Yeah, That's Maybe Not The Reason...

University of East London (UEL) students have helped to organise a protest against the so-called war on drugs.

Wha..?

Holding up banners and posters, the students engaged one-on-one with members of the public to criticise the government’s punitive approach to drug use and to promote more compassion and support.

Student Daniel Hay said the response from the public on Monday was positive.

He said: “The day was brilliant – lots of very receptive people who were genuinely interested and supportive of the campaign.

“I found virtually no resistance to the movement from the people I spoke to.”

Really?

He added: “I think changing the location of the campaign from Westminster [last year] to Stratford was a great move, as people who so often feel alone and neglected were able to see that there’s people out there fighting for them.”

Ah. Not because they're all stoned, then?

Stop Patting Yourselves On The Back...

After an attack lasting 40 minutes, she pretended to be dead and waited until she thought it was safe to move then managed to get into a nearby barn.

Nijamul Islam arrived in a car but was too scared to get out, so Ms Obuchowski had to drag herself to the vehicle.

What a prince!

Mr Hardy said when Islam found out what had happened he said: 'Why have you called an ambulance, now I am going to have a big problem.'

He told Ms Obuchowski: 'Remember, tell the police you were attacked on the road.'

And I thought my estimation couldn't get any lower. I was wrong. How does a person like this managed to be trusted to produce four-legged weapons?

At St Albans Crown Court today Nijamul Islam, who ran the compound, was jailed for two and half years after pleading guilty to two charges of being in charge of a dog which was dangerously out of control.

Islam, of Farm Road in Edgware, north London, also admitted being in breach of an order disqualifying him from keeping dogs and four charges of causing unnecessary suffering to dogs.

He was banned in 2012 from keeping any animals for 10 years by magistrates in Bedford because of his ill treatment of dogs in a similar operation. He had also been given a five month sentence suspended for two years.

Wasn't anyone checking?

Islam also had a conviction for keeping a brothel dating back to 2007 when he appeared at Southwark Crown Court. The court heard the father-of-three was now working as a cab controller earning £600 per week.

His barrister, Mr Joe Sidhu QC, asked that he be given credit for his guilty pleas on the day of his trial and he had spared the victim from having to give evidence.

Well, you can't say he isn't trying his best for his client, I suppose...

Judge John Plumstead was told several people worked at the farm, where dogs to be used in the security industry were allegedly trained. After the attack, police found 101 animals on the site. The judge was told the conditions for the animals were 'appalling' with filthy cages covered in urine and faeces.

Mr Hardy said a veterinary surgeon who visited the farm after the attack at the request of the RSPCA was shocked by what she found. The court heard 40 dogs had to be put down because of their temperaments and the two dogs which attacked Beata were later destroyed.

Don't these sort of premises require some kind of inspection?

East Herts Chief Inspector Gerry McDonald said: 'Islam had a total disregard for the welfare of his employee, who had only been working there for a few days when the incident occurred.

'The significant sentence handed down to Islam today reflects the seriousness of his crimes and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the police officers, in particular, the officer in the case DC Jan Hollis, and RSPCA inspectors who worked hard to bring this case to court.'

I'd be a bit happier about your self-congratulation if there was some evidence you'd done something before a kennel maid wound up being used as a chew toy...

Sparing No Expense...

...for some families. Though not for others:

Their comments came as Robert Trigg was yesterday jailed for life for their daughter’s murder in 2011 and the manslaughter of Caroline Devlin in 2006.

Neither death was thought suspicious by police at the time, who were described as treating the killer like a bereaved lover rather than a suspect. He was not questioned by police until November after Ms Nicholson’s parents spent six years and thousands of pounds investigating the deaths themselves.

Compare this with the oceans of public funding spent on the Lawrences and the McCanns.

What a pity their daughter didn't mysteriously die in Portugal, it might have been holiday season...

Judge Simler praised Ms Nicholson’s family for fighting “doggedly and continuously” for justice. Mr Skelton, 83, of Goring, claimed he and his wife Elizabeth, 81, were not taken seriously by a string of public bodies.He called for a public inquiry, for investigations and conclusions on other deaths in similar circumstances to be reviewed, and said he was considering taking legal action against the force.

Mrs Skelton, who had a heart attack during their campaign, said: “The fight still goes on. We still seek answers to unexplained questions. Why is it the police were unable to bring this case to court when we, Susan’s parents in our eighties, managed to?”

Why indeed? It seems to have come down to resources:

Sussex Police apologised for the delay in getting justice for the families and referred how they handled the original investigations to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The court heard there was a row over money when the coroner told police a more thorough post-mortem on Ms Devlin should be carried out.

Probably cost a fraction of the police budget that went on kitting out their cars in rainbow colours to support 'Pride'...

Unfit For Purpose...

The IPCC report is finally out:

Investigators found a “frequent and persistent failure" of officers to record the crimes being committed against him, despite his "polite and ultimately futile persistence” in requesting their help.

There was also a “consistent systematic failure” by call handlers, who breached standards on recording crimes, identifying hate offences and repeat victims.

