Shoplifting offences in city centre under-recorded for years

17 Jan 2013 06:05

West Midlands Police dealt with 120 thefts from stores in October and November 2011, but the figure rocketed to 361 over the same period in 2012.

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Shoplifting cases in Birmingham city centre have TREBLED in just 12 months – after police admitted under-recording the problem for years.

West Midlands Police dealt with 120 thefts from stores in October and November 2011, but the figure rocketed to 361 over the same period in 2012.

Sources claimed the rise came after city centre officers were told by senior cops to begin recording ALL offences.

And now the force has revealed the number of offences had not been properly recorded in Birmingham, Wolverhampton or Coventry for ‘years’.

Chief Supt Clive Burgess insisted the force took business crime “very seriously”.

But he admitted: “Last year West Midlands Police – through a routine audit – identified the under-recording of shoplifting in our city centres spanning a number of years.”

Sources claimed the force discovered officers were investigating and dealing with many more shoplifting cases than had been recorded. 

The sources claimed on many occasions multiple banning orders had been handed out to shoplifters instead of police dealing with the offences more severely. 

A source said: “You had a situation where some shoplifters were ending up with multiple banning orders from different stores. Officers might have attended or dealt with the incidents over the phone, but not all offences were being recorded in official figures. 

"They were simply doing what they were told to do. From October 1 that changed and, as a result, the numbers recorded rocketed immediately.”

The Mail discovered the staggering increase in official figures supplied by West Midlands Police to the UKCrimeStats website.

They revealed the force recorded just 53 shoplifting offences in October 2011, but that rose to 175 last October. Similarly, the force registered 186 thefts from stores last November, compared to 67 in the same month in 2011.

West Midlands Police ended last year with the lowest crime levels ever recorded in the region.

In a statement, Mr Burgess continued: “We reported this issue to the independent West Midlands Police Authority who, like the current Police and Crime Commissioner, recognised the need for more effective crime recording. The issue was also discussed at length with key business leaders in the city.

“The audit information and the force’s Continuous Improvement programme enabled additional officers to be deployed into Birmingham city centre to build on the partnership work and problem-solving approach which was already in place with retailers to reduce the impact of people coming into Birmingham to steal. 

"The changes have enabled us to more effectively identify hotspot locations and further develop a range of tactics to target offenders.

‘‘This includes arrest, civil interventions such as anti-social behaviour and banning orders, restorative justice and fines. The tactic used is specific to the particular circumstances of the offence, the offender and more importantly the victim.

“In addition to our own in-house scrutiny panel which identified this issue, the force is routinely audited by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary. During their last visit in June 2011 the force’s crime recording processes were given a clean bill of health.

“West Midlands Police is committed to improving the service we offer to all communities, including the business community, and will continue to check and monitor all aspects of our operations.

Police commissioner facing revolt as crime watchdog refuses to back unelected assistants

14 Feb 2013 07:00

Bob Jones admits he's offering ‘‘a much poorer level of service’’ than disbanded West Midlands authority as row breaks out over his £292,000-a-year plans

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West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Bob Jones

Police Commissioner Bob Jones is facing an embarrassing revolt after his own crime watchdog refused to back his appointment of three unelected assistants.

And just three months into his new £100,000 per year role, Mr Jones has admitted he is offering ‘‘a much poorer level of service’’ in some areas than the now disbanded West Midlands Police Authority.

Letters seen by the Birmingham Mail have revealed a serious split between the Commissioner and the West Midlands Police and Crime Panel (PCP), the body appointed to monitor his performance.

Mr Jones has proposed appointing three Assistant Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), who will sit alongside him and his deputy Yvonne Mosquito on a new body called the Strategic Policing and Crime Board. He also proposes to appoint three part-time executive board members.

The total annual wage bill for the eight roles is £292,000, including pension contributions.

But the controversial plans have been seriously undermined by the PCP - made up of 12 senior councillors from across the region and two independent board members.

Its chairman Darren Cooper questioned the value for money of the new jobs and the political make-up of the Strategic Board. He also raised concerns some APCCs may live outside of the districts they will be covering.

The split is so serious the PCP has now refused to take any part in Mr Jones’ appointment of the APCCs and has also snubbed an offer to attend his Board meetings.

In a letter of January 28 to the Commissioner, Sandwell Council leader Mr Cooper said: ‘’There were genuine concerns about your appointments process for the APCCs.’’ 

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Bob Jones with Chief Constable Chris Sims at Lloyd House

 

He concluded: ‘’As a result of these concerns the Panel agreed that, at this point, they would not take up your offer of involvement in the selection process nor as formal observers at Board meetings.’’

