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Yes, being the family of the offender must be nearly as heartbreaking as the family of the victim in a case like this. Hope everyone around this case has good support in place.
An horrific crime, for which thankfully the correct sentence appears to have been passed today.
I dare not click it. Please tell me they aren't having a pop at the children.
What do you think?
I think nothing is beneath the Mail, but common sense sometimes wins out. Hence the question. I take it that they are, then. Awful behaviour. Throwing children under the bus for clicks is really low.
I dare not click it. Please tell me they aren't having a pop at the children.
What do you think?
I think nothing is beneath the Mail, but common sense sometimes wins out. Hence the question. I take it that they are, then. Awful behaviour. Throwing children under the bus for clicks is really low.
I'm almost wish the story was that kids were rotters
Callous Wayne Couzens took his wife and children to play at the woods where he had burned Sarah Everard's body two days earlier on a family trip out.
On the way there they had stopped at a service station where he had calmly bought a Lucozade after raping and murdering her.
Hours later his two children played happily in grass and overgrowth at Hoad Woods in Kent. Just yards away was the lake where Couzens had dumped Miss Everard's burned body in waste bags.
I dare not click it. Please tell me they aren't having a pop at the children.
It was reported in the sentencing remarks. He took his children to play in the area where he burnt and buried poor Sarah's body. It is not getting at the children. It shows what a thoroughly evil man Couzens is.
I hope his wife and children change their name. They too are victims of this awful tragedy.
I dare not click it. Please tell me they aren't having a pop at the children.
What do you think?
I think nothing is beneath the Mail, but common sense sometimes wins out. Hence the question. I take it that they are, then. Awful behaviour. Throwing children under the bus for clicks is really low.
I'm almost wish the story was that kids were rotters
Callous Wayne Couzens took his wife and children to play at the woods where he had burned Sarah Everard's body two days earlier on a family trip out.
On the way there they had stopped at a service station where he had calmly bought a Lucozade after raping and murdering her.
Hours later his two children played happily in grass and overgrowth at Hoad Woods in Kent. Just yards away was the lake where Couzens had dumped Miss Everard's burned body in waste bags.
Ok. Grim but not what I feared. Twisted stuff, and I felt better not knowing it.
Well if you hadn't libelled the Mail, I wouldn't have felt the need to share the text.
Changing the subject to something slightly more upbeat - glad to see the 1st dose vaccination number is still in the 20-40k range. Edging upwards re uptake %. Obvs would like it to go faster, but at least it is still going.
I dare not click it. Please tell me they aren't having a pop at the children.
What do you think?
I think nothing is beneath the Mail, but common sense sometimes wins out. Hence the question. I take it that they are, then. Awful behaviour. Throwing children under the bus for clicks is really low.
I'm almost wish the story was that kids were rotters
Callous Wayne Couzens took his wife and children to play at the woods where he had burned Sarah Everard's body two days earlier on a family trip out.
On the way there they had stopped at a service station where he had calmly bought a Lucozade after raping and murdering her.
Hours later his two children played happily in grass and overgrowth at Hoad Woods in Kent. Just yards away was the lake where Couzens had dumped Miss Everard's burned body in waste bags.
Ok. Grim but not what I feared. Twisted stuff, and I felt better not knowing it.
Probably setting up potential DNA evidence excuse.
I dare not click it. Please tell me they aren't having a pop at the children.
What do you think?
I think nothing is beneath the Mail, but common sense sometimes wins out. Hence the question. I take it that they are, then. Awful behaviour. Throwing children under the bus for clicks is really low.
I'm almost wish the story was that kids were rotters
Callous Wayne Couzens took his wife and children to play at the woods where he had burned Sarah Everard's body two days earlier on a family trip out.
On the way there they had stopped at a service station where he had calmly bought a Lucozade after raping and murdering her.
Hours later his two children played happily in grass and overgrowth at Hoad Woods in Kent. Just yards away was the lake where Couzens had dumped Miss Everard's burned body in waste bags.
Ok. Grim but not what I feared. Twisted stuff, and I felt better not knowing it.
Probably setting up potential DNA evidence excuse.
There was a case a few years ago where a man raped a woman in a park, a couple of days later he went back with his girlfriend, had sex in the park, and tried to explain why his semen and dna might be found in the park.
I see he didn't have any reservations aboutd the investigating police - but those would have been a different unit from PC Couzens's anyway.
Para 27 - in fact high praise from him.
It is standard for the judge to praise the police at the end of major investigations. And they certainly did a good job here. It is though the very minimum we should expect.
It is just inconceivable that this was a first offence. They should be cross checking any prostitutes that have been raped or killed on his beats very carefully.
I'm not sure about this. It didn't take all that long for the murder team to track him down and solve the case. He didn't exactly do a good job at hiding his actions.
Only because he gave his police phone number to the hire car company. A curious mistake to make for someone who did so much other planning. Especially as he would have known that running a telephone number through the police computer would have been the first thing the police would do.
I think there is more to this particular aspect.
You clearly think he had an accomplice in the Met, which is deeply worrying if true.
I think it needs looking into. If only to eliminate the possibility of there being someone prepared to cover for police wrongdoers. How do you think all those corrupt policemen in the past got away with it. Because they had mates who turned a blind eye or covered up. Look at the number of officers who have been investigated for other crimes of sexual abuse against women in the Met.
It is possible Couzens was simply arrogant. But it's odd. He did not make any other mistakes. So why this obvious one, one which he surely knew about?
He also has not talked to the police at all. So we don't know the entirety of what happened on the journey.
FPT - I saw a report somewhere this morning - the Guardian? - that there were a dozen or so disciplinary charges pending against Met police. But it hgas been updated. I can't find it now, or ocnfirm whether this was in general or specific to the Couzens case.
