| Stab killing woman had baby son A 21-year-old woman found dead at a house in Nottingham had a nine-week-old son, it is revealed. bbc.co.uk |
Arnold Schwarzenegger tells David Cameron: 'Don't be an economic girlyman' PM says Arnold Schwarzenegger will help 'terminate' deficit. telegraph.co.uk |
Recorded crime falls 8% Drop in all offences, except sex attacks, in England and Wales suggests recession-fuelled crime wave has been avoidedA surprise 8% fall in recorded crime in England and Wales has unexpectedly extended the longest sustained drop in the crime rate since the second world war.The latest quarterly crime figures published today covering the 12 months to June 2010 show an 8% fall in police recorded crime and a 4% drop in offences reported by the British Crime Survey.The continuing fall in the crime rate, which has dropped more than 45% since 1995, suggests that the predicted recession-fuelled crime wave has so far been avoided – probably matching the less than feared rises in unemployment.The Home Office published crime figures showing falls in nearly all offences on both measures – police recorded and British Crime Survey – with the largest drops recorded in criminal damage (down 17% to 768,000), car crime (down 16% to 479,000), domestic burglary (down 8% to 263,000) and robbery (down 7% to 74,000). Gun crime is also down 2% to 7,900 incidents.The only category in the police recorded crime figures to rise was sexual offences (up 8% to 55,217) but the police cautioned against interpreting this as an increase in actual attacks as opposed to improved recording methods.The total number of offences recorded by police in the year to June 2010 was 4.2m – the lowest level since 1989.Although repeated opinion polls show that two-thirds of people believe the national crime rate has risen in recent years, official figures show continuing declines in the levels of anxiety over crime.The overall proportion of people who say they live in an area with high levels of anti-social behaviour fell from 16% to 14% in the last year. Falls were also reported on six of the seven measures of anti-social behaviour, including vandalism, graffiti, public drunkenness and teenagers hanging around the streets. The exception was noisy neighbours, which is a serious problem for 11% of those surveyed.The proportion of people with a high level of worry about violent crime fell to 13% of people responding to the British Crime Survey.The Association of Chief Police Officers' head of crime and chief constable of Warwickshire, Keith Bristow, said the latest figures showed police were continuing to play their part in driving down crime."The police recorded crime rates show falls in all violence categories, robbery, burglary, theft, fraud, drugs, vehicle crime and criminal damage, however we are not complacent," he said."Nationally we have been working to improve all areas of sex offence investigation. We remain determined to tackle people who commit sexual offences and we are making real progress in this critical area, particularly around giving victims confidence to come forward and report these crimes and we need them do so."The home secretary, Theresa May, said: "Victims of crime know that while any reduction in crime is welcomed, statistics only present a partial picture. There are still too many offences which ruin lives, whether they are recorded or not, and that means more needs to be done to bring down crime."She went on: "It is unacceptable that each day on average more than 26,000 people fall victim to crime and the police report stubbornly high levels of violence – on average 1,000 people are injured each day. We want to ensure that police and their partner agencies continue to work together to focus on fighting crime, which is why we are slashing bureaucracy to ensure police officers are visible and available on the streets, and making police forces more accountable to their local communities."The shadow home secretary, Ed Balls, said: "These figures are a tribute to the work of our police and local services and show that Labour's policies to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour were working. I hope the home secretary will now finally admit that crime fell substantially under Labour, helped by a record number of police officers, and that the risk of being a victim of crime is at a 30-year low."Balls said he was concerned about whether the reduced level of crime could be sustained under the spending cuts. "By failing to protect funding for the police in the spending review, the home secretary is taking huge risks with the public's safety, crime and national security." he said. "The government's deep cuts of 20% to policing could mean up to 20,000 fewer police officers, according to the Police Federation. And I'm particularly worried that specialist policing units, such as those to tackle organised crime, domestic violence or child abuse which the government no longer considers to be part of the frontline, could be the first to be cut."CrimePoliceAsbosCommunitiesTheresa MayEd BallsAlan Travisguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Suits you, sir - Freeman fitted for Hobbit make-up Actor Martin Freeman has been fitted for prosthetics to play Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's Hobbit films, he tells the BBC. bbc.co.uk |
