‘Hanging by a thread’: Public trust in police has fallen to its lowest level ever, watchdog warns

Published

2 years ago

June 9, 2023

admin

Public trust in the police has fallen to the lowest level ever – and time is running out to restore it, the policing watchdog has warned.

Chief constables are being urged to concentrate on crimes that matter most to people, get the basics right in investigations and restore the abandoned policy of neighbourhood policing.

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke says they should be forced to do all of this by law – and he is demanding new legal powers to make chiefs follow his rules. He also wants a role in their appointment.

Mr Cooke said: “There are clear and systemic failings throughout the police service in England and Wales and, thanks to a series of dreadful scandals, public trust in the police is hanging by a thread. We have a small window of opportunity to repair it.”

He said repeated calls for change over the years have mostly been ignored or implemented too slowly by forces.

“A perfect example of this is that since 2016 we made a considerable number of recommendations to address police officers abusing their position with victims for sexual purpose,” he said. “Not enough forces took meaningful action and that’s why we are where we are.

“This lack of action meant it had become too easy for the wrong people to join the police and the wrong people to stay in the police.

“Now, there’s only so many times we can say the same thing in different words. The time for talking has passed and it’s now time for action.”

Mr Cooke, a former chief constable of Merseyside Police, acknowledged that most officers were dedicated, brave and committed – but insisted that major reform is needed. The same applies to other organisations.

Victims who aren’t vulnerable should still get good service

He said an underfunded mental health service meant police officers were often having to deal with patients when they should be fighting crime. He said last year police attended 600,000 mental health incidents.

“I wouldn’t expect a mental health professional to investigate crime. The role of the police needs to be more tightly defined,” he said.

“Having too many demands makes it difficult for them to prioritise. Often and rightly, a significant amount of time and effort is spent trying to protect the most vulnerable.

“The police exists to serve all citizens equally. Victims who aren’t vulnerable should still receive a good level of service from the police when they need it, it is not an either or.”

He described the criminal justice system as “dysfunctional” – revealing that in October last year the backlog of crown court cases was the highest ever recorded.

“In too many cases victims lose confidence in the system and withdraw from the process entirely,” he said.

“Forces need to show professionalism, get the basics right when it comes to investigating crime, and respond properly when someone dials 999.

“This is what matters most to the communities they serve and this is the way forward for the police to regain the public’s trust.

“The fundamental principle of policing by consent, upon which our police service is built, is at risk – and it is past time to act.”

Confidence has dropped to below 50%

He said figures from surveys in which the public was asked if it thought police did a good job were dangerously low, dropping in two years from 75% to below 50%.

“People are genuinely, arguably safer than before, most crime is down, but people just do not feel safer. Policing has got to be seen as effective,” he added.

Mr Cooke described neighbourhood policing as the “building block of policing” in England and Wales.

“It isn’t just a nice thing to do. It’s fundamental to the police relationship with the public and to preventing crime.”

He said that government public spending cuts has seen a reduction in police community support officers (PCSOs) from 16,377 in 2010 to 8,263.

“By providing an effective neighbourhood policing presence communities get the opportunity to voice their concerns and offer their opinions about local priorities,” he said.

“This helps police and their partner organisations, such as local authorities, to work with the public to problem-solve and prevent crime.”

Last year, when he was appointed, Mr Cooke criticised forces for not dealing properly with basic, volume crimes such as domestic burglary.

A report earlier this week revealed that all forces were now attending every reported home burglary, but another said that officers had failed to solve a single burglary in almost half of the areas in England and Wales over the past three years.

UK

Royal Navy intercepts Russian warship and tanker

Published

6 hours ago

November 23, 2025

admin

Royal Navy intercepts Russian warship and tanker

A Royal Navy patrol ship has intercepted two Russian vessels off the UK coast, the Ministry of Defence has said.

It comes after Defence Secretary John Healey announced last Wednesday that lasers from Russian spy ship the Yantar were directed at RAF pilots tracking it, in an attempt to disrupt the monitoring.

The MoD said on Sunday that in a “round-the-clock shadowing operation”, the Royal Navy ship HMS Severn has intercepted Russian warship RFN Stoikiy and tanker Yelnya off the UK coast in the past fortnight.

The Russian vessels sailed through the Dover Strait and westward through the English Channel, the MoD said.

HMS Severn later handed over monitoring duties to a NATO ally off the coast of Brittany, France, it said, but continued to watch from a distance and remained ready to respond to any unexpected activity.

The ministry added that the UK’s armed forces are on patrol “from the English Channel to the High North” amid increased Russian activity threatening UK waters.

Last week, Russia accused the British government of “provocative statements” after the defence secretary warned the Yantar was nearing the UK.

At a news conference in Downing Street on Wednesday, Mr Healey said the spy ship was on the edge of British waters north of Scotland, having entered wider UK waters over the last few weeks.

He said it was the second time this year the Yantar had been deployed off the UK coast and he claimed it was “designed for gathering intelligence and mapping our undersea cables