FINN (COM) DAILY RECORD:
Compiled by J. Brock (FINN)
POLICING AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN INTRODUCED AT PUBLIC MEETING
By J. Brock (FINN)
Police Chief, Dave Morris, at a public meeting at the Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday afternoon, introduced the Royal Falkland Islands Police Policing and Development plan. With him were Sgt. Dave Roberts and Detective Inspector McGill as well as Councillors. Jan Cheek and Stephen Luxton of the Police Advisory Committee.
Chief Morris began by explaining what exactly was in the plan, beginning with an explanation that anything that the general public needs to know is in the Policing and Development Plan. The plan begins with the “mission statement:” to uphold the law of the land; to preserve the Queen’s peace; to prevent and detect crime; to protect and assist the public; operate a secure and efficient prison system; maintain the registry and licensing of vehicles and weapons.
Next, the objectives of the plan were listed. The six are: to preserve the peace; to maintain law and order; to prevent and detect crime; to apprehend and guard offenders; to protect property. The presentation went into the resources available to the Royal Falkland Islands Police, which are listed as: Staff costs (2004/2005) £522,280.00, medical fees, £800.00, departmental operating costs £38,600.00, departmental overheads, $34,000.00, departmental transfers, £10,000.00, capital charges, £14,650.00, totalling £620,540.00.
A brief explanation about what will happen when the manpower reductions take place brought to light contingency plans for higher ranking officers to go on patrols and spend time on watch duties. Dave Morris then went on to explain that the establishment as it stands is 17 officers. A 24-hour patrol call is in operation and according to the Police Chief, this will continue, even though the force will be reduced through natural wastage. “To provide 24-hour cover takes an awful lot of manpower to operate,” he said. Even then, overtime and reserves will be used in lieu of hiring on new constables.
Next came an explanation about measurable objectives and targets. One is to maintain current records of crime figures. Added to this the Police are to try and knock the figures down. Also, they are to increase the detection rate. They must respond properly to 999 calls and ensure all recruits undergo timely basic training. Performance indicators, also in the plan, cover three years. This enables people to measure performance of the department from year to year. After explaining about the percentage of crimes detected, offences per 1,000 of population, percentage of detected cases that are prosecuted and how efficiently 999 calls are handled, a graph showing the detection rate from 1998 to 2003 was shown. This graph, on average, showed detection rates in the high ‘90% range.
Development is also covered in the plan and one of the things the Police have done and are continuing to do is improve communications. They have gone for a scrambler system and introduced island-wide radio. Police are trying to improve the Rural Patrol Programme with a view to getting out to each settlement every three months. Fingerprint and photo records are improved by the use of a digital camera. In the past, firearms capability has been improved. Instead of getting a trainer from the
Crime reduction is being handled by projects like the D.A.R.E. programme, reducing alcohol abuse by communicating with pub owners and by trying to reduce underage drinking. Other areas include underage sex and child protection. The Police image was also discussed. This has been aided by the transfer of prosecutions to the AG’s Chambers in order to get rid of the stigma of the Police being seen as judge, jury and executioner. Also, public meetings, meetings in camp via radio phone in with Camp participants.
There is a Royal Falkland Islands Police Customer Charter available that explains the standard of service you can expect if you are the victim of a crime, or a witness of a crime, or even suspected of a crime. Each year, an annual report is prepared that shows exactly how the Royal Falkland Islands have performed throughout the year, as well as the achievements and set-backs.
The plan is 18 pages long, with the charter attached to the back. A copy is located in the Library.
After the presentation, there were questions from the public. Concerns were raised that with the natural wastage the police would be over-stretched and not as effective as this would be if fully manned. Cllr. Jan Cheek mentioned that there were no plans to make anyone redundant from the Police Force but, indeed, it was natural wastage that would reduce the numbers. Police Chief, Dave Morris (DM) said:
DM: There is a possibility that we will lose more than one officer. It’s got to be confirmed. No matter what we lose, we will try our best to maintain a 24-hour patrol cover. This will be done by using the Sergeants to cover duties when we are short. The reason for it is to have an immediate response when we have a 999 call. We’ll be a bit thin on the ground at times but we should be thin on the ground when it’s quiet. When we’ve got people on the ground, we should be busy and able to maintain it. We’re going to try anyway.
The watch system would be staggered. It won’t reduce the level of service but if there is only one person and there are two jobs on, then there would be priorities. Even if it takes 20 minutes to half an hour, it’s better than having nobody there at all.