I dare not click it. Please tell me they aren't having a pop at the children.
It was reported in the sentencing remarks. He took his children to play in the area where he burnt and buried poor Sarah's body. It is not getting at the children. It shows what a thoroughly evil man Couzens is.
I hope his wife and children change their name. They too are victims of this awful tragedy.
Is that not a counter-forensic strategy? To explain any botanical and geological (mud etc) evidence on and in the car and clothing.
Anyway Husband is having his barium swallow on Monday which is impressively quick. He can still feel something wrong with his throat so I hope this will get to the bottom of it.
He has been very Eeyore-ish in recent days about it all.
I live in South Yorkshire, home of the worst police force in the country, (Rotherham, Hillsborough, and Orgreave) and work (and occasionally live) in Manchester.
NB the way in which the collectors cooperated to donate bits found at different times to the local museum to enable them to be brought together and researched for publication.
Crimes like this Couzens one really make me question my liberal opposition to corporal and capital punishment.
Me too, and then I think of the Birmingham 6 and the Guildford 4, Stefan Kisko and living in Wales the outrageous behaviour of South Wales Police in the Lynnette White case. Those men would have been hanged on totally fictional evidence from detectives.
But I did think twice on reading the ordeal Ms Everard was put through. Good opportunity for Priti, as I am sure many many people normally opposed are very angry. It would be a fantastic election opportunity for her in the event of Government popularity waning.
I see he didn't have any reservations aboutd the investigating police - but those would have been a different unit from PC Couzens's anyway.
Para 27 - in fact high praise from him.
It is standard for the judge to praise the police at the end of major investigations. And they certainly did a good job here. It is though the very minimum we should expect.
It is just inconceivable that this was a first offence. They should be cross checking any prostitutes that have been raped or killed on his beats very carefully.
I'm not sure about this. It didn't take all that long for the murder team to track him down and solve the case. He didn't exactly do a good job at hiding his actions.
Only because he gave his police phone number to the hire car company. A curious mistake to make for someone who did so much other planning. Especially as he would have known that running a telephone number through the police computer would have been the first thing the police would do.
I think there is more to this particular aspect.
You clearly think he had an accomplice in the Met, which is deeply worrying if true.
I think it needs looking into. If only to eliminate the possibility of there being someone prepared to cover for police wrongdoers. How do you think all those corrupt policemen in the past got away with it. Because they had mates who turned a blind eye or covered up. Look at the number of officers who have been investigated for other crimes of sexual abuse against women in the Met.
It is possible Couzens was simply arrogant. But it's odd. He did not make any other mistakes. So why this obvious one, one which he surely knew about?
He also has not talked to the police at all. So we don't know the entirety of what happened on the journey.
FPT - I saw a report somewhere this morning - the Guardian? - that there were a dozen or so disciplinary charges pending against Met police. But it hgas been updated. I can't find it now, or ocnfirm whether this was in general or specific to the Couzens case.
I see he didn't have any reservations aboutd the investigating police - but those would have been a different unit from PC Couzens's anyway.
Para 27 - in fact high praise from him.
It is standard for the judge to praise the police at the end of major investigations. And they certainly did a good job here. It is though the very minimum we should expect.
It is just inconceivable that this was a first offence. They should be cross checking any prostitutes that have been raped or killed on his beats very carefully.
I'm not sure about this. It didn't take all that long for the murder team to track him down and solve the case. He didn't exactly do a good job at hiding his actions.
Only because he gave his police phone number to the hire car company. A curious mistake to make for someone who did so much other planning. Especially as he would have known that running a telephone number through the police computer would have been the first thing the police would do.
I think there is more to this particular aspect.
You clearly think he had an accomplice in the Met, which is deeply worrying if true.
I think it needs looking into. If only to eliminate the possibility of there being someone prepared to cover for police wrongdoers. How do you think all those corrupt policemen in the past got away with it. Because they had mates who turned a blind eye or covered up. Look at the number of officers who have been investigated for other crimes of sexual abuse against women in the Met.
It is possible Couzens was simply arrogant. But it's odd. He did not make any other mistakes. So why this obvious one, one which he surely knew about?
He also has not talked to the police at all. So we don't know the entirety of what happened on the journey.
FPT - I saw a report somewhere this morning - the Guardian? - that there were a dozen or so disciplinary charges pending against Met police. But it hgas been updated. I can't find it now, or ocnfirm whether this was in general or specific to the Couzens case.
Sorry to go off topic but remember the police tried to fit up a serving cabinet minister.
As a couple of cabinet ministers at the time said 'If they can try and fit us up what chance does a black kid in Brixton have?'
Police need taking down a peg or five, starting with Cressida Dick.
Also fire every cop who cannot pass a DBS. If you cannot be a PCC with a criminal record then you shouldn't be a copper with a criminal record.
Police officers aren't routinely DBS checked?
Wha'daff?
They are DBS'd and hired/allowed to continue in their jobs.
More than 200 serving police officers in the UK have convictions for criminal offences including assault, burglary, drug possession and animal cruelty, Sky News can reveal.
Forces across the country employ at least 211 police officers and PCSOs who were guilty of crimes, according to data released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The actual number is likely to be much higher, however, after just a third of forces revealed how many of their officers have criminal convictions, with many claiming it would cost too much to retrieve the information.
The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) told Sky News that having a criminal record has "never been an automatic bar to joining the police" and insisted officers are vetted "throughout their service".
But Steven Smith, who was assaulted in Bristol by an officer who was allowed to keep his job, said he believes anyone with a conviction for violence should be banned from working for the police.
Not surprisingly by Stephen Bush , after his email this morning, which was a taster for this.
'Then there are the specific failures within the police force in general and the Metropolitan Police in particular. When Couzens was charged, the Met Commissioner Cressida Dick said that “all of us in the Met are sickened, angered and devastated by this man’s crimes”.