US embassy cables: Prince Charles 'does not command same respect as Queen' says Commonwealth mandarin Thursday, 11 June 2009, 15:32C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LONDON 001385 SIPDIS EO 12958 DECL: 06/11/2019 TAGS PREL, EAID, PHUM, PINR, NI, CE, FJ, NZ, CA, MY, UK SUBJECT: COMMMONWEALTH ON FIJI, SRI LANKA, NIGERIA, QUEEN'S SUCCESSION, AND THE VALUE TO USG OF COMMONWEALTH ENGAGEMENTREF: LONDON 580Classified By: Political Counselor Richard Mills, reasons 1.4 (b/d)1. (C) Summary. During a June 11 discussion with Poloff, Commonwealth Political Director Amitav Banerji offered electoral commission capacity-building as an area where the USG and Commonwealth could be strategic partners; said a Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) would soon discuss and likely recommend full suspension of Fiji; noted concern about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka; and indicated the Commonwealth is keeping a watchful eye on Nigeria because of the constitutional crisis that could ensue if President Yar'Adua dies. While noting that it was not actively being dicussed, Banerji acknowledged that succession of the Head of the Commonwealth would have to be dealt with when Queen Elizabeth passes, as there is no rule stipulating that the British monarch is the head and no procedure for selecting a new head. End Summary.USG Engagement--------------2. (C) Commonwealth Secretariat Director of Political Affairs Amitav Banerji reiterated to Poloff Commonwealth SYG Kamalesh Sharma's desire for "strategic engagement" with the USG on June 11. Noting the important role of electoral commissions in conducting credible elections, Banerji said Sharma hopes to create a network of electoral commissions across the Commonwealth, whereby newer commissions in fragile democracies could receive guidance and support from commissions in more established democracies. He offered this initiative as an example of where the USG and Commonwealth have mutual interests and where the USG could use the Commonweath's technical electoral commission capacity-building capability and independent, "baggage free" status to promote democracy abroad.Fiji----3. (C) Noting that the Commonwealth had past the deadline set at the May CMAG meeting to re-consider full suspension of Fiji (reftel), Banerji said he was very "frustrated" that CMAG had not yet met to discuss Fiji, especially as the Commonwealth's credibility could be damaged by not taking a decision as indicated at the last meeting. He said CMAG had not met purely for scheduling reasons, and that the Secretariat hopes to hold the meeting by the end of the month, though he was not confident it would be possible. He thought CMAG would move for full suspension of Fiji, intimating there had been difficult discussions at the previous CMAG meeting on Fiji with New Zealand pushing hard for full suspension and Malaysia wanting to ensure that Fiji did not withdraw from the Commonwealth to pre-empt a full suspension a la Zimbabwe.Sri Lanka---------4. (C) Banerji said that the human rights situation in Sri Lanka during and after the recent military offensive had been raised "informally and off the record" by the UK during the last CMAG meeting, forcing a difficult conversation with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, as Sri Lanka is currently a member of CMAG. Banerji said the Commonwealth continues to watch the situation in Sri Lanka and noted that Sri Lanka's offer to host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) had been turned down over concerns about lending international credibility to the Government's actions.Nigeria-------5. (C) The Commonwealth is also keeping a watchful eye on Nigeria, Banerji noted, as it is "punching well below its weight" and President Yar'Adua's sudden death has the potential to prompt a constitutional crisis. The Commonwealth would like to see Nigeria more active in the region and in the Commonwealth across the board. Banerji noted that Yar'Adua did not make a single intervention at the last CHOGM, contrasting sharply with former President ObsanjoLONDON 00001385 002 OF 002who had been active in Commonwealth affairs.Succession of the Head of the Commonwealth------------------------------------------6. (C) Banerji acknowledged that succession of the Head of the Commonwealth would have to be dealt with when Queen Elizabeth passes, as there is no rule stipulating that the British monarch is the head and no procedure for selecting a new head. He acknowledged that heir-apparent to the British Crown, Prince Charles, does not "command the same respect" as the Queen and said the Commonwealth was trying quietly to get him more involved in Commonwealth affairs. Banerji noted Marlborough House, the Commonwealth Secretariat's current location, was a royal property, owned and funded by the British Royal Family, and mused that may be a factor in the discussions. He noted that succession was not actively being discussion within the Commonwealth.Visit London's Classified Website: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Unit ed_KingdomLeBaronPrince CharlesThe QueenMonarchyFijiSri LankaNigeriaUS foreign policyThe US embassy cablesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |