Abandoned Labrador Becomes A Police Dog

Six-year-old Monty and his handler PC Rob Cooke were awarded the Terry Ball Award at the annual Labrador Rescue Ball last month.

The award is given every year to a neglected or abused Labrador who deserves special recognition for their achievements following a particularly difficult start to life.

Monty has been helping to police the county since he was rescued in 2007 when he was found starving to death at a deserted pub.

He'd been there for up to three weeks and had survived by drinking water from a toilet.

He was given a home at the East Midlands Labrador Rescue, where his carers recognised a potential in him to become a crime-fighting police dog.

PC Steve Abbott, a Home Office and ACPO accredited police dog instructor, helped guide Monty through the eight-week training process.

He said: "He certainly had lots issues when he first came to us. He was frightened to be in confined spaces and didn't trust anyone. But I took the time to show him lots of love, sit with him and make sure he knew he was safe.

"I took him for long walks and I saw that he had a great natural ability and had the potential to do really well – he just needed to get his confidence back again."

But training was not plain sailing for Monty.

PC Abbott continued: "He was just not getting it at first. But he had such a bad start to life, I was determined he was going to make it.

"So I put in extra time with him and pretty soon, he was not only getting it, he was one of the best we had."

Monty is able to easily locate a variety of weapons and illegal substances, including heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis.

Within days of his new job, he had discovered several thousands of pounds worth of cocaine, and his latest find was £3,000 worth of cannabis at a house in Worksop.

Monty lives with his handler PC Cooke and is treated like a member of the family.

PC Cooke said: "He's spoiled at home and gets lots of love and attention. But he lives to work – that's what he loves doing the most.

"He's a loveable rogue and I would not swap him for any other dog in the world. He is a bit boisterous, but if you give him a task, he does it perfectly.

"I am extremely honoured and proud to receive this award, not for me but for Monty because of where he came from and where he is now."

Sgt Donna Busuttil, from the dog section, said: "The work Steve and Rob have done with Monty cannot be underestimated.

"They make an excellent team and Monty is one of the best working dogs we have ever had in this department.

"We are extremely proud of what they have achieved and undoubtedly make a significant contribution to keeping the streets of Nottinghamshire safe."

Article courtesy of Nottinghamshire Police and www.policeoracle.com

Police, Crime & 999

I have received the following request from John Donoghue, who is a serving police officer, requesting me to draw attention to a book he has written which will be published in August but currently available online. I am happy to oblige in the sincere belief that it is genuine and sounds very humorous and interesting. The purchase price online offers a considerable saving from the recommended retail price too! So here goes, this is what he said to me in his e-mail;

As a serving police officer too, I found your blog fantastic. You have a way with words! I loved the schnauzer joke too ...at least I HOPE it was a joke!!

Anyway, I was wondering if you’d be so kind as to give a mention on your excellent blog to my book Police, Crime & 999

It’s a look at a year in my life as a front line response officer, comes with the warning: CONTAINS HUMOUR AND TRACES OF NUTS and, amongst other things, answers those basic questions:

What REALLY happens behind the scenes in the police?

What bizarre 999 calls are made to the emergency services?

Why can wearing 2 pairs of socks make you a suspect?

What is the link between police and vampires?

Which Royal arrest never made news headlines?

What covert sign do officers make when they no longer wish to talk to you?

I’ve changed names and places to protect the guilty!

The book isn’t officially available until August, but it is available NOW for all readers of your blog via my website www.policecrime999.com where there is a 10% discount.

There is no publicity budget to speak of, so any help in spreading the word would be most appreciated.

I really look forward to hearing from you or if you want a photo of the book etc

Cheers

John

web: www.policecrime999.com

A Pharmaceutical Freudian Slip

Time for a touch of light hearted humour folks:

My neighbour found out that her dog ( a Schnauzer) could hardly hear, so she took it to the veterinarian. The vet found that the problem was hair in the dog's ears. He cleaned both ears, and the dog could then hear fine. The vet then proceeded to tell the lady that, if she wanted to keep this from recurring, she should go to the chemist and get some "Nair" hair remover and rub it in the dog's ears once a month.

The lady went to the chemist and bought some "Nair" hair remover. At the cash register, the pharmacist told her, "If you're going to use this under your arms, don't use deodorant for a few days."

The lady said, "I'm not using it under my arms."