It was likely “that the perpetrators of the offences against Mr Ebrahimi, came to believe that they could act with impunity towards Mr Ebrahimi”, the IPCC report stated.

Of course they did. They were cruel and coarse and violent but they weren't stupid. Unlike the officers (now dismissed) and the Chief Con (now 'retired').

It's 'Clear' To Everyone Except The Judicial System...

Emma Jones, representing Day, asked the judge to lift a restriction which effectively prevents Day from using Westcliff train station.

She said although Southend East is technically closer to his home, he was “concerned” about going there because of a recent incident. The judge said that if Day experienced problems he should “call the police”.

At this point Day, who was allowed to sit in the public gallery (Ed: ?) for the hearing, jumped to his feet and began shouting and swearing. He said: “They put a gun to my Mrs’ belly!”

He then attempted to leave the court and brushed past a security guard, causing the judge to shout: “Arrest that man!”

At which point the police should have said 'You allowed this habitual criminal to leave the dock, where he should have been. You go arrest him!'

Who was the idiot judge, anyway?

Oh.

In 2013, the Echo reported how a judge told Day “the picture is depressingly clear” after he admitted four counts of shoplifting.

His most recent conviction was for assault and using threatening behaviour towards three charity workers.

Judge Owen-Jones said: “I do see how he loses his temper in the twinkling of an eye. Even a judge making a comment produces the type of outburst that we have seen.

“My view is that it should be for an indefinite period.”

His jail term, yes?

The community seems to know all they need to know about this waste of skin. But all the 'reports' in the world don't seem to have clued in the judicial system.

Some Parents Are Cruel...

...I mean, a big book of baby names to choose from, and you come up with that...?!?

You Know, It Actually Makes More Sense...

...than most of the 'Echo' news articles.

Sunday Funnies...

Strangely, none of these are 'Picture Editor's Suite at the 'Daily Mail'..'

Third World Inhabitants, Third World Attitudes...

Relatives were concerned about the overall death toll and the time it was taking to identify the dead.

“The answers are not being given. People are asking the questions, but we are being told, ‘We still don’t know,’” Choucair said earlier. He is still uncertain about what happened to his mother, Sirria Choucair; his brother-in-law, Bassem Choukair; his sister Nadia Choucair; and their three children: Mierna, 13; Fatima, 11; and Zainab, three.

That's because they still don't know. It's not some vast conspiracy to prevent people from knowing.

His family has been allocated a family liaison officer by the police, but still had no confirmation about the fate of the missing relatives. Police have not formally told them that the family are missing, presumed dead. “We are praying for the best,” he said. “It is killing us more than anything, not being told what we should know. It is very unfair and very inhumane. We have to sit by, every day and wonder what is happening. I can’t express how we all feel.”

It is what it is. Good grief, in most of the Third World areas these people hail from, the 'authorities' would have bulldozed the tower already after a cursory search!

Police have told the family that the top three floors, where his relatives lived in two flats, remain very unsafe. “It is very unstable, very insecure,” he said. “They say it may take days, months, years to search. How can you tell a parent, loved ones, a family, ‘Just hang on in there, hold on, one day we will know’? That’s not right. It’s not fair. Things should be done more quickly.”

Which part of 'unsafe' are you unclear on, exactly? It's going as fast as it can reasonably go, in a country with H&S laws.

Sid-ali Atmani lived with his wife, daughter and stepson on the 15th floor of the tower.

He said they were offered a two-bedroom flat in the nearby borough of Westminster, but he was holding out for something the right size and near his children’s school, adding that residents were “not asking for the moon, they are asking for dignity”.

Jesus wept! Where's the dignity in living off the taxpayer and demanding more and more as if you were entitled to it?

There was also a widespread demand for detailed answers on the process of DNA testing and the recovery of bodies. Anna Thwaites, a Bindmans solicitor, said: “Families want information about why the identification process is taking so long.”

They've been given that information. They don't seem to be listening, or comprehending. Shouldn't it be your job to tell them that?

"I'm Sorry, Madam, Your Get Out Of Jail Free Card Has Been Declined."

A mother-of-two caught smuggling drugs to prisoners was today starting a jail sentence after top judges ruled that parenthood cannot be a “trump card” for criminals.

Hurrah!

Prison officer Safak Sinem Bozkurt, 28, sneaked £11,700 of cannabis in her bra, plus mobile phones and SIM cards, past security at the young offender institution where she worked.

She was given a two-year suspended sentence at Southwark crown court after pleading with the judge not to jail her because she is a mother. However, following a challenge by Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC, Court of Appeal judges have ruled the sentence was too lenient and Bozkurt should be jailed for two years and eight months.

Heh! Why did dhe do it, anyway?

Bozkurt, from Islington, was caught out during a staff search at Isis young offender institution in Thamesmead in July last year. She was found to have 117g of cannabis in her bra, as well as mobile phones, SIM cards and charging cables stuffed into her waistband.

She had been offered £1,000 per consignment of smuggled goods, and agreed because she needed to clear debts and pay for the criminology masters degree she was studying.

*boggle*

Bozkurt was allowed to go home after the hearing last Thursday week and told to report to jail today to start her sentence.

I wonder if she actually turned up?