Daily News Summary
Thursday, 3rd July 2008
Main Stories
Judges `do not trust community service'
The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, told MPs yesterday that judges have doubts over the administration of community sentences. DTel2, Times4
British teenagers being sexually exploited in the UK
The UK Human Trafficking Centre has found evidence of British girls as young as twelve being forced into prostitution in the UK. Gdn4, Times18. The Independent reveals that up to 18,000 women and girls are working in forced prostitution after being trafficked into the UK. Ind13
Don't have a go, Boris tells youngsters
The Mayor of London tells kids to stay out of trouble DTel12. Meanwhile, the Times reveals that 95 per cent of youngsters in London caught with knives are charged. Times21
Beat police spend half their day on paperwork
A report from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary claims there's a lot of administrative demands. It also concluded that the role of the front-line sergeant required greater clarity and that more training was needed for them. DTel14, Times8
Other Stories
Standard of living to fall for a year
The Bank of England offers a grim prognosis about the state of the economy. DTel1
Apple core littering case dropped
A fifty four year old man with a heart condition, arrested and held in a police cell for 18 hours for dropping an apple core has had the case halted following a £5,000 investigation. DTel8
Blame someone else
Schools secretary Ed Balls blames primary schools for the stress caused to seven year olds for, er, implementing the government's mandatory, and rather stressful, SAT exams for seven year olds DTel9, Times5.
Mental health trust criticised
South West London and St George's mental health trust is criticised in an independent report into the circumstances surrounding the death of Matthew Carter at the hands of Sean Perry, a paranoid schizophrenia patient. Gdn6
`Skunk smokers more at risk of psychosis than hash users'
According to a report from researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London. Gdn11
`Car insurance fraud running at £5million a week'
The Association of British Insurers claims dishonest claims are topping £5m a week as struggling families are paying off debts. Times11
`Prince William in £40m high-seas cocaine swoop'
The heir to the throne has apparently been doing his bit for being tough on crime. Times15
`Brown leads least popular Labour government ever' Gordon sets a new record, according to new poll. Ind4
Columns, editorials, letters
Cutting out knife crime
The Telegraph editorial is worried about the increase in hospital admissions for knife wounds. Our `broken society' needs to be repaired, it argues but `more legislation is not the answer'. However, the police need to `reclaim the streets' and the courts need to be tougher. DTel23
Tackling knife crime
The Independent has a different prescription. Tough action and crackdowns are `clumsy'; the `focus is all wrong'. What is needed is concerted effort to tackle deprivation and to mentor young people involved in gang activity. The entertainment industry also needs to `be mindful of the impact of their output on impressionable minds'. Ind28
`Why I've never been afraid to make my own choices
Young people need to be taught how to make their own choices, not which trainers to wear, writes Noel Clarke. Gdn28
CCTV has vital role in fight against crime
So writes Simon Adcock, whose day job is as managing director of a company that installs CCTV systems. Gdn31
Complaints about standards at the criminal bar
Criminal barristers are often overworked and stressed out. The service the public receives is `sometimes outrageously poor', according to a letter from Peter Moffat. Gdn31
Knife crime's real perpetrators: parents
Janet Street-Porter has a helpful suggestion: `We should send useless parents back to school. It's the only answer'. Thanks Janet. Ind32
More mental health support needed
Two letters in the Times. Times25
Children's lives are being cramped by irrational fears
Letters in the Independent Ind30.
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These newspaper summaries are drawn up by staff at the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. They are not intended to be comprehensive, or wholly uniform in their approach. Instead, they reflect our individual and collective perspectives on the day's coverage, including our judgements in terms of relevance to the Centre's concerns. On occasion, they also reflect the inevitable time constraints within which we work.
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