The pharmacist said, "If you're using it on your legs, don't shave for a couple of days."

The lady replied, "I'm not using it on my legs either. If you must know, I'm using it on my Schnauzer."

The pharmacist says, "Well Madam, in that case you had better stay off your bicycle for the next two weeks!"

Police Automatic Number Plate Recognition Cameras

Devon and Cornwall Police claim revealing the locations of automatic number plate recognition cameras would hinder crime fighting. The force is fighting a legal ruling which could pave the way for thousands of secret traffic cameras across Britain to be revealed.

Devon and Cornwall Police claim revealing the locations of its 45 automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras would hinder crime fighting.

Their locations were requested under Freedom of Information laws by Guardian Government Computing, which appealed to the Information Rights Tribunal (IRT).

The IRT found in favour of the publication, ordering the information be disclosed within 35 days.

More than 10,000 covert cameras photograph and record the registration numbers of motorists every day. The information is used against a national database to track criminals and has proved vital in tackling criminals.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said the force was appealing. "The force continues to take legal advice and is also consulting the Association of Chief Police Officers FOI Central Referral Unit as part of the process," he said.

"The force believes that revealing the exact location of ANPR sites will seriously reduce their impact as a crime-fighting tool in identifying suspects and offenders.

"There is no doubt that since the advent of ANPR the police's ability to proactively target criminals on the road network has increased dramatically.

"Showing a criminal the exact location of a camera will make those cameras easier to avoid and thus make capturing criminals more difficult.

"While the force accepts the need for transparency and the public's right to information whenever possible, revealing the location of covert policing resources goes far and beyond this."

Forcibly retired police officers invited to return as volunteers

Labour says police forces are forcing 2,100 of the most experienced officers into early retirement, some of whom are then being asked to rejoin on a voluntary basis.

Police officers with more than 30 years experience who have been forcibly retired because of budget cuts are being asked to return as part-time volunteers, Labour has disclosed.

The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said 13 police forces have so far confirmed plans to force more than 2,100 of the most experienced police officers in England and Wales into early retirement by 2015. A further nine forces are considering similar action.

Chief constables have no legal powers to make police officers redundant, but can forcibly retire those with more than 30 years service with 28 days notice under an obscure A19 provision of the police pension regulations on grounds of efficiency of the force.

A Labour survey of current police budgets reveals that 13 out of the 43 forces, including the West Midlands, North Yorkshire and Surrey, have already decided that 2,124 officers should be compulsorily retired using the A19 regulation by 2015 in order to make up for 20% cuts in Whitehall police funding.

The issue was raised at prime minister's questions by the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, who cited the case of PC Martin Heard, who is being forcibly retired after 32 years as a neighbourhood officer in Wolverhampton.

Heard received the "Copper's copper" award from the Police Federation last year, and some weeks after he was forced to retire, he got a letter asking him to rejoin the force as a special constable on a part-time unpaid basis.

He was among a group of experienced officers being retired under A19 due to meet the home secretary, Theresa May, today. Others included Detective Constable Tim Kennedy, a recognised specialist in serious acquisitive crime, Sergeant Dave Hewitt, who is 48, with 32 years service, and is one of the youngest officers in the country to be retired, and Inspector Mark Stokes, a leading specialist in crime prevention.

Cooper said Heard was not alone in being asked to rejoin on a voluntary basis, adding: "You couldn't make this up.

"Senior, experienced officers are being forced out by the pace and scale of the Tory-led government's cuts, then asked to come back and do the same job for free because everyone knows they are needed in the fight against crime."

In the Commons, Miliband claimed the policing cuts demonstrated that the prime minister had broken his pre-election promise to send any cabinet minister who came to him with proposals to cut frontline services packing.

Cameron told Miliband: "Decisions about police numbers will depend on the decisions made by individual chief constables in individual parts of the country.

"The point I would make is that we see, in case after case, that there are far too many police officers in back-office jobs doing paperwork and carrying out corporate development work who should be on the front line.

"Responsible chief constables are getting these police officers out on the front line to fight crime, and crime under this government is falling."

He accused Labour of "complete and utter hypocrisy" over police numbers, citing Alan Johnson's admission when he was home secretary before the general election that he could not guarantee numbers would not fall in the event of the party remaining in power.

"The question is not should the budget be reduced – of course the budget has to be reduced," said Cameron.