I’m sure that’s true. Social workers were sickened, angered and devastated by the failures that led to the murder of eight-year-old Victoria Climbié at the hands of her aunt and aunt’s boyfriend in 2000. Doctors were sickened, angered and devastated by the failures that allowed Harold Shipman to murder as many as 250 people. But crucially, those failures led to serious reforms to child protection and to palliative care provision in the UK.
The murder of Sarah Everard is the story of two long-running problems in British politics: the failure to take violence against women and girls seriously, and the failure by senior leaders in too many of the UK’s police forces to acknowledge mistakes and learn from them, rather than viewing them as unfortunate and unavoidable accidents.'
Sorry to go off topic but remember the police tried to fit up a serving cabinet minister.
As a couple of cabinet ministers at the time said 'If they can try and fit us up what chance does a black kid in Brixton have?'
Police need taking down a peg or five, starting with Cressida Dick.
Also fire every cop who cannot pass a DBS. If you cannot be a PCC with a criminal record then you shouldn't be a copper with a criminal record.
Reading the accounts of the London riots it is quite clear that many of those rioting (not all, of course there were looters and not just of bottles of water) were doing so because it was an opportunity to put the police "on lock" or "under manners" as they term it.
Sorry to go off topic but remember the police tried to fit up a serving cabinet minister.
As a couple of cabinet ministers at the time said 'If they can try and fit us up what chance does a black kid in Brixton have?'
Police need taking down a peg or five, starting with Cressida Dick.
Also fire every cop who cannot pass a DBS. If you cannot be a PCC with a criminal record then you shouldn't be a copper with a criminal record.
Reading the accounts of the London riots it is quite clear that many of those rioting (not all, of course there were looters and not just of bottles of water) were doing so because it was an opportunity to put the police "on lock" or "under manners" as they term it.
I dare not click it. Please tell me they aren't having a pop at the children.
It was reported in the sentencing remarks. He took his children to play in the area where he burnt and buried poor Sarah's body. It is not getting at the children. It shows what a thoroughly evil man Couzens is.
I hope his wife and children change their name. They too are victims of this awful tragedy.
My guess would be in case he had been seen there, or en route, it would offer something of a cover story. A twisted crime coupled with the inside knowledge of a policeman makes for an appalling scenario
Yes, being the family of the offender must be nearly as heartbreaking as the family of the victim in a case like this. Hope everyone around this case has good support in place.
An horrific crime, for which thankfully the correct sentence appears to have been passed today.
That's something I often think about - how the close family members of a notorious offender get on in the years after. I watch a lot of TV drama and I think this is an under-explored area. Plenty of stuff focused on perps and police and victims and victims families, very little if anything on this.
Sorry to go off topic but remember the police tried to fit up a serving cabinet minister.
As a couple of cabinet ministers at the time said 'If they can try and fit us up what chance does a black kid in Brixton have?'
Police need taking down a peg or five, starting with Cressida Dick.
Also fire every cop who cannot pass a DBS. If you cannot be a PCC with a criminal record then you shouldn't be a copper with a criminal record.
Reading the accounts of the London riots it is quite clear that many of those rioting (not all, of course there were looters and not just of bottles of water) were doing so because it was an opportunity to put the police "on lock" or "under manners" as they term it.
I found out that during the summer the teenage son of a friend (a QC no less) was detained by the rozzers for suspected damage of cars (he wasn't the guilty party) but the police did everything to try and pressurise him to accept a caution.
The lad rang his dad who turned up with pretty much his entire chambers, the police visibly wilted and the QC said ultimately the police are bullies and hope no one is looking or knows the rules.
Sorry to go off topic but remember the police tried to fit up a serving cabinet minister.
As a couple of cabinet ministers at the time said 'If they can try and fit us up what chance does a black kid in Brixton have?'
Police need taking down a peg or five, starting with Cressida Dick.
Also fire every cop who cannot pass a DBS. If you cannot be a PCC with a criminal record then you shouldn't be a copper with a criminal record.
Police officers aren't routinely DBS checked?
Wha'daff?
They are DBS'd and hired/allowed to continue in their jobs.
More than 200 serving police officers in the UK have convictions for criminal offences including assault, burglary, drug possession and animal cruelty, Sky News can reveal.
Forces across the country employ at least 211 police officers and PCSOs who were guilty of crimes, according to data released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The actual number is likely to be much higher, however, after just a third of forces revealed how many of their officers have criminal convictions, with many claiming it would cost too much to retrieve the information.
The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) told Sky News that having a criminal record has "never been an automatic bar to joining the police" and insisted officers are vetted "throughout their service".
But Steven Smith, who was assaulted in Bristol by an officer who was allowed to keep his job, said he believes anyone with a conviction for violence should be banned from working for the police.
Not surprisingly by Stephen Bush , after his email this morning, which was a taster for this.
'Then there are the specific failures within the police force in general and the Metropolitan Police in particular. When Couzens was charged, the Met Commissioner Cressida Dick said that “all of us in the Met are sickened, angered and devastated by this man’s crimes”.
I’m sure that’s true. Social workers were sickened, angered and devastated by the failures that led to the murder of eight-year-old Victoria Climbié at the hands of her aunt and aunt’s boyfriend in 2000. Doctors were sickened, angered and devastated by the failures that allowed Harold Shipman to murder as many as 250 people. But crucially, those failures led to serious reforms to child protection and to palliative care provision in the UK.
The murder of Sarah Everard is the story of two long-running problems in British politics: the failure to take violence against women and girls seriously, and the failure by senior leaders in too many of the UK’s police forces to acknowledge mistakes and learn from them, rather than viewing them as unfortunate and unavoidable accidents.'
