as the Prison Officers Association called for greater protection from assaults against children, but critics, including the Prison Reform Trust, attacked the idea.

Source:- The Guardian Monday 22 October 2007 page 4

Coming to an inner city near you, extreme education

Academy sponsors and the government are considering importing a form of education pioneered in America which has been credited with tackling underachievement among disadvantaged groups.

So-called extreme education can include longer school days, contracts with parents on homework and attendance and zero tolerance of indiscipline within small schools.

One example is North Star Academy in Newark, New Jersey, where 90% of pupils qualify for free school meals, but where 80% of students were graded “proficient or advanced” in maths last year, compared to 28% in the local neighbourhood school.

Source:- The Guardian Monday 22 October 2007 pages12-13

Do we have room for 21m more?

Cambridge University economics professor, Robert Rowthorn, told Parliament last week that the UK population is set to rise to 81 million by 2074, because of immigration and higher birth rates, which will place huge pressures on housing, schools and hospitals.

Source:- Daily Mail, Monday October 22, 2007

Parents of five-year-olds are to be sent official warning letters if their child is found to be obese, as part of a national programme to weigh children in schools.

Source:- The Times, Monday 22 October 2007, page 1

More people from ethnic minorities must be stopped and searched if Britain is to win the fight against violent inner-city gun and knife crime, one of the country’s top black police officers has said.

Source:- The Times, Monday 22 October 2007, page 2

The middle-class exodus from state schools in London is speeding up, with nearly half of children in some parts of the capital now privately educated.

Source:- The Times, Monday 22 October 2007, page 13

Gordon Brown faces his first legal challenge under the new EU Charter of Fundamental Rights days after claiming to have won a watertight opt-out from the document for Britain. Prison officers are preparing to use the charter to win back their right to strike in what will become a key test of its force in this country.

Source:- The Times, Monday 22 October 2007, page 14

The population of Britain is likely to exceed 75 million by 2051 “almost entirely” because of immigration, an expert has said.

Source:- The Times, Monday 22 October 2007, page 14

Thousands of people are forced to spend years living in abject poverty on the streets of Britain’s cities after fleeing persecution in their own countries, an independent asylum inquiry has heard.

Source:- The Independent, Monday 22 October 2007, page 1

Spectrum, an autism charity in the West Country, received artistic contributions from some of Britain’s most eminent artists for a fundraising auction.

Source:- The Independent, Monday 22 October 2007, page 12

It is estimated that, at any one time, up to 4,000 women are being compelled to work as prostitutes in Britain by criminal gangs.

Source:- The Independent, Monday 22 October 2007, page 16

Ian Macrae, 54, is blind and the first disabled editor of Disability Now magazine

Source:- The Independent, Media, Monday 22 October 2007, page 16

Welsh news

Cardiff council may have to make more cuts after a tight financial settlement.

The UK government’s Comprehensive Spending Review may mean that the Welsh Assembly will only be able to give Welsh councils low amounts of funding.

Source:- Western Mail, Saturday, 20 October 2007

The grandmother of an abused toddler said she agrees with her drug-addict daughter being put in prison.

Shereen Murphy, 48, of Caerphilly, condemned her daughter Sarah for letting her two-year-old suffer six weeks of abuse by her boyfriend, Daniel Bishop.

Source:- Wales on Sunday, 21 October 2007

Fears have been raised over public safety after it was announced that 50 posts are to be cut at South Wales Probation Service.

A South Wales probation officer, who wished to remain anonymous said that he and his colleagues were concerned that potentially dangerous offenders could go unmonitored.

Source:- Western Mail, Monday 22 October 2007

A charity has launched a new scheme to help people with autism in Wales.

The Autism Cymru initiative involves giving people with the condition special cards to help them deal with emergencies.

The cards will help emergency service personnel to quickly identify people with autism.

Source:- Western Mail, Monday, 22 October 2007