http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09/02/blunkett_tagging_hype/
John Lettice
"Today's announcement of the Home Office's satellite tracking pilot is a classic of its genre. As is the case with so many Blair government initiatives the earth was noisily promised in the run-up, and continued to be promised by government spokesmen this morning, but the pilot itself is so spectacularly modest, so largely low-tech, that it will provide little or no useful information about the viability of the 'prison without bars' that David Blunkett will continue to dangle before our eyes through the upcoming election campaign.
So, as the nonsense flows from the Home Office over the next 12 months, just you remember that the tech tinkering cannot and will not take the Home Office's 5,000 most prolific offenders (as specified in its Strategic Plan) out of circulation by putting them into a virtual pen. Tagging and tracking is (as will become clear in the years following the next election) at best a system that can be used on a relatively small scale in conjunction with early release and rehabilitation schemes for offenders who want to be rehabilitated."
SOCIETY, SOCIAL MEDIA, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE< GOVERNMENT>JUSTICE - a selective newsfeed
society
Friday, September 03, 2004
Prisoners pen anti-crime booklet / BBC NEWS, 2 Sep 2004
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/3618440.stm"A new crime prevention booklet being launched in Swansea contains some expert advice - courtesy of inmates at the city's prison.
Offenders have provided tips on how to steer clear of crimes such as fraud, car crime, violence and burglary.
And they have backed them up with their own real-life experiences.
It is aimed at improving their literacy skills to help them get a job and at making them focus on the impact of their crimes on the victims. "
Offenders have provided tips on how to steer clear of crimes such as fraud, car crime, violence and burglary.
And they have backed them up with their own real-life experiences.
It is aimed at improving their literacy skills to help them get a job and at making them focus on the impact of their crimes on the victims. "
Sex is their business / Economist, 2 Sep 2004
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3151258
"There is perennial discussion of reforming prostitution laws. During the 1990s, the talk was all of liberalisation. Now the wind is blowing the other way. In 1999, Sweden criminalised the buying of sex. France then cracked down on soliciting and outlawed commercial sex with vulnerable women�a category that includes pregnant women. Britain began to enforce new laws against kerb-crawling earlier this year, and is now considering more restrictive legislation (see article). Outside a few pragmatic enclaves, attitudes are hardening. Whereas, ten years ago, the discussion was mostly about how to manage prostitution and make it less harmful, the aim now is to find ways to stamp it out."
"There is perennial discussion of reforming prostitution laws. During the 1990s, the talk was all of liberalisation. Now the wind is blowing the other way. In 1999, Sweden criminalised the buying of sex. France then cracked down on soliciting and outlawed commercial sex with vulnerable women�a category that includes pregnant women. Britain began to enforce new laws against kerb-crawling earlier this year, and is now considering more restrictive legislation (see article). Outside a few pragmatic enclaves, attitudes are hardening. Whereas, ten years ago, the discussion was mostly about how to manage prostitution and make it less harmful, the aim now is to find ways to stamp it out."
Evaluation of the Bail Amendment (Repeat Offenders) Act 2002 / [Australia] BOCSAR, Aug 2004
http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/bocsar1.nsf/pages/cjb83_0
"Amendments to the Bail Act1 introduced by the NSW Government in 2002 have significantly increased the rate of bail refusal and substantially reduced the number of people absconding on bail, according to a new report released today by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR).
The amendments to the Bail Act were made following an earlier BOCSAR report which revealed that, in some categories of offence, up to 25 per cent of defendants released on bail by the NSW Local Court were absconding (failing to appear in court)."
PDF - http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/bocsar1.nsf/files/cjb83.pdf/$file/cjb83.pdf
"Amendments to the Bail Act1 introduced by the NSW Government in 2002 have significantly increased the rate of bail refusal and substantially reduced the number of people absconding on bail, according to a new report released today by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR).
The amendments to the Bail Act were made following an earlier BOCSAR report which revealed that, in some categories of offence, up to 25 per cent of defendants released on bail by the NSW Local Court were absconding (failing to appear in court)."
PDF - http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/bocsar1.nsf/files/cjb83.pdf/$file/cjb83.pdf
EU Study for the European Commission / Statewatch News Online, Aug 2004-
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2004/aug/transfer-protection-status.pdf
"The transfer of protection status in the EU, against the background of the common European asylum system and the goal of a uniform status, valid throughout the Union, for those granted asylum"
"The transfer of protection status in the EU, against the background of the common European asylum system and the goal of a uniform status, valid throughout the Union, for those granted asylum"
Thursday, September 02, 2004
New super strain of coca plant stuns anti-drug officials / Scotsman, 31 Aug 2004
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1002462004
JEREMY MCDERMOTT
"DRUG traffickers have created a new strain of coca plant that yields up to four times more cocaine than existing plants and promises to revolutionise Colombia?s drugs industry.
The new variety of coca, the raw material for cocaine, was found in an anti-drug operation on the Caribbean coast, on the mountainsides of the Sierra Nevada, long known as a drug-growing region.
Samples of the plant were sent for laboratory analysis and experts then pronounced drugs traffickers had developed a new breed.
'This is a very tall plant,' said Colonel Diego Leon Caicedo of the anti-narcotics police. 'It has a lot more leaves and a lighter colour than other varieties.'
A toxicologist, Camilo Uribe, who studied the coca, said: 'The quality and percentage of hydrochloride from each leaf is much better, between 97 and 98 per cent. A normal plant does not get more than 25 per cent, meaning that more drugs and of a higher purity can be extracted.' "
JEREMY MCDERMOTT
"DRUG traffickers have created a new strain of coca plant that yields up to four times more cocaine than existing plants and promises to revolutionise Colombia?s drugs industry.
The new variety of coca, the raw material for cocaine, was found in an anti-drug operation on the Caribbean coast, on the mountainsides of the Sierra Nevada, long known as a drug-growing region.
Samples of the plant were sent for laboratory analysis and experts then pronounced drugs traffickers had developed a new breed.
'This is a very tall plant,' said Colonel Diego Leon Caicedo of the anti-narcotics police. 'It has a lot more leaves and a lighter colour than other varieties.'
A toxicologist, Camilo Uribe, who studied the coca, said: 'The quality and percentage of hydrochloride from each leaf is much better, between 97 and 98 per cent. A normal plant does not get more than 25 per cent, meaning that more drugs and of a higher purity can be extracted.' "
Northamptonshire Police fit in-car data recorders to reduce crashes
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1681
"Black boxes which record and store a range of information about vehicle journeys and driving behaviour are being fitted to police vehicles by Northamptonshire Police.
The devices, which are more properly known as Incident Data Recorders (IDRs), are currently being fitted to 70 marked police vehicles across the county as part of a year-long pilot project aimed at reducing collisions involving police vehicles.
In the past 12 months, 356 police vehicles have been involved in collisions or incidents on the county?s roads, and 13 officers suffered injuries as a result. This has led to vehicles being off the road for some time and has also led to an increase in the cost of vehicle insurance for the county Force, which is keen to reduce both costs and injury to its staff. "
"Black boxes which record and store a range of information about vehicle journeys and driving behaviour are being fitted to police vehicles by Northamptonshire Police.
The devices, which are more properly known as Incident Data Recorders (IDRs), are currently being fitted to 70 marked police vehicles across the county as part of a year-long pilot project aimed at reducing collisions involving police vehicles.
In the past 12 months, 356 police vehicles have been involved in collisions or incidents on the county?s roads, and 13 officers suffered injuries as a result. This has led to vehicles being off the road for some time and has also led to an increase in the cost of vehicle insurance for the county Force, which is keen to reduce both costs and injury to its staff. "
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