It's nothing violence or whatnot related, but the nonsense Enron and the big 4 got up to has led to audits being a hell of a lot more faff and expensive. And the FTSE/big 4 are still probably at it. Let's hope any change isn't the classic - more paperwork & box ticking, same results.
Sorry to go off topic but remember the police tried to fit up a serving cabinet minister.
As a couple of cabinet ministers at the time said 'If they can try and fit us up what chance does a black kid in Brixton have?'
Police need taking down a peg or five, starting with Cressida Dick.
Also fire every cop who cannot pass a DBS. If you cannot be a PCC with a criminal record then you shouldn't be a copper with a criminal record.
Police officers aren't routinely DBS checked?
Wha'daff?
They are DBS'd and hired/allowed to continue in their jobs.
More than 200 serving police officers in the UK have convictions for criminal offences including assault, burglary, drug possession and animal cruelty, Sky News can reveal.
Forces across the country employ at least 211 police officers and PCSOs who were guilty of crimes, according to data released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The actual number is likely to be much higher, however, after just a third of forces revealed how many of their officers have criminal convictions, with many claiming it would cost too much to retrieve the information.
The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) told Sky News that having a criminal record has "never been an automatic bar to joining the police" and insisted officers are vetted "throughout their service".
But Steven Smith, who was assaulted in Bristol by an officer who was allowed to keep his job, said he believes anyone with a conviction for violence should be banned from working for the police.
Sorry to go off topic but remember the police tried to fit up a serving cabinet minister.
As a couple of cabinet ministers at the time said 'If they can try and fit us up what chance does a black kid in Brixton have?'
Police need taking down a peg or five, starting with Cressida Dick.
Also fire every cop who cannot pass a DBS. If you cannot be a PCC with a criminal record then you shouldn't be a copper with a criminal record.
Police officers aren't routinely DBS checked?
Wha'daff?
They are DBS'd and hired/allowed to continue in their jobs.
More than 200 serving police officers in the UK have convictions for criminal offences including assault, burglary, drug possession and animal cruelty, Sky News can reveal.
Forces across the country employ at least 211 police officers and PCSOs who were guilty of crimes, according to data released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The actual number is likely to be much higher, however, after just a third of forces revealed how many of their officers have criminal convictions, with many claiming it would cost too much to retrieve the information.
The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) told Sky News that having a criminal record has "never been an automatic bar to joining the police" and insisted officers are vetted "throughout their service".
But Steven Smith, who was assaulted in Bristol by an officer who was allowed to keep his job, said he believes anyone with a conviction for violence should be banned from working for the police.
Sorry to go off topic but remember the police tried to fit up a serving cabinet minister.
As a couple of cabinet ministers at the time said 'If they can try and fit us up what chance does a black kid in Brixton have?'
Police need taking down a peg or five, starting with Cressida Dick.
Also fire every cop who cannot pass a DBS. If you cannot be a PCC with a criminal record then you shouldn't be a copper with a criminal record.
Reading the accounts of the London riots it is quite clear that many of those rioting (not all, of course there were looters and not just of bottles of water) were doing so because it was an opportunity to put the police "on lock" or "under manners" as they term it.
I found out that during the summer the teenage son of a friend (a QC no less) was detained by the rozzers for suspected damage of cars (he wasn't the guilty party) but the police did everything to try and pressurise him to accept a caution.
The lad rang his dad who turned up with pretty much his entire chambers, the police visibly wilted and the QC said ultimately the police are bullies and hope no one is looking or knows the rules.
During the miners strike, I was a Rep for Courage the Brewers. The boot of my company Cavalier was brimmed full of cases of cans of John Smith's bitter, Colt 45, Hofmeister lager, Harp lager and Courage Best Bitter.
On one occasion I was stopped entering Leicestershire from Cambridgeshire. The barricades (not quite, but almost) on that occasion were manned by the Met. On searching the car I was taken to one side and asked politely to help unload the contents of my boot into their Transit minibus. At the time it seemed like such a reasonable request if I wanted to be on my way.
If you ever get arrested/detained/questioned by the rozzers always have legal representation.
Never accept a caution.
Easier said than done in advance. Especially when you know you're innocent then events can move so fast.
I was questioned once as a suspect after the Police arrived for a fight I hadn't been involved in or even witnessed. I'd been drinking and got breathalysed (under the limit) and questioned for over half an hour (or what felt like it). I didn't once think to stop answering questions and just kept looking at the blinking red light of the camera recording the conversation on his jacket.
I never heard anything from them again after the event, so I'm guessing my answers were satisfactory/the evidence pointed another (right) way. I've no idea what would have happened had I refused to co-operate.
Sorry to go off topic but remember the police tried to fit up a serving cabinet minister.
As a couple of cabinet ministers at the time said 'If they can try and fit us up what chance does a black kid in Brixton have?'
Police need taking down a peg or five, starting with Cressida Dick.
Also fire every cop who cannot pass a DBS. If you cannot be a PCC with a criminal record then you shouldn't be a copper with a criminal record.
Reading the accounts of the London riots it is quite clear that many of those rioting (not all, of course there were looters and not just of bottles of water) were doing so because it was an opportunity to put the police "on lock" or "under manners" as they term it.
I found out that during the summer the teenage son of a friend (a QC no less) was detained by the rozzers for suspected damage of cars (he wasn't the guilty party) but the police did everything to try and pressurise him to accept a caution.
The lad rang his dad who turned up with pretty much his entire chambers, the police visibly wilted and the QC said ultimately the police are bullies and hope no one is looking or knows the rules.
During the miners strike, I was a Rep for Courage the Brewers. The boot of my company Cavalier was brimmed full of cases of cans of John Smith's bitter, Colt 45, Hofmeister lager, Harp lager and Courage Best Bitter.
