Policing news

The following are a selection of articles concerning the police that were featured on BBCI over the past week:-

July bombings 'not preventable'

The London bombings of 7 July could not have been prevented by security services, two reports on the events are expected to conclude. The government and a parliamentary committee have examined the attacks, carried out by three men from West Yorkshire and one from Buckinghamshire. It is thought they will say a lack of resources prevented ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan from being intercepted. His link with a suspected terror cell is also expected to be mentioned. Four suicide bombs on three Tube trains and a bus killed 52 people and injured hundreds on 7 July last year.

Attack man's ear almost severed

A man's ear was almost severed when he was attacked outside a pub after leaving a party. The 20-year-old was assaulted after leaving the Five Alls pub, Bishopsgarth, Stockton, late on Friday. Cleveland Police said the victim had to have plastic surgery after a man punched him in the face and bit his ear, almost severing it. Police are appealing for a woman who went to hospital with him to come forward as a potential witness.

Child killer must serve 16 years

A psychopath who mutilated and murdered a three-year-old girl more than 10 years ago must serve at least 16 years in jail, a High Court judge ruled. Shaun Armstrong, then 33, was jailed for life in July 1995 after pleading guilty to murdering Rosie Palmer. He abducted her in June 1994 after she went to buy an ice lolly from a van outside her home in Hartlepool. After a review of the minimum term set at his sentencing, Mr Justice Crane concluded it should remain at 16 years. Police found the youngster's body hidden in a wardrobe at Armstrong's flat three days after she disappeared. He was described as having a "severely disordered personality".

Teens charged with youth's murder

Five teenagers including a 15-year-old juvenile have been charged with the murder of a Ballymena schoolboy at the weekend. They are expected to appear at the town's magistrates court on Thursday, a police spokesman said. Two other juveniles were arrested on Wednesday evening and are being questioned by police. Michael McIlveen, 15, died on Monday after a gang attacked him in the town in the early hours of Sunday.

Motorcyclist dies after accident

A motorcyclist has died following an accident in County Armagh. Drew Absolom Coulter, 28, of Dungannon, was involved in a collision with a car on the Loughgall to Portadown Road at about 1915 BST on Tuesday. A woman and a young child in the car suffered minor cuts, injuries and shock in the crash. Meanwhile, a 13-year-old boy remains critically ill in hospital after being hit by a car in Bangor. It happened on Gransha Road at 0830 BST on Tuesday.

Major police forces review begins

A major review of how Scotland's eight police forces deal with serious and organised crime is under way, BBC Scotland has learned. It is being carried out as the Home Office is planning the merger of smaller forces in England and Wales. However, Scotland's chief constables are likely to say no such reorganisation is necessary here. The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos) is to publish its blueprint for the future.

Laptop is stolen from blind woman

A "callous" thief has stolen a specially adapted laptop from a blind woman in Edinburgh. The Siemens laptop, which is customised for the woman, and a Toshiba laptop were stolen from a flat in Tollcross on Thursday between 1230 and 1515 BST. The customised laptop has a distinctive screen reader and a Norwegian version of Windows installed, making it useless to anyone but the owner. Police want to hear of any sightings of people with laptops in The Meadows. A Lothian and Borders Police spokeswoman said: "The theft of the laptops has left the owner in difficulty because she relies on her specialised computer to complete her coursework and carry out other tasks.

Sentence deferred on car gunman

Two police officers were threatened by a gunman after they stopped a car in Cumbernauld, a court has heard. James Sneddon, 25, opened the passenger door of the car on 10 January and produced a double-barrelled shotgun and told the officers to "get back". Sneddon admitted assaulting constables David Clark and Christopher Halaka by aiming a shotgun at them. At the High Court in Glasgow, Judge Lord Hodge deferred sentence until 2 June for background reports. The police officers stopped the vehicle in Afton Road, Cumbernauld, earlier this year.

Robber blames jail for drug habit

A man who robbed a store at knife-point a month after his release from prison has been jailed for five years. Scott Gibb, 26, blamed getting hooked on heroin while serving a sentence in Inverness Prison, according to solicitor advocate Murray Macara. The £1,685 robbery at Fairfield Stores in Montague Row, Inverness, was committed to feed his addiction, the High Court in Edinburgh heard. Mr Gibb admitted the assault and robbery, committed on 2 April. He had been staying at a hostel in the city's Island Bank Road since his early release from a two-year sentence on 28 February. Sending him back to jail, judge Lord Wheatley noted it was Mr Gibb's third conviction for similar offences.

Bogus calls spate causes concern

Residents in Tayside have been falling victim to bogus callers, despite police appeals aimed at tackling the problem. The latest spate of incidents has taken place in Angus and Perthshire and elderly people in particular have been warned to be on their guard. Callers can pose as tradesmen, charging over-inflated prices for small amounts of work which may never be carried out. Residents in Perthshire were recently targeted by three men who stole hundreds of pounds from four homes. The latest appeal came after it emerged that an elderly couple were distracted by two men at their home in Glamis and then robbed of almost £300 in cash.

Report pinpoints police failings

New procedures for the identification of bodies have been introduced by a police force after an unidentified body lay in a mortuary for two years. The body of Sean Hutchinson, 20, was found off the Kent coast in 2003. His mother Gail had reported him missing from their home in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, two weeks earlier. His body was not identified for two years after a coroner's officer failed to send off DNA samples and a detective did not notice, a police report says. The report, conducted internally by Kent Police's Professional Standards Department, said that officers may have initially believed that Mr Hutchinson's body was that of an asylum seeker.

Two jailed over fake DVD factory

Two Chinese men have been jailed after they admitted running what was described by police as one of the UK's biggest ever pirate DVD factories. Kent Police said the facility, in Burnt Oak, north London, could make up to 36,000 counterfeit films every day. John Tak Ke Lau, 45, and Chee Chong Liew, 35, both of Upper Clapton Road, east London, admitted conspiracy to defraud five major film companies. They were sentenced to 16 months and 21 months respectively on Wednesday.

Knife robber flees empty-handed

A man who tried to rob an Aberdeen newsagents armed with a knife left the shop empty-handed. A 59-year-old female shop assistant at Barrons Newsagent, in Holburn Street, was threatened by the man who demanded that the cash till be opened. He made off without any money, leaving the victim "very shaken" but unhurt at about 0830 BST on Tuesday. Grampian Police said the man was white, in his mid 20s, 5ft 10in tall, of slim build, with gaunt features. The man was last seen heading towards the roundabout at Great Southern Road and Fonthill Road where he possibly walked to the Hardgate.