"The question is who is going to cut the paperwork, who is going to get rid of the bureaucracy, who is going to trust the local managers to make sure we get police on the front line? These are steps we are taking, and steps his government never took."


Blue Line Comment My thanks to Steve Bennett for posting this article on his blog:http://thinbluelineuk.blogspot.com/2011/05/would-you-retire-from-police-service.html

Forcing some of our most valued and experienced officers to retire is bad enough. With all due respect being paid to the good work of the specials, asking officers who have put 30+ years of commitment and experience into the job to come back on an unpaid basis is a really insulting and disrespectful kick in the teeth. It is also a measure of the arrogance and ignorance of senior officers who would even consider such an insulting proposition. Seems like more of a political gesture than a serious operational suggestion to us.

French Police in Uproar Over Lunchtime Booze Ban

They might be lampooned as a bunch of truncheon-happy meatheads by leftwing street demonstrators, but that doesn't mean French riot police don't appreciate a nice glass of Burgundy with their lunch.

The notorious Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité, or CRS, are outraged at an official decree stating they can no longer drink wine or beer with their meals.

Until now, a civilised tipple was part of the daily lunch menu of the controversial force, lauded by Nicolas Sarkozy, whose trademark black body armour and riot shields are a regular feature on French streets.

A glass of wine, beer or cider – but not spirits – was always permitted with lunch, including while on duty. Even packed lunches provided out of riot vans while they were patrolling demonstrations came with a can of beer or glass of wine.

But in October last year, authorities were annoyed when pictures published on the website Bakchich showed uniformed riot police swigging beer from cans on the sidelines of a sixth-formers' street-protest against pension reforms in Perreux-sur-Marne, north of Paris. The website reported that having told locals it was too dangerous to go outside during the high-school demo, uniformed officers stopped for a beer on a street corner in full view of the public.

Police unions expressed their fury at the new decree. Paul Le Guennec, of the biggest riot police union, Unité Police SGP-FO, said the French public had not seemed shocked at the notion of a CRS officer drinking at lunch.

"Does the fact that having a glass of wine while eating prevent any kind of worker from carrying out their job? I don't think the chief of police drinks water when he's having a meal," Le Guennec told the paper Le JDD.

The union argued that the CRS did not have a higher incidence of alcohol problems than the rest of society, saying a small drink with lunch was in line with French labour law.

But unions warned that the row over lunchtime drinking should not be allowed to detract from their protests over cuts to the 14,000-strong force. Earlier this year, there was unprecedented strike action and protests by riot police over cuts to barracks and staff, with some CRS in Marseille going on hunger strike in an embarrassment to the security-minded Sarkozy.

Article courtesy of Guardian Unlimited and www.policeoracle.com

Blind Call Taker Nominated For National Award

The outstanding achievements of a force call taker have been recognised, as she is short listed for a national award.

Carmen Glover, 39, is believed to be the first blind person in any police force in England and Wales to take 999 calls.

She will now represent Nottinghamshire Police in the Outstanding Achievement category at the Call Centre Management (UK)'s awards ceremony, which will take place in Manchester on 12 May.

Carmen joined the force in 2009, and had to wait almost a year before she could take both non-priority and 999 calls. Call operators usually have eight weeks of training and six weeks tutoring before starting in the control room.

The force invested in 'Jaws', a specialist screen-reading software, which talks to Carmen through her headset, navigating her around the computer screen while the caller speaks to her in her other ear.

Operators dealing with 999 calls need to be logged in to a different system and use a touch screen, which meant Carmen had to use a simple piece of plastic with holes in it, to 'feel' the screen.

Louise Ogden, a Control Room Manager who nominated Carmen for the award, said: "Carmen is a top performer on our shift, and last month took 100 more calls than her neighbouring colleague, which is a phenomenal achievement.

"She is an inspiration and is proof of what you can achieve if you really want something.

"Carmen is one in a million. She never gives up and is keen for someone to invent a way for blind people to read maps, as she wants to become a dispatcher who controls the radio operations for police officers.

"Whether she wins or not, her achievements are fantastic. I am extremely proud of all she has done, and the force is lucky to have her."

Speaking of her nomination, Carmen said: "I was really surprised to hear that Louise had nominated me, and I am really proud to be representing the force. Hopefully I can bring back the award for Nottinghamshire Police."

Article courtesy of www.policeoracle.com and Nottinghamshire Police