On one occasion I was stopped entering Leicestershire from Cambridgeshire. The barricades (not quite, but almost) on that occasion were manned by the Met. On searching the car I was taken to one side and asked politely to help unload the contents of my boot into their Transit minibus. At the time it seemed like such a reasonable request if I wanted to be on my way.
Hmm, then they'd be sure your fingerprints were on the cases ...
The only convincing argument I can think of not to hang this bent copper is because it’s quite likely he is responsible for other missing persons. And they’re not gonna get justice if he heads into the eternal abyss now.
Sorry to go off topic but remember the police tried to fit up a serving cabinet minister.
As a couple of cabinet ministers at the time said 'If they can try and fit us up what chance does a black kid in Brixton have?'
Police need taking down a peg or five, starting with Cressida Dick.
Also fire every cop who cannot pass a DBS. If you cannot be a PCC with a criminal record then you shouldn't be a copper with a criminal record.
Reading the accounts of the London riots it is quite clear that many of those rioting (not all, of course there were looters and not just of bottles of water) were doing so because it was an opportunity to put the police "on lock" or "under manners" as they term it.
I found out that during the summer the teenage son of a friend (a QC no less) was detained by the rozzers for suspected damage of cars (he wasn't the guilty party) but the police did everything to try and pressurise him to accept a caution.
The lad rang his dad who turned up with pretty much his entire chambers, the police visibly wilted and the QC said ultimately the police are bullies and hope no one is looking or knows the rules.
I've heard of many cases like that. It's one of the areas where racial prejudice and age are still significant factors - a black teenager under suspicion will on average be treated with far less courtesy and willingness to accept a statement than a middle-aged white man.
That said, I'm a fan of Denmark in general, but I do remember that I got called in after I'd failed to renew my residence permit once Denmark had joined the EU (I thought I was then automatically eligible, but not so). The officer said (politely) that they were considering prosecution - would I like to accept a fine, or would I prefer to take legal advice first?
We happened to know a Supreme Court judge, so I thought I'd ask him, and said I'd like to take advice and would let him know, thanks. He paused for a moment, and then said, "Oh well, let's forget it."
I wondered if he would have pocketed the fine or was just trying it on or was, on reflection, in generous mood. But whichever it was, it didn't strike me as an entirely satisfactory experience.
I am just finishing a journey from Kent to Berkshire and back to the island, and things look as bad as at the weekend
Petrol is fine in South Yorkshire where I've been for a few days. Completely normal. Also noticeable is a big difference in mask wearing. They've pretty much ditched them up here.
The only convincing argument I can think of not to hang this bent copper is because it’s quite likely he is responsible for other missing persons. And they’re not gonna get justice if he heads into the eternal abyss now.
omg, it never occured to me that there could be others.
Electorally the issue is the majority support removing the tax breaks from private schools, but virtually none of those who support that will change their vote because of it. Whereas there are lots of middle class centrists who would switch against any party proposing it.
Sadly that means tactically Labour should simply avoid talking about it as much as possible.
Still Harris has zero net approval, 49% disapprove of her performance while 49% approve.
More a product of the decline in Biden's rating with only 43% approving, however it could be enough to see Biden step down after 1 term and let his VP be the Democratic candidate in 2024
The only convincing argument I can think of not to hang this bent copper is because it’s quite likely he is responsible for other missing persons. And they’re not gonna get justice if he heads into the eternal abyss now.
omg, it never occured to me that there could be others.
I mean it’s possible that covid made him flip. But the calculated nature of his crime certainly gives the impression that he was practiced.
I had a trial yesterday where a 17 year old black girl (who had committed NO crime and has no criminal record) was grabbed and wrestled to the floor and handcuffed by two officers for “talking back” when she (correctly) said to them “you can’t do this” and asked them to step back
The officers were caught on CCTV stepping up to her right in her face (August last year - height of the pandemic) with no masks on and loudly telling her off (for something that isn’t a crime). After she backed off the third time whilst repeatedly saying “back off” they pounced.
This happened in broad daylight in Birmingham New Street station and everyone assumed the officers were in the right and a member of the public even came over to help the two officers who were sitting on top of her to restrain her.
She screamed out in pain and asked 21 times either “Why are you doing this to me?” or “What have I done?” and they didn’t reply to tell her why they were doing it or what she was said to have done.
Eventually one of them says she’s under arrest for assaulting them.
They lied throughout their evidence and said she had moved towards them aggressively and tried to hit one of them.
Two separate angles on the video show she does no such thing and is continuously backing off from them and looks scared.
Thankfully the case against her was thrown out, but quite frankly it’s theofficers who should’ve been prosecuted for assault. Had I not been able to get CCTV camera footage from the station it would’ve been her word against theirs and she would no doubt have been convicted.....
...The officers continued to assert throughout the trial that their actions were justified.
This is the problem.
This is the culture we have to deal with.
THIS IS WHY I GET SICK OF PEOPLE ASKING ME HOW I CAN “DEFEND CRIMINALS”.
P.S. A good illustration of the level of arrogance of one of the officers and their feeling that they are above the law: the Judge had to warn the officer about their conduct IN COURT and it continued so the Judge THREATENED TO LOCK THE OFFICER UP FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT.
The prosecutor, the clerk, the Judge, me - and several of my colleagues I spoke to - all of us with over 20 years experience in criminal trials - have NEVER seen an officer behave so badly that they were threatened with contempt.
Yet they are on patrol in New Street again today
If it’s any consolation our civil team are now going to take action against the police and I suspect one or both of them won’t be officers for much longer but hey - we represented the De Menezes family and no fucker lost their job when they killed a lad.
That's interesting. HR at my place give us grief for wanting people who are good with numbers to work in our stats team because they are less likely to be women.
I am just finishing a journey from Kent to Berkshire and back to the island, and things look as bad as at the weekend
Petrol is fine in South Yorkshire where I've been for a few days. Completely normal. Also noticeable is a big difference in mask wearing. They've pretty much ditched them up here.