Mr Cooper also claimed the appointment of the three new APCCs would reduce accessibility to the Police and Crime Commissioner - one thing the Government said creation of the elected roles would IMPROVE.

In a reply, written the very same day, Mr Jones hits back at the criticism.

He said: ‘’I am establishing a Strategic Policing and Crime Board because I believe that through its membership I will be more effective in the delivery of both my statutory duties and the expectations placed on me by the public.’’

Former Wolverhampton Labour councillor Mr Jones was elected in November.

Yet he raised some eyebrows at the quick appointment of his deputy, fellow Labour councillor Yvonne Mosquito – who earns £65,000 per year for a 32-hour week.

The job was not advertised and there were no other candidates.

Meanwhile, the three new APCCs will be paid £22,500 per year for just ten days work a month – equivalent to £48,620 for a five-day week.

They will each cover two areas, either Coventry and Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton or Dudley and Sandwell. Mrs Mosquito will have responsibility for Birmingham.

The three non-executive Board members will receive £7,500 per year for working two days a month.

Mr Jones added in his letter to Mr Cooper: ‘‘I have high expectations of those who take up roles. The role of the three Assistant Police and Crime Commissioners is significant.

‘’Your letter would appear to imply that you see no role for the three non-executive appointments that I intend to make. Again, I see these as invaluable, adding an element of challenge to the Board which will enhance my decision-making.’’

Yet the Police Commissioner admitted: “I am acutely conscious that in some aspects of my role I am offering a much poorer level of service than the previous Police Authority of 17 members.

“There is a certain irony that the revised governance arrangements have resulted in the public having a much more accessible person to contact about their policing concerns, while at the same time reducing the resource available to address those individual concerns.”

The EDL demonstration, terrorism and reduction in crime by dccdavethompson

Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on DCC Dave Thompson The EDL demonstration, terrorism and reduction in crime by dccdavethompson Last week was unquestionably one of the most challenging weeks I have seen in my police career, and ultimately one of the most rewarding. The force faced the combined threat of a person allegedly engaged in serial terror attacks on the Muslim community and a major EDL demonstration. The force needed to catch the offender, prevent further attacks, work with communities and manage their concerns and police a major public order threat. With the appearance in court of Pavlo Lapshyn, charged with murder and other terrorism matters, and the great skill in which the EDL event was managed the results so far have been outstanding. It happened because of great action at so many different levels. A fantastic investigation by the CTU; the rapid mobilisation of community and protective security operations by local teams; great work from all the support departments. There has been fantastic leadership by Golds, Silvers, SIOs and LPU and Department Teams and support from other partners and other forces in the region and beyond. Most of all I would pay credit to some brilliant bobbying by staff at Birmingham East without which Lapshyn would not have been found so promptly. As a Chief Officer Team we met twice daily last week to keep on top of the challenges and the spread of great work was fantastic to hear. Thank you so much for all your individual work that has resulted in a great team effort. I think it is important to say that the support and calmness of communities, and in particular Muslim communities, in this situation has been exemplary. I know those of us at West Midlands Police have been very determined to create a safe region for everyone over the last week and catch the person responsible for these dreadful acts. The confidence shown in us has been humbling. There are also a few challenging facts in this case. Firstly, the low level of media coverage the events received. Our circulation of the picture of alleged suspects in the Mosque attacks drew very little coverage; that was frustrating at a time we needed public help. I wonder if you picked another faith and said that there would be a series of bombings at places of worship during a major religious period and the police had a picture of the alleged attacker you might think it would get more coverage? Secondly, in the post 9/11 world Birmingham’s alleged first victim of a terror attack in the city could well be a Muslim man. This underlines extremism and violence are dangerous whatever the motivation and as a force we will be determined to protect all communities. Preventing violence is an issue for all of us. Of less profile, quite rightly, was the coverage of the HMIC Policing in Austerity Report. The force was rated as one of the strongest forces in the country in its programme of change and its performance in dealing with the need to reduce costs and improve services. That is good news and shows some painful and challenging early work has paid off. I guess it isn't a report to be celebrated but it does show we are well placed for the future. The media coverage was interesting regarding reductions in crime last week with the release of annual crime data showing us as one of the country’s most successful forces. I have felt for Chris Froome this week trying to convince some people (not needed here!) that his great performances are drug free. It’s a bit like being a police chief saying crime is down; no one wants to believe you! Happily last week’s coverage, particularly from BBC correspondent Mark Easton, made the point that there is a lot of evidence it is. Sadly that's all come at a time when we have seen some small shifts upwards in the last few weeks on crime; particularly violence in the hot weather. It was a shame one paper really jumped on this to try and play three months statistics against two years worth of reduction. Oh well, but I am sure we will be pulling this back in the next few months. Whatever the figures do say there is no room for complacency. After the media coverage I received a letter from a pensioner in Birmingham outlining, not crime but incivilities, that he sees everyday that make him feel unsafe. We may have cut burglary, robbery and crime in general but there is still a great deal of work to ensure everyone leads a peaceful existence. dccdavethompson | July 25, 2013 at 8:41 am | Tags: crime figures, crime reduction, EDL demonstration, terrorism | Categories: Weekly Update | URL: http://wp.me/p1iQgt-8a Comment See all comments Like Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://dccdavethompson.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/the-edl-demonstration-terrorism-and-reduction-in-crime/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

