G4S Cash Solutions has called for retailers to plan early to keep cash flowing during the Olympic Games. Speaking at a recent British Retail Consortium (BRC) event in London, G4S cash management expert Chris Rowe said that smaller retailers in particular will need to plan carefully to manage their cash flow if they are to take advantage of the increase in visitors expected to hit the capital next year. In his presentation to an audience of leading UK retailers including John Lewis, B&Q and McDonald’s Restaurants, Chris emphasised the need for retailers to plan early to deal with the in...

Bernard Hogan-Howe will be the new Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, the Home Secretary announced today. Her Majesty the Queen granted Royal Approval to the appointment after final interviews for the position were conducted by the Home Secretary and the Mayor of London today. Home Secretary Theresa May said: 'I am delighted to announce Bernard Hogan-Howe as the new commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.' 'I made my recommendation following representations from the Metropolitan police Authority and discussions with the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.' Royal approval ...

The police service recorded 48,127 hate crimes between January and December 2010, which compares to 51,920 crimes in 2009. ACPO has published hate crime data today for the period of 1st January to 31st December 2010, for the five monitored forms of hate crime classifications used by the criminal justice system. In 2010, the police recorded 48,127 crimes where the victim, or any other person, perceived the criminal offence to be motivated by hostility based on a person’s race, religious belief, sexual orientation, disability or where the victim was perceived to be transgender. This compares...

A decade after the global tragedy of 9/11, a groundbreaking pan-European research project led by the University of Birmingham is calling for increased accountability and tougher legal restrictions on surveillance and detection technologies. In the culmination of a three-year collaborative research project, known as DETECTER, researchers from the University of Birmingham argue that even the use of covert technologies should take into account individual freedoms and be covered by strict legal restrictions. In a series of recommendations on how to conduct preventive policing while protecting the...

The £5 million 'community action against crime: innovation fund' is now open for bids from local voluntary groups. Active citizens The fund is designed to bring together active citizens and encourage new and creative ways of working to tackle crime. Voluntary and community sector groups have until the 1 December to get their applications in. Minister for Crime Prevention and Antisocial Behaviour Reduction, Baroness Browning said: 'Voluntary groups play a vital role in empowering communities to work together to tackle the crime and antisocial behaviour that blights many of our towns and ...

Just when the security industry thought it was safe to get back in the water after Securitas had acquired the business of Reliance Security Services, Geoff Zeidler, Country President Securitas UK & Ireland, and Vice President of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), hooked another acquisition, Chubb Security Personnel, writes Infologue.com Editor Bobby Logue. Two great deals but now comes the real challenge, the enormous task of merging three leading security companies (three out of the six largest UK security companies) into a single super brand (the second largest company ...

A security supplier has been electronically tagged after being found guilty of supplying unlicensed security guards and failing to provide material to the Security Industry Authority. Duncan Thorburn, 54, who traded as Thor Security, based in Bolsover, Derbyshire, was found guilty of 17 offences of supplying unlicensed security operatives, two counts of failing to provide material to the SIA, and one count of making a false statement to the SIA. Thorburn, of Newark Road, Newark, was in addition a director of Thor Security Services Limited, a former SIA Approved Contractor. Seventeen addition...

Today the Home Office fulfilled its earlier commitment to publish draft terror legislation to be used in exceptional circumstances. The review of counter-terrorism and security powers in January this year concluded that there may be exceptional circumstances where it would be necessary for the Government to seek Parliamentary approval for additional measures. The Enhanced Terrorism and Investigation Measures Bill follows acknowledgement in the government's review of CT powers, published in January, that enhanced measures are necessary in extraordinary circumstances. In a statement to Parli...

As part of its responsibility to monitor developments in the threat from organised crime in Europe, Europol has identified an increase in the volume of illegal waste shipments across borders, spurred by economic growth and globalisation. Driven by an exceptional ‘low risk – high profit’ margin, illegal waste trafficking and disposal activities have become one of the fastest growing areas of organised crime. In the EU, the illegal trafficking of waste is particularly rising between countries in North West and North East Europe. Criminals are exploiting the high costs associated with le...

Facebook, Twitter and Blackberry messenger among representatives discussing use of social media by law enforcement agencies. The central London summit follows evidence that social networking sites and messaging services were used to coordinate criminality during the English riots earlier this month. The meeting will focus on ways to improve the technological and legal capabilities of the police in the future. Working better together Commenting on tomorrow's meeting, a spokesperson from the Home Office explained: 'These discussions will help us determine how law enforcement and the networ...