Is mask use still a thing elsewhere ? Covid's over here for the most part. It's still at the vets, mind.
HTF can an ambulance driver be legal for an HGV tanker
Are there small tankers they can legally drive? You need a C1 endorsement on your licence to drive an ambulance I believe - gets you up to 7.5 tonnes. (Ambulances are heavy vehicles!)
As well as the Lab defence in Sunderland there are 3 Con defences (East Hampshire, East Staffordshire, and Eden) and Ind defence in West Suffolk. There is a peculiar situation in Swale where there is technically an Ind defence but he is a former LD councillor who went Ind then resigned and is now standing as LD again. For students of interesting names one of the Green candidates is called Blossom Gottlieb.
HTF can an ambulance driver be legal for an HGV tanker
Because ambulences are big and heavy and require the same license as a HGV? It doesn't say anything about tankers.
I have yet to see a fuel tanker the size of an ambulance. Also an ambulance is not even the size of a Luton if that , it is in no way comparable to a fuel tanker and to boot you need special licence to handle fuel into the bargain. Sounds like any white van man can start driving ambulances. PS: they need an LGV C1 licence so as I thought it was bollox. I can drive an ambulance now as I have a C1 and have had since 17.
HTF can an ambulance driver be legal for an HGV tanker
Because ambulences are big and heavy and require the same license as a HGV? It doesn't say anything about tankers.
I have yet to see a fuel tanker the size of an ambulance. Also an ambulance is not even the size of a Luton if that , it is in no way comparable to a fuel tanker and to boot you need special licence to handle fuel into the bargain. Sounds like any white van man can start driving ambulances.
Nobody said anything about tankers.
They're writing to everyone with a HGV licence. Some people with a HGV licence are driving ambulances.
HTF can an ambulance driver be legal for an HGV tanker
Because ambulences are big and heavy and require the same license as a HGV? It doesn't say anything about tankers.
I have yet to see a fuel tanker the size of an ambulance. Also an ambulance is not even the size of a Luton if that , it is in no way comparable to a fuel tanker and to boot you need special licence to handle fuel into the bargain. Sounds like any white van man can start driving ambulances.
Again, no mention of fuel tankers. This is just about HGVs, for which ambulance drivers have the necessary license to drive.
That's interesting. HR at my place give us grief for wanting people who are good with numbers to work in our stats team because they are less likely to be women.
It's madness. I am completely on board with aggressive action to make sure the marginalized group is being treated fairly. I am also on board with additional support to marginalized groups to get them up to the bar. But actually lowering the bar to achieve a quota is just destructive.
HTF can an ambulance driver be legal for an HGV tanker
Are there small tankers they can legally drive? You need a C1 endorsement on your licence to drive an ambulance I believe - gets you up to 7.5 tonnes. (Ambulances are heavy vehicles!)
Checking my own licence - apparantly I can drive anything with a trailer where the total vehicle weight doesn’t exceed 8250kg. That’s a restricted C1E vehicle category.
Really not sure I’d be happy driving an articulated vehicle of that weight, but apparently I’m qualified to do so! (IIRC they took away that default sometime back in the late 90s early 00s?)
HTF can an ambulance driver be legal for an HGV tanker
Are there small tankers they can legally drive? You need a C1 endorsement on your licence to drive an ambulance I believe - gets you up to 7.5 tonnes. (Ambulances are heavy vehicles!)
I doubt there are fuel lorries less than 7.5T and they still would need the special licence to handle dangerous substances etc.
HTF can an ambulance driver be legal for an HGV tanker
Are there small tankers they can legally drive? You need a C1 endorsement on your licence to drive an ambulance I believe - gets you up to 7.5 tonnes. (Ambulances are heavy vehicles!)
I doubt there are fuel lorries less than 7.5T and they still would need the special licence to handle dangerous substances etc.
Good god man, read the letter. It's not about fuel tankers.
HTF can an ambulance driver be legal for an HGV tanker
Because ambulences are big and heavy and require the same license as a HGV? It doesn't say anything about tankers.
I have yet to see a fuel tanker the size of an ambulance. Also an ambulance is not even the size of a Luton if that , it is in no way comparable to a fuel tanker and to boot you need special licence to handle fuel into the bargain. Sounds like any white van man can start driving ambulances.
Again, no mention of fuel tankers. This is just about HGVs, for which ambulance drivers have the necessary license to drive.
Bollox , they have LGV C1 nowhere near HGV licences
Ending charitable status for private schools will just reduce the number of bursaries they can provide and make them even more exclusive to the rich
That just proves that their core business isn't charitable.
The advancement of education is a charitable purpose under the Charities Act and the bursaries they provide through that charitable status provides that education to members of the public who could not otherwise afford their fees.
If their charitable status is ended then private schools will just become educational and sporting country clubs for the children of the rich
HTF can an ambulance driver be legal for an HGV tanker
Because ambulences are big and heavy and require the same license as a HGV? It doesn't say anything about tankers.
I have yet to see a fuel tanker the size of an ambulance. Also an ambulance is not even the size of a Luton if that , it is in no way comparable to a fuel tanker and to boot you need special licence to handle fuel into the bargain. Sounds like any white van man can start driving ambulances.
Again, no mention of fuel tankers. This is just about HGVs, for which ambulance drivers have the necessary license to drive.
Sorry to go off topic but remember the police tried to fit up a serving cabinet minister.
As a couple of cabinet ministers at the time said 'If they can try and fit us up what chance does a black kid in Brixton have?'
Police need taking down a peg or five, starting with Cressida Dick.
Also fire every cop who cannot pass a DBS. If you cannot be a PCC with a criminal record then you shouldn't be a copper with a criminal record.