Top cop attacks media coverage of mosque bombings and Birmingham Mail's report of crime rise

Top cop attacks media coverage of mosque bombings and Birmingham Mail's report of crime rise 25 Jul 2013 12:51 West Midlands Police Deputy Chief Constable Dave Thompson uses blog to question whether coverage would have been greater if a different religion had been targeted Share on print Share on email West Midlands Police Deputy Chief Constable Dave Thompson A police chief has launched an astonishing attack on the media by suggesting it failed to properly publicise appeals about Muslim mosque bombings out of possible religious bias. And Dave Thompson, Deputy Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, questioned whether coverage would have been greater if a different religion had been targeted. Blogging about the recent Black Country mosque attacks, the force’s second most senior officer wrote about the ‘low level of media coverage the events received’. He added: “Our circulation of the picture of alleged suspects in the Mosque attacks drew very little coverage; that was frustrating at a time we needed public help. ‘‘I wonder if you picked another faith and said that there would be a series of bombings at places of worship during a major religious period and the police had a picture of the alleged attacker you might think it would get more coverage?’’ View gallery """""""""" Mosque nail bomb View gallery Ukranian Pavlo Lapshyn, 25, was arrested last week and charged with the alleged terror-related murder of Muslim grandfather Mohammed Saleem, 82, who was killed as he walked home from a mosque. The suspect is also accused of causing three explosions outside mosques in Walsall, Wolverhampton and Tipton. Dep Chief Con Thompson praised his officers for their handling of that investigation and the weekend EDL rally which passed off with only a handful of arrests. He said: “The force faced the combined threat of a person allegedly engaged in serial terror attacks on the Muslim community and a major EDL demonstration. The force needed to catch the offender, prevent further attacks, work with communities and manage their concerns and police a major public order threat. “With the appearance in court of Pavlo Lapshyn, charged with murder and other terrorism matters, and the great skill in which the EDL event was managed the results so far have been outstanding. “It happened because of great action at so many different levels.” View gallery """""""""" 82-year old Mohammed Saleem stabbed to death in Small Heath View gallery In the same blog the officer made a pointed reference to the Birmingham Mail’s recent coverage of a rise in recorded crime. We told how crime had risen in the West Midlands by more than two per cent, just months after the force was boasting about falls in offences. We revealed that overall crime had risen by 2.5 per cent from April to July 15, compared with the same period in 2012. The force said the ‘most serious violence’ was also up, by 2.3 per cent, from 781 to 799 offences. The Mail article prominently recorded that burglaries were down 5.6 per cent and robberies by 3.5 per cent. Dep Chief Con Thompson said: ‘‘The media coverage was interesting regarding reductions in crime last week with the release of annual crime data showing us as one of the country’s most successful forces.... ‘‘Sadly that’s all come at a time when we have seen some small shifts upwards in the last few weeks on crime; particularly violence in the hot weather. “It was a shame one paper really jumped on this to try and play three months statistics against two years worth of reduction. Oh well, but I am sure we will be pulling this back in the next few months.” The force’s second most senior officer is a regular blogger and as well as crime, often writes about non-police related subjects, including sports, politics and the NHS. In his latest posting he wrote about Tour de France winner Chris Froome who lifted the trophy at the weekend. He said: “I have felt for Chris Froome this week trying to convince some people (not needed here!) that his great performances are drug free. “It’s a bit like being a police chief saying crime is down; no one wants to believe you! Happily last week’s coverage, particularly from BBC correspondent Mark Easton, made the point that there is a lot of evidence it is. ‘‘Sadly that’s all come at a time when we have seen some small shifts upwards in the last few weeks on crime; particularly violence in the hot weather.’’ “Whatever the figures do say there is no room for complacency,” he added. The figures speak for themselves. So does the Birmingham Mail.

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