Police are to be trained in the tracking of suspects via social networking sites, such as Facebook, as part of a new training initiative.
The additions to the training schedule will include how to acquire evidence from computers and mobile phones, plus taking advantage of social media websites to gather information.
According to the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), the changes are needed to adapt policing to modern day challenges.
The additions will impact approximately 3,500 students each year as they take the NPIA’s Initial Crime Investigators Development Programme.
The students will also be taught how to collect information from CCTV, National Footwear Reference Collection images, financial data such as bank statements and cash machines, and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology.
“This programme is a vital part of the career pathway for detectives and the new training covers sensitive areas of policing where limited guidance existed previously,” chief constable Gargan continued.
Often the subject of criticism for the lack of funding towards the investigation of online fraud and technological crimes, Met Police’s Police Central e-Crime Unit can expect to see a 30% cut as a part of government attempts to slash the defecit.
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Police in Australia are delighted with the impact of new Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology, following the capture of 144 unregistered and unlicensed drivers.
Based in the New South Wales area of Australia, police in Wollongong and Lake Illawarra were each given a new patrol car fitted with the latest in ANPR technology.
ANPR looks set to revolutionise policing in the area, after figures show that double the amount of cars are being detected each month.
Sergeant Stewart Arnold revealed: “That’s a trend we’re going to see a lot more.
“This new car has three cameras on the roof and each camera can detect six registrations a second; as you’re going along it’s just checking so many cars, it’s incredible.
The ANPR set up consists of cameras pointing in different directions, allowing for cars ahead, behind and parked on the roadside to be checked automatically and simultaneously.
It doesn’t just check for unlicensed and unregistered cars; information about whether the vehicle is stolen or involved in crime is also displayed.
“We’ll be driving along and then suddenly an alarm will go off and an image of the car comes up on the screen,” Sgt Arnold continued.
“I can approach a driver with all that knowledge in my head, I’m not going in blind,” revealed Senior Constable John Carr.
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Taxpayers have won their battle with West Lothian Council, after the local authority decided to sell its lb7000 private registration number plate.
Burdened with debt of over lb9 billion, the local council believes that the move will send out a positive message to both staff and the community.
Peter Jonston, the council leader, believes that keeping the ASX1 number plate isn’t a priority at this stage in time.
Mr Johnston revealed: “We’ve said from the beginning that no stone can be left unturned in our quest to find vital savings in the face of a lb60 million budget shortfall.
West Lothian council may be in the minority when it comes to sacrificing the personalised number plates to generate funds.
Several other Scottish councils own some of the most valuable UK number plates ever issued, yet have no intention of selling them to raise funds.
Edinburgh Council owns a number plate which is valued between lb100,000 and lb500,000 and Glasgow City Council owns two registrations, valued at up to lb500,000 each.
John Hulbert of Perth and Kinross Council has the number plate ES 1 on his car, which is valued at lb150,000.
The decision by West Lothian Council to cash in on the luxurious number plate is being welcomed by many who seek lower public sector waste.
Emma Boon of the Taxpayers Alliance believes other councils should follow suit.
She said: “While it’s great that West Lothian are selling their number plate and getting rid of their civic car, it’s disappointing that other Scottish councils are yet to follow suit.
“In these tough financial conditions councils must find significant savings.
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Do you have an Android Smartphone? We have done it yet again with another first in the number plate industry – a number plate search app for Android Smartphones.
You can download it completely free of charge from the Android Market. Just search for ‘number plates’.
Just like our iPhone number plate search app and Facebook number plate search app, the new Android app allows you to search for your ideal number plate any time and any place. It’s a fun and fast way to find personalised registrations on the move.
Eric Craggs, Chairman of Nationla Numbers said, “We have always strived to make our vast database available to everyone, wherever they are. Launching a new app to cater for Android users is a new way to bring number plates to the most popular mobile devices”.
Just like our other apps, the new Android app makes use of Nationla Numbers massive database of over 30 million personalised registrations, and is updated in real time to ensure the freshest registrations are available.
You can literally search for anything: your name, initials, or any number can be searched for; with a search taking less than five seconds. You can also browse up to 30 categories of number plates, such as Cheap, Funny, Car, Football, Irish, and Rude; with number plates available from 1903 through to the present day.
Visit the Android Market on your phone and search for ‘number plates’, or see our Android App page.
Cuts being made in the public sector are set to put thousands of jobs under threat at the DVLA.
Swansea is a city that heavily relies on the employment generated by the public sector.
Not only the DVLA, but the Department for Work and Pensions, Revenue and Customs, universities, schools, colleges and hospitals are collectively responsible for 40,000 jobs.
The DVLA head offices are based in the city and employs 4,500.
Roger Langley at the Public and Commercial Services union is deeply concerned about the outlook.
“There’s a real fear, everyone knows someone who works in the public sector and when the cuts come they’re going to be deep,” he said.
Cathy Crosby, an occupational therapist believes that people are very concerned about the prospect of losing their jobs.
“People are extremely worried, it’s very uncertain,” she revealed.
The DVLA have booked their Christmas Party at the Ice House bar, and owner Chris Elliot believes they will still be attending.
“To be honest we’re going to carry on doing what we’re doing,” he said.
“We are mindful of the fact that these things are going to happen but the way we’re running at the moment, we’ve just got to think smart and work hard.
Staff at the DVLA may have to wait months to find out if their jobs are safe, when the Welsh budget is set out by the government.
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Thefts of number plates in the Nottingham and South Nottinghamshire area are on the increase, according to recent figures.
So far this year, there have been over 500 incidents according to crime prevention officer, Robert Vaughn-Newton, with 21 occurrences between October 1 and October 14.
In response, officer Vaughn-Newton has sent 1,500 emails about the current status of crime to members of the Neighbourhood Alert system.
“The thefts are up a little on last year,” he revealed.
“They are all over, perhaps a bit more on the west of the city in Beechdale, Wollaton and Bilborough. There’s also been three this month in West Bridgford.
“It’s very inconvenient owners have to find their vehicle’s V5 document to get replacement plates.
Officer Vaughn-Newton put his concern across in his email: “Thieves usually steal such plates to disguise similar vehicles they intend to use in other crimes such as theft of fuel from filling stations by driving off without paying, theft from other vehicles and burglary.
Number Plate thefts are aren’t just a problem in the Nottinghamshire area, but a national problem too.
“In the London area, people steal them to get away without paying the congestion charge,” officer Vaughn-Newton concluded.
Nationla Numbers have over 10 years experience in getting people the personalised registration number they want.
Those who are considering buying a second-hand car need to be very careful, as a spate of incidents involving stolen vehicles and forged log-books have occurred.
Thousands of blank DVLA log books were stolen in 2006, with the intention of selling the vehicles on as cloned cars.
David Bloor is just one of the victims in the nationwide scam.
After paying lb16,500 for a used Volkswagen Tiguan, Mr Bloor revealed that he was shown what appeared to be an authentic log book, complete with watermarks.
Even the vehicle data checks he made passed with flying colours, but when trying to register the vehicle with the DVLA in the following weeks, he received a visit from police officers.
Police advised David that his car had been cloned and there was no way of reclaiming the money he lost.
Mr Bloor blames the DVLA for the money he has lost.
“They need to be brought to task over this,” he revealed.
Peter Swift, insurance investigator at Claims Management & Adjusting Ltd, is concerned at the rise of similar incidences.
“I don’t accept that drip feeding the new forms into the system is going to have much effect on the crime,” he said.
“It again appears to be more about saving money than protecting the public because the DVLA have clearly accepted that their stolen registration documents have a value, are being used by criminals, and that the integrity of their document is undermined.
The DVLA have provided advice on their website for anyone who is concerned about purchasing a second hand vehicle.
Corporate affairs director at the DVLA, David Evans has revealed that there are several important checks that need to be made.
“The clear message to anyone considering buying a second-hand vehicle is that a registration certificate is not proof of ownership and is one piece of a complicated jigsaw,” he announced.
A British expatriate has spoken of his disbelief at the unfair treatment he received from the DVLA.
Peter West lives in Spain in the winter and France in the summer, but paid a 3 week visit to England in 2008 and returned to England for the birth of his grandchild in February 2009.
However, upon his return, his car was impounded when his foreign registered vehicle was seen to have exceeded the six-month-in-twelve rule.