Reading the accounts of the London riots it is quite clear that many of those rioting (not all, of course there were looters and not just of bottles of water) were doing so because it was an opportunity to put the police "on lock" or "under manners" as they term it.
I found out that during the summer the teenage son of a friend (a QC no less) was detained by the rozzers for suspected damage of cars (he wasn't the guilty party) but the police did everything to try and pressurise him to accept a caution.
The lad rang his dad who turned up with pretty much his entire chambers, the police visibly wilted and the QC said ultimately the police are bullies and hope no one is looking or knows the rules.
I've heard of many cases like that. It's one of the areas where racial prejudice and age are still significant factors - a black teenager under suspicion will on average be treated with far less courtesy and willingness to accept a statement than a middle-aged white man.
That said, I'm a fan of Denmark in general, but I do remember that I got called in after I'd failed to renew my residence permit once Denmark had joined the EU (I thought I was then automatically eligible, but not so). The officer said (politely) that they were considering prosecution - would I like to accept a fine, or would I prefer to take legal advice first?
We happened to know a Supreme Court judge, so I thought I'd ask him, and said I'd like to take advice and would let him know, thanks. He paused for a moment, and then said, "Oh well, let's forget it."
I wondered if he would have pocketed the fine or was just trying it on or was, on reflection, in generous mood. But whichever it was, it didn't strike me as an entirely satisfactory experience.
I suspect one of the KPIs is that they both "detect" and "clear up" crime, and you can do both - and increase your % - by giving someone (anyone) a caution for anything.
Ending charitable status for private schools will just reduce the number of bursaries they can provide and make them even more exclusive to the rich
That just proves that their core business isn't charitable.
Th problem that was spotted before when this has been proposed is that a number of private schools do more (as a proportion of expenditure) charitable work* than many charities.
So equity and fairness arguments would either mean that a regulation targeting private schools would get binned, or a number of other charities would get the chop.
*bursaries, usage of facilities for the community etc etc.
Comments
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10041507/Killer-cops-children-played-near-spot-Sarah-Everard-dumped.html
An horrific crime, for which thankfully the correct sentence appears to have been passed today.
Harris's poll numbers rise as Biden's fall
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/574604-harriss-poll-numbers-rise-as-bidens-fall
Callous Wayne Couzens took his wife and children to play at the woods where he had burned Sarah Everard's body two days earlier on a family trip out.
On the way there they had stopped at a service station where he had calmly bought a Lucozade after raping and murdering her.
Hours later his two children played happily in grass and overgrowth at Hoad Woods in Kent. Just yards away was the lake where Couzens had dumped Miss Everard's burned body in waste bags.
I hope his wife and children change their name. They too are victims of this awful tragedy.
As a couple of cabinet ministers at the time said 'If they can try and fit us up what chance does a black kid in Brixton have?'
Police need taking down a peg or five, starting with Cressida Dick.
Also fire every cop who cannot pass a DBS. If you cannot be a PCC with a criminal record then you shouldn't be a copper with a criminal record.
https://twitter.com/kateemccann/status/1443552130007248897?s=21
If you ever get arrested/detained/questioned by the rozzers always have legal representation.
Never accept a caution.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58747281
He has been very Eeyore-ish in recent days about it all.
So having to reorganise our travel plans.
I live in South Yorkshire, home of the worst police force in the country, (Rotherham, Hillsborough, and Orgreave) and work (and occasionally live) in Manchester.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-58748613
Wha'daff?
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/29/fossilised-hell-heron-dinosaur-unearthed-on-the-isle-of-wight
NB the way in which the collectors cooperated to donate bits found at different times to the local museum to enable them to be brought together and researched for publication.
But I did think twice on reading the ordeal Ms Everard was put through. Good opportunity for Priti, as I am sure many many people normally opposed are very angry. It would be a fantastic election opportunity for her in the event of Government popularity waning.
12 officers under investigation in relation to Couzens.
But see also the paragraph about other officers in the Met accused of crimes against women.
One of the issues is the queues are spilling onto the roads and causing hold ups and accidents.
More than 200 serving police officers in the UK have convictions for criminal offences including assault, burglary, drug possession and animal cruelty, Sky News can reveal.
Forces across the country employ at least 211 police officers and PCSOs who were guilty of crimes, according to data released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The actual number is likely to be much higher, however, after just a third of forces revealed how many of their officers have criminal convictions, with many claiming it would cost too much to retrieve the information.
The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) told Sky News that having a criminal record has "never been an automatic bar to joining the police" and insisted officers are vetted "throughout their service".
But Steven Smith, who was assaulted in Bristol by an officer who was allowed to keep his job, said he believes anyone with a conviction for violence should be banned from working for the police.
https://news.sky.com/story/assault-burglary-and-animal-cruelty-police-officers-convicted-of-crimes-working-for-uk-forces-12024264
Not surprisingly by Stephen Bush , after his email this morning, which was a taster for this.
'Then there are the specific failures within the police force in general and the Metropolitan Police in particular. When Couzens was charged, the Met Commissioner Cressida Dick said that “all of us in the Met are sickened, angered and devastated by this man’s crimes”.
I’m sure that’s true. Social workers were sickened, angered and devastated by the failures that led to the murder of eight-year-old Victoria Climbié at the hands of her aunt and aunt’s boyfriend in 2000. Doctors were sickened, angered and devastated by the failures that allowed Harold Shipman to murder as many as 250 people. But crucially, those failures led to serious reforms to child protection and to palliative care provision in the UK.
The murder of Sarah Everard is the story of two long-running problems in British politics: the failure to take violence against women and girls seriously, and the failure by senior leaders in too many of the UK’s police forces to acknowledge mistakes and learn from them, rather than viewing them as unfortunate and unavoidable accidents.'