Was the D.A.R.E. programme effective? Sgt. Dave Roberts (DR) explained:
DR: Yes it is. The DARE programme as a whole is sponsored by
DM: The DARE programme has been accepted and is appreciated by parents and students alike.
DR: Also, we are moving into Senior School, talking about sex education to the students that are going away to college this year, who just missed the DARE programme when it first started. We are telling them about getting into vehicles and being tempted by alcohol and cigarettes. We are teaching them to find out what the intentions are so that their foundations are solid.
Just this afternoon, Detective Inspector Len McGill (LM) received a phone call from the Director of Education, Mrs. Sylvia Cole, who has invited himself, Dave Roberts and the Attorney General to inform the teaching staff about what the legal responsibilities are, also to assist them in how they can deal with them. That’s something that even a few years ago was totally unheard of. Prior to that there was great suspicion of policemen who came to school in uniform. It’s a great response and good to see people coming forward to stay involved with the police and to get information from them.
Active legal things like banning orders were discussed as positive measures taken to stop some of the alcohol related crimes against persons that occur locally. Support from the courts and the licensees lend to a multi-agency approach to reducing the problem of alcohol related crimes. Though it’s early days, repeat offending has tapered off somewhat.
LM: Those that are just turning 18 are our first customers, if you like and, they’ve got to go through that process. There is always a bunch of them that will end up as our ’customers.’ There are more of those but with repeat offending, I think it is less likely.
It was time to give the taxi services in the
LM: It’s one of the best things that could have happened and it certainly has reduced our workload.
Changes in the licensing laws will also help, with people being able to go for a few drinks whenever they want, rather than trying to get as many in them before the barkeeper calls time. People don’t come out en mass any more, so the taxi can take individuals home when they’ve finished drinking. With the extension of drinking hours Cllr. Cheek (JC) said this:
JC: It is interesting from the other side of the fence. Fortuna, at that time ran Glory Hour at the Globe. And, the amount taken in the Globe in two hours now is pretty much the same as in one hour.
As for licensing laws in general, the Police don’t see any problem with the changes that are soon to take place. With the change in hours, people can go home after work instead of heading straight to the pub. They’ve got time to have something to eat prior to having a drink. Another aspect of the new licensing laws is the admission of children under 18 years old on to licensed premises. They must be home by 2100 during the week and must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Already there are licensed premises that allow children in for Sunday dinner and special occasions with their parents and guardians. There has been no problem with this practice and it is soon to be expanded.
Would the DARE programme help in future? Detective Inspector McGill answers.
LM: Absolutely. I think we might see the results of that in a couple years’ time. Obviously, we’ve got very few that would have been in that system. The first DARE students we have are coming up to 18. It certainly justifies the need to have it.
Police are also working with very young students in an addition to the DARE programme to help them understand their personal safety. Year 2 to Year 4 are being taught by Sgt. Roberts about the dangers of swallowing chemicals – anything from paints to nail varnish. They are taught not to touch them but are advised about the certain types of food that are safe and why. The programme also covers letting family know of their whereabouts and teaching them to memorise phone number, address, who their parents are. They are also taught to explain what has happened to them. Further, they are taught about how to cope with being at home alone if something were to happen as well as showing them what is and is not safe. Finally, they are taught about people they know and those who are strangers and how to deal with them confidently.
DR: The problem we’ve got with bicycle training is that I can only work with four kids in the school playground. I will have to walk around with them instead of being on a bike.
Other venues were discussed but it was pointed out that the FIDF Hall might be too far away while the Leisure Centre floor could be damaged by dirty bikes and associated mishaps with them. The football pitch is an option when it is dry. Another option is the old Stanley House Tennis courts that were re-built by the Ghurkhas in 1986. This area was considered to be too rough. The police stressed the importance of cycling safety and why they should wear a properly fitting helmet while cycling. The other aspect of cycling safety is the condition of the bike, its brakes, reflectors and lights.
The final major item discussed was children and wearing seatbelts. There is a piece of legislation coming up that covers wearing of seatbelts for all children as well as infants. All officers and Councillors agreed that wearing seatbelts save lives. Incidences where people have been killed on the MPA road and other roads have happened when the victim has been thrown from the vehicle. Vehicles can offer protection if accident victims stay inside of them. Wearing seatbelts keeps people inside the vehicle.
In the
LM: I spoke to a previous Councillor many years ago – Wendy Teggart – who was adamant that seatbelts were the worst things, until she was coming down
What I would like to say to people about seatbelts is that if you take your son and sit him in a chair and take a pane of glass and hit him in the face at 10MPH – would you do that? If your answer is yes, you would kill him. They don’t do crash tests above 25MPH because chances of survival hitting a solid object past 25MPH is nothing. It doesn’t exist.
