Daily News Summary
Thursday, 28 May 2009
Main stories
Short-term exclusions condemn pupils to a `merry-go-round' of disruption
Government reforms to cut down on permanent exclusion of pupils does not seem to be having the desired effect. An investigation by the Times has highlighted that children are being excluded as many as five times a year. New figures recently published by the Prison Reform Trust show that two fifths of adult males in custody had been excluded from school. Times14-15
Knife crime conviction figures published
New custody figures show that of the 3,713 people sentenced to custody for possession of a knife, one received the maximum four-year sentence. 53% received a sentence of up to three months. Many papers claim it's a failure of governments `promise to take tough action' on knife crime. DMail2, DExp10, DTel10, Sun2
Knife crime in London was examined by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies report: Street Weapons Commission available here
Other stories
Police Chief taking the Home Office to court over budget cuts
Mark Rowley, Chief Constable of Surrey, is taking Ministers to court accusing them of imposing `irrational and unreasonable' spending cuts on his force. Times8, DTel10, Gdn4
The Sun reports that Mark Rowley predicts a `rise in crime' as a result of the cuts. Sun12
`Middle earners lost out on pay'
A new report has shown that the middle earners in Britain have repeatedly been left behind by successive governments and so have benefited less from opportunities in education and work compared to higher earners. DMail20, DExp8 & 12, FT3
BNP faces an inquiry into its funding
The Times reports the party's leader, Nick Griffin has paid a political donation into his personal account without declaring it, which is a breach of the Electoral Commission rules. Elsewhere most of the papers are running the story about him turning down an invitation to attend the Queen's garden party. Times1,6
'Nazi thugs in suits'
More views on the BNP in the Metro.
Comments, editorials, letters
`There's a new thief about'
Judith Woods profiles middle-class shoplifting as the `new crime wave' and the recession is to blame. DTel23
The Centre's report on middle class crime can be downloaded here.
`If this great reform is to be durable, we need to pin our politicians down'
Writes Timothy Garton Ash. Gdn31
| [Previous] | [Next] |
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.
You can read older daily news summaries here.
This is the last daily news summary. To keep up to date with our work, please subscribe to the monthly bulletin here.