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/sep/30/activist-duped-into-sexual-relationship-with-spy-wins-case-against-met-police
...The Met and NPCC accepted Kennedy’s actions amounted to a breach of those rights, but they denied that other officers, apart from Kennedy and his cover officer, knew or suspected Wilson was in a sexual relationship with Kennedy...
From earlier reporting of this and similar cases, that denial seems blatantly untrue.
My ex colleague's £100k+ fraud seems to have completely disappeared from Google, and perhaps any DBS checks..
The lad rang his dad who turned up with pretty much his entire chambers, the police visibly wilted and the QC said ultimately the police are bullies and hope no one is looking or knows the rules.
But even still, wha'daff?
Either way we'd ensure proper reform of the rozzers.
There's two types of DBS checks, both will show past convictions and cautions, the enhanced one will show any cases where convictions didn't happen.
On one occasion I was stopped entering Leicestershire from Cambridgeshire. The barricades (not quite, but almost) on that occasion were manned by the Met. On searching the car I was taken to one side and asked politely to help unload the contents of my boot into their Transit minibus. At the time it seemed like such a reasonable request if I wanted to be on my way.
I was questioned once as a suspect after the Police arrived for a fight I hadn't been involved in or even witnessed. I'd been drinking and got breathalysed (under the limit) and questioned for over half an hour (or what felt like it). I didn't once think to stop answering questions and just kept looking at the blinking red light of the camera recording the conversation on his jacket.
I never heard anything from them again after the event, so I'm guessing my answers were satisfactory/the evidence pointed another (right) way. I've no idea what would have happened had I refused to co-operate.
Single entendres on the other hand...
That said, I'm a fan of Denmark in general, but I do remember that I got called in after I'd failed to renew my residence permit once Denmark had joined the EU (I thought I was then automatically eligible, but not so). The officer said (politely) that they were considering prosecution - would I like to accept a fine, or would I prefer to take legal advice first?
We happened to know a Supreme Court judge, so I thought I'd ask him, and said I'd like to take advice and would let him know, thanks. He paused for a moment, and then said, "Oh well, let's forget it."
I wondered if he would have pocketed the fine or was just trying it on or was, on reflection, in generous mood. But whichever it was, it didn't strike me as an entirely satisfactory experience.
If only!
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/30/pandemic-private-schools-pupils#comment-152221629
(I made a booboo, I meant there's 4 types of checks.)
There's the basic check, which shows unspent convictions and conditional cautions but hardly anyone runs thoses.
Sadly that means tactically Labour should simply avoid talking about it as much as possible.
More a product of the decline in Biden's rating with only 43% approving, however it could be enough to see Biden step down after 1 term and let his VP be the Democratic candidate in 2024
I had a trial yesterday where a 17 year old black girl (who had committed NO crime and has no criminal record) was grabbed and wrestled to the floor and handcuffed by two officers for “talking back” when she (correctly) said to them “you can’t do this” and asked them to step back
The officers were caught on CCTV stepping up to her right in her face (August last year - height of the pandemic) with no masks on and loudly telling her off (for something that isn’t a crime). After she backed off the third time whilst repeatedly saying “back off” they pounced.
This happened in broad daylight in Birmingham New Street station and everyone assumed the officers were in the right and a member of the public even came over to help the two officers who were sitting on top of her to restrain her.
She screamed out in pain and asked 21 times either “Why are you doing this to me?” or “What have I done?” and they didn’t reply to tell her why they were doing it or what she was said to have done.
Eventually one of them says she’s under arrest for assaulting them.
They lied throughout their evidence and said she had moved towards them aggressively and tried to hit one of them.
Two separate angles on the video show she does no such thing and is continuously backing off from them and looks scared.
Thankfully the case against her was thrown out, but quite frankly it’s theofficers who should’ve been prosecuted for assault. Had I not been able to get CCTV camera footage from the station it would’ve been her word against theirs and she would no doubt have been convicted.....
...The officers continued to assert throughout the trial that their actions were justified.
This is the problem.
This is the culture we have to deal with.
THIS IS WHY I GET SICK OF PEOPLE ASKING ME HOW I CAN “DEFEND CRIMINALS”.
P.S. A good illustration of the level of arrogance of one of the officers and their feeling that they are above the law: the Judge had to warn the officer about their conduct IN COURT and it continued so the Judge THREATENED TO LOCK THE OFFICER UP FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT.
The prosecutor, the clerk, the Judge, me - and several of my colleagues I spoke to - all of us with over 20 years experience in criminal trials - have NEVER seen an officer behave so badly that they were threatened with contempt.
Yet they are on patrol in New Street again today
If it’s any consolation our civil team are now going to take action against the police and I suspect one or both of them won’t be officers for much longer but hey - we represented the De Menezes family and no fucker lost their job when they killed a lad.
https://twitter.com/JudgeDewie/status/1443506723881422848
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2836204/amp/Convicted-drug-users-thieves-allowed-join-police.html
(I should be careful not to joke here. Given the way things are going, getting centenarians into the classroom might become DfE policy.)
PS: they need an LGV C1 licence so as I thought it was bollox. I can drive an ambulance now as I have a C1 and have had since 17.
They're writing to everyone with a HGV licence. Some people with a HGV licence are driving ambulances.
Really not sure I’d be happy driving an articulated vehicle of that weight, but apparently I’m qualified to do so! (IIRC they took away that default sometime back in the late 90s early 00s?)
If their charitable status is ended then private schools will just become educational and sporting country clubs for the children of the rich
(Unless this site is lying to me: https://drivertrainingcentre.co.uk/ambulance-driver-training/ )
It's in their interests, not yours.
So equity and fairness arguments would either mean that a regulation targeting private schools would get binned, or a number of other charities would get the chop.
*bursaries, usage of facilities for the community etc etc.