In total, Mr West’s car had only been in England for nine weeks within the year and was fully-taxed and insured.
Mr West is being supported in his plight by the European Commission and UK authorities have given new guidelines to police forces and the DVLA.
After refusing to pay the lb420 fine and several days of complaining later, Mr West had his car returned.
“I found out that other visitors from Europe, who had a limited understanding of English, had been caught in this trap. I therefore decided that I needed to follow this up to prevent other innocent expatriates and European visitors from being caught in what seemed to be a scam,” Mr West stated.
He continued: “This has been very difficult for me.
“Watching your car being loaded onto a pick-up truck by a policeman is a traumatic experience. I have not driven back since my car was taken, which means I have spent much less time with my family than I would have liked.
“There is too much bullying of ordinary people by U.K. government departments, including the police, who think they are above the Law. On this occasion I am happy that I have been able to strike a blow for the man in the street and, especially, for law-abiding expatriates who want to visit their families a couple of times a year.
There are thousands of number plates available and finding the personalised registration that’s perfectly suited to you can be difficult.
That’s why the experts at Nationla Numbers are here to help.
Nationla Numbers have devoted over ten years to get people the number plate they want and can even bid on your behalf at the next DVLA auction at Ardencote Manor Hotel and Country Club, Claverdon, Warwick, on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd December 2010.
Just call 01642 363738 and let Nationla Numbers help you to get the number plate you want.
Glasgow City Council has revealed that over the past three years, lb130,000 in parking fines remains unpaid by foreign vehicles.
For the years 2007/08, lb21,180 is owed; 2008/09, lb25,200 is owed; and 2009/10, lb92,340 remains unpaid.
The problem isn’t restricted to Glasgow, either.
Edinburgh City Council revealed that in 2009/10 it had to write off lb211,051 in unpaid parking tickets after the vehicles at fault couldn’t be traced.
A spokesperson at Glasgow City Council revealed: “Like any other authority, when a penalty notice is not paid, our main method of tracing the registered keeper of the vehicle is through the DVLA database.
“Clearly, though, the DVLA does not hold information on vehicles registered overseas, so that option is not available to us in these cases. We will, however, still pursue outstanding penalties through different channels wherever we can.
“For example, if we become aware of an overseas-registered vehicle with outstanding penalty notices against it, we may impound the vehicle as a means of obtaining the details we need to recover the money.
For 2008/09, lb13,500 is still owed to Aberdeen City Council in unpaid fines, with a spokesperson announcing: “We do issue penalty charge notices (PCN) to foreign vehicles.
“Anyone with a vehicle with a foreign registration is required to register the vehicle after one year if the vehicle remains in the UK. Because of this, any PCNs issued to foreign vehicles are progressed to full charge and an inquiry is sent to DVLA.
“If the DVLA has no record of the vehicle owner, the PCN will be cancelled as any other at that stage.
A UK motorist has been charged and convicted of using number plates which were undetectable by speed cameras.
John Massaro, 55, of Westhoughton near Bolton, had the number plates fixed on his Jaguar car when he was stopped by police.
Speaking in front of Bolton Magistrates Court, Massaro declared that he was unaware he was breaking the law by using the plates.
The number plates at fault are specially designed to evade detection by speed cameras.
Massaro was originally stopped by a traffic police officer and given a fixed penalty notice of lb60, but feeling hard done by, he contested the fine and took it to court.
Just prior to the court case beginning, Massaro changed his plea to guilty, but criticised the manner in which the penalty was issued, suggesting that he should have been given a warning and sufficient time to replace the number plates.
The court heard that Massaro had personalised registrations with raised lettering, which prevents detection by speed cameras.
Glenn Anderton, prosecuting in the case, revealed: “These are the carbon graphite type of plates.
Mussaro protested the accusation, claiming that when he bought the number plates, he was completely unaware that they were illegal and felt as though he should have been given time to rectify the problem.
“I had a son doing a turn in Afghanistan at the time. My son’s out there and I am being treated like this for something so trivial,” he complained.
Mussaro was fined lb35 and lb35 in prosecution costs, plus a lb15 victim surcharge.
Nationla Numbers have been helping people to get the number plate they want for over ten years.