Those Awful, Savage Cuts To NHS Mental Health Services…

In a public outreach exercise that revealed the distress suffered by those closest to the tragedy, health professionals visited thousands of people from the area to determine if they needed help from the NHS.

The Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust said staff had knocked on 2,200 doors in the west London neighbourhood and that 600 people, including 100 children, had been referred to the mental health services.

Wait, I thought they were stretched to breaking point? How come you've got time to go out soliciting for business? 

Ah, Southend's Vibrant Night Life!

Kier Godfree, 26, fractured a pool player’s nose - causing permanent scaring - during a large-scale affray at the Borough Hotel, in Marine Parade, Southend.

Mykee Bowers, 23, punched a young woman in the face - leaving her with two black eyes, a split lip and nerve damage to her cheek.

Otherwise known as 'a typical Southend evening's entertainment' in certain areas.

Charlotte Davison, prosecuting, said the incident started after Bowers, of Weaverdale, Shoebury, got into an argument with the man.

She said pub staff described Bowers as “extremely agitated” and “aggressive.”

A staff member initially defused the situation but Bowers “rushed past him and started swinging punches.”

The court was played CCTV footage of the incident, which showed a huge brawl involving several men.

Lovely!

Dreadlocked Godfree, of Mendip Crescent, Westcliff, then got involved. The father-of-three, who promotes reggae nights in bars and clubs in the town, approached the pool table and shouted: “Who punched my brother?”

In a totally unprovoked attack, Godfree then punched Jason Matthews.

They are said to work as bouncers. Nothing like taking your work home with you, is there?

The court heard Bowers has three convictions for four offences - mostly for violent and public order offences.

Godfree has eight convictions for ten offences, including an actual bodily harm charge from 2009.

Nice people. Just the sort you'd hire to prevent trouble, right?

Nick Jones, mitigating, said both men regretted the incident and admitted their guilt at the earliest opportunity.

Well, with all the CCTV, it's not like they could really do much else, is it?

Judge Ian Graham said the brawl was a “substantial incident of disorder in a public house.” Each man received a nine month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months. Godfree was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and Bowers 120 hours.

*sigh*

"You never had control, that's the illusion!"

Police are investigating an incident where a dog was attacked and killed by another dog in a south Bristol park while the owners looked on in horror.

Officers are asking for help to identify a man on a mobility scooter believed to be the owner of the violent animal.

Just the sort of person who should own a powerful and dangerous animal!

The man on a mobility scooter is believed to be the owner of two dogs - including the dangerous dog - who were both being allowed to roam freely without a lead.

After the attack, the man refused to give his details to the couple and drove away through the park, leaving through the exit to Headley Lane and Hartcliffe Way and turning left into Novers Lane.

The man is described as white, in his 50s or 60s, around 5"8, heavily built with receding lightly coloured hair.

He was wearing grey jogging bottoms and a dirty looking hat and his mobility scooter had a light and a weatherproof hood.

It is believed the man had been drinking.

Shouldn't be hard to identify. And clearly, even he realised this...

The owner of a large American bulldog which killed a poodle in a Bristol park has come forward, after the police appealed for information about the incident.

Officers said a man voluntarily presented himself to a police station after the Bristol Post revealed how the dog’s owner fled on a mobility scooter after the attack on Saturday night.

Aha, the American bulldog, rapidly taking over from the Staffie-cross as the weapon of choice.

But what the hell is it with people who can't walk getting a pet that needs regular exercise?

QC Patricia Lynch sentenced Blackwell, who drives a mobility scooter, to a six month suspended sentence, a 30-day rehabilitation requirement to assist with her welfare and made an order for compensation.

Her welfare shouldn't be the bloody concern here!

Patricia Lynch said: "This was shocking and thoroughly disgraceful behaviour.

"The dogs should not have been off the lead and it was irresponsible to take them off the lead.

"I will make it perfectly clear I was very firmly of the view that you were not a fit and proper person to look after dogs."

Make whatever you like clear, but it doesn't seem to work that way?

Blackwell will maintain the custody of JD.

/facepalm

Literal House Arrest!

Paul Dickenson, 26,used threatening racially motivated language towards Brett Gordon, and Nathaniel Yon, and Adam Poon between January and May.

He also assaulted and harassed two police officers.

Dickenson, of Baffins Lane, Chichester, admitted 14 offences at Worthing Magistrates' Court on July 3 including being drunk and disorderly, possession of cannabis and breaching previous court orders.

Yet the racial abuse attracts a higher tariff, obviously. Not spent in prison, mind you:

Magistrates sentenced Dickenson to a 20 month suspended prison sentence, and issued him a curfew until October 2 banning him from leaving his property at night.

One wonders why the judge felt the need to inflict punishment on his neighbours....

Magistrates said they had been particularly concerned by his "pattern of racially motivated offending over a five month period".

The cannabis taking and the ignoring of court orders are a mere bagatelle, but heavens to Betsy, we can't have racism!

Wait A Minute, Who Wouldn't Film This..?!?

...because it'd be quite a feat, given how unstable they are and the pilot would really have to be on the ball to avoid...

Wait.

