On Thursday the 2nd of March 2017 the authorisation of a new model of TASER weapon, the X2, for use by UK police was announced via a written ministerial statement to the House of Commons. I Wrote about the TASER X2 in 2012. On the evening of the 2nd of March I asked Cambridgeshire’s Police [...]
At a Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Panel meeting on the 16th of March 2016 Dave Baigent, the Labour candidate to be Police and Crime Commissioner, offered to speak to me on camera. I’m publishing the full unedited video of our unprepared, impromptu, discussion along with a transcript. Notable Points Labour’s Dave Baigent has been caught [...]
Cambridgeshire’s Police and Crime Panel is responsible for scrutinising the actions and decisions of Cambridgeshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner. On the basis of its scrutiny the panel can then make public recommendations to the Police and Crime Commissioner. At the February 2014 meeting of Cambridgeshire’s Police and Crime Panel I sought to use the public [...]
On Friday I volunteered to become a member of Cambridgeshire’s Police and Crime Panel. I volunteered previously, in October 2012. One of those appointed by the panel in 2012 didn’t attend any meetings of the panel for over a year, and didn’t respond to correspondence from the panel. Cambridgeshire’s Police and Crime Panel appeared quite [...]
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is today recommending that Police and Crime Commissioners take a more active role in overseeing their force’s use of TASER weapons. One of the recommendations in the IPCC report titled “IPCC review of Taser complaints and incidents” states: The frequency and type of Taser use, and its justification on each [...]
On the 27th of March 2014 the UK Home Office released police TASER use statistics for England and Wales in 2013. I have made the statistics available in a spreadsheet 2013 saw four forces issue TASERs to non-firearms officers for the first time. These forces were Cambridgeshire, Essex, Sussex and Thames Valley. All UK police [...]
Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner Graham Bright I have submitted the following in advance of the “public participation” slot at the Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Panel meeting scheduled for 14.00 on Wednesday the 5th of February 2014. Reporting of Decisions The Police and Crime Commissioner repeatedly assures the panel he is reporting all decisions he [...]
Julian Huppert MP, I have noticed our Police and Crime Commissioner, Graham Bright, is due to appear in front of you and other MPs at the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee on Tuesday the 26th of November 2013. I would like to share some ideas for questions, which I think are both firmly [...]
Cambridge Community Safety Partnership met on the 29th of October 2013. The most notable thing in my view was the complete absence of any elected representatives. Cambridge has 56 councillors (42 City and 14 County) but none attended this key meeting at which the police, and other bodies, report their performance agains the city wide [...]
An inquest is currently underway in relation to the death of Mark Duggan who was shot and killed by police in London on the 4th of August 2011. The police evidence raises questions about how officers prepare statements for inquests, court appearances, and investigations by others such as the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The inquest [...]