Two days ago one of our people travelling slowly at
I wear my seatbelt and my son won’t let me start the engine until he’s got his seatbelt on.
Councillor Cheek had witnessed a horrific accident where the vehicle in front of her went end to end and rolled over several times. The people were a bit shaken up but they were all hanging from their seatbelts.
LM: All of the deaths on the
The surface of roads even the ditches do not cause the deaths. What Len said makes a lot of sense, as any one of us who has had their life saved by wearing a seat belt can testify.
(100X Transcription Service)
Full steam ahead
By Jennifer Quinn
BBC News Online Magazine
Shipboard life conjures up images of tuxedos and champagne, quoits
and high tea. But things have changed, and with more Britons taking
cruises than ever before, it's high times on the high seas.
Down the telephone line from
almost see Maja Milovicic shaking her head.
She's not interested in any suggestion that the cruise ships - and
their perishable cargo of tourists - are an irritant to citizens of
her picturesque Croatian town.
war period, there was shelling, attacking the city. That annoyed us.
she says. "Tourism is the most important industry in
have to decide: Are we going to do something, or are we going to
sleep?"
With more Britons than ever exploring the world by sea - more than a
million set sail for foreign parts in 2003, spending more than £1
billion - the cruise industry is going full steam ahead.
'Fuddy-duddy'?
That's thanks in part to a new batch of ships, packages aimed at
younger, hipper, less "fuddy-duddy" travellers, affordable fares,
and holidaymakers looking for a different sort of adventure.
CRUISE CONTROL
1,053,727
963,580 ocean voyages
90,147 river cruises
Source: PSA
In 2003, 1,053,727 Britons chose a cruise as their annual holiday.
That's a culmination of a trend that over the past decade has seen
the number of Britons cruising quadruple, according to the Passenger
Shipping Association.
"The image of cruising has changed," says Martin Tanner, a marketing
manager with Cruise Control, a
cruising is for old people, there's nothing to do, and it's really
expensive - that all people do is swan around, in dinner suits, at
cocktail parties, or sit in deck chairs with blankets over their
legs watching the scenery go by when they're not playing bridge or
shuffleboard.
"What's happened is that people are waking up to the new age of
cruising - a floating resort with far more facilities than you can
ever imagine in a land-based hotel," he added. "You've got some
ships with an ice skating rink, five swimming pools, 12 bars, nine
restaurants, a shopping mall, Jacuzzi, golf course. And this is all
on a ship."
The
destinations, says William Gibbons, director of the Passenger
Shipping Association, but the organisation found that the number of
travellers headed to far-flung places like
Environmental impact
That sounds as if it would sound an alarm with conservationists. But
Denise Landau, the executive director of the International
Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, said that continent tends
to attract a special kind of tourist.
"There's a different spirit among people that go to
Landau says, noting that 2,562 Britons landed there during the
2003-04 travel season. "They appreciate nature and they're
interested and they tend not to be the kind of people that would
throw a Coke can overboard."
The big cruise lines that visit
to
have all voluntarily set environmental standards for themselves,
Landau notes.
That's not the case everywhere. Environmental group Oceans Blue has
a large website devoted to issues of pollution generated by ships
and the effects of the huge liners on the sea's ecosystems.
Floating hotels have cut quite a wake in the tourism industry
It has suggested a vessel certification process to "guarantee on
behalf of the public and stakeholders that cruise ships are meeting
rigorous environmental and social standards".
Mr Gibbons says environmental awareness is a key part of the
industry.
"I think we are very environmentally conscious," he says. "Really,
cruise ships are entirely dependent on clean oceans for retaining
our passengers. I think if we were seen as polluters, we wouldn't
have many passengers."
Like Ms Milovicic, Debbie Summers is happy to see the ships steam
into the
agent there, she's understandably enthusiastic over the ships' using
Population growth
When a large ship docks, with about 1,500 passengers, it instantly
doubles
"But it's only for a few hours. And all in all, everyone gets on
well with our cruise ship passengers," she said. "We have a very
short season. So it's not like we have time to get fed up."
And any ruffled feathers in places like
soothed by the fact that the tourists often come bearing cash, and
give their ports of call a welcome shot in the economic arm.
"People realise that cruise ship passengers bring a lot of instant
cash into the economy, to independent people in the private sector,
not just to the