Oh.

I Think We're Gonna Need A Bigger Plate...

...because 480 kids won't fit around a plate that size. Maybe they could do it in shifts...?

What?

Oh.

H/T: @Galakitty via YTwitte

Sunday Funnies...

Surely being ultra-rich is the only perk you really need?

They Don't Always Help Themselves, Do They?

Totally understandable and anyone would....

Wait.

Brighton and Hove's top cop said it was “horrendous” for the family but the fact that Sussex Police gave such a substantial response over a prolonged length of time was testament to how seriously they took tackling hate crime.

Hang on! 'Hate crime'? Say, isn't there something a little bit off about that headline?

Ah.

Mrs Bell said the investigations were plagued by evidential difficulties including accounts from members of the Deghayes family differing “from time to time” and the encouragement by father Abubaker to his children to exaggerate incidents.

Then what the hell do you think you need to apologise for?

The Brighton and Hove city commander said the question of how the teens were radicalised remained the most frustrating aspect of the investigation. She said the force understood the role social media played in brainwashing young people and said it was vital the authorities got to grips with the issue.

She said the force was “very proactive” in not criminalising young people but added it was important for the force to learn that “some criminal, risky behaviour” are indicators of early trauma or vulnerabilities.

This is a cop speaking, right? Not some wishy-washy social work graduate?

Oh, wait. I forgot. That's the sort of cop who makes it to the top these days, isn't it?

Pinaki Ghoshal, director for families, children and learning, said a decision to remove the five Deghayes children from a protection plan in 2012 was not about resources but because of a lack of understanding of adolescent neglect where they were viewed as “perpetrators of violence” and not as victims.

The cops & the social workers seem interchangeable, don't they? So why are we paying twice for the same service?

Councillor Fails To Recognize The Local Problem...

...it's people like her:

After having a great time at the Afropunk London festival last weekend, I followed my usual ritual before going to bed on Saturday night: checking to see what I had missed on Instagram during the day.

I came across the clip of CCTV footage that appeared to show a Metropolitan police officer attempting to restrain 20-year-old Rashan Charles from east London, who shortly afterwards took his last breath. I was stunned and confused. I closed the app with a heavy heart and said a prayer for Rashan and his family.

Not for the police officers or the shopkeepers who'd soon be fending off the mob of usual suspects?

When I saw the statement from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) the next morning, reporting that it had “obtained evidence which indicates an object was removed from [Rashan’s] throat at the scene”, I instantly thought of Edson Da Costa.

Just four weeks ago, 25-year-old Edson, also from east London, died after contact with the police. The IPPC also said that “the pathologist removed a number of packages from Mr Da Costa’s throat”.

Did you start to see a pattern?

I am a local councillor in Newham and the deaths of two young black men in east London in a matter of weeks is a cause for concern, to put it mildly.

Because it's not enough? So many drug dealers, so little time...

Whatever the packages or objects that were removed from Rashan’s and Edson’s throats were, is there is a safe way to do this? Is there a protocol? Is there a different protocol at an airport if someone is suspected of smuggling something? Does and should the same protocol apply to officers on the beat?

No. Yes. No. No. There. Cleared that up.

Were the circumstances the same as those of Edson’s death? If so, have the Met been recently given sufficient training and guidance to properly and safely assess the danger a person is in and be able to remove objects from someone’s throat?

Who cares?

If these cases were drugs-related, is this symptomatic of a wider drugs problem in east London? If so, why are drugs still a problem in 2017? Since 2010 we’ve seen central government cuts to local authorities’ budgets on an unprecedented scale, year after year. This has resulted in cuts to non-statutory services such as youth and drug prevention services.

You could flood the council coffers with gold from the Treasury, and people would still take drugs!

Part of the anger following this death, expressed by some at a vigil on Monday, is the suspicion that excessive force was used because of the colour of his skin. We know that black men are more likely to be treated harshly by the criminal justice system, at the stages of arrest, charging, prosecution and imprisonment. Would witness statements and accounts from arrests of non-black people in similar circumstances mirror how we saw Rashan being treated in the video?

Yes. Because the police would be duty bound to try to stop anyone swallowing evidence, be they black, white, brown or yellow.

These questions are by no means accusations.

No. No, of course they aren't.

There is still a lot more the police need to do to rebuild trust with community groups, beginning by being more representative of the society they represent.

So we should recruit police from the drug-dealing, resisting arrest community?

This is why, instead of being able to quietly mourn the death of yet another young man from our community and paying respect to his family, many are angry and suspicious of the police.

No, they are angry at the police because they are low-information morons who've been taught to believe that the world owes them a living 'cos they is black.

Taught that by idiots like you, who see a situation like this not as an opportunity to educate your voters about the dangers of illegal activities, but as a way of advancing your own career:

Seyi Akiwowo has been a Labour councillor in Newham, east London, since 2014. She is a fellow at the Royal Society and also writes and speaks on diversity in politics, and social and economic inclusion, as well as methods to improve civic and political participation of underrepresented groups

You know what would 'improve civic participation'  in your neck of the woods, Seyi? It'd be when the voters wise up and stop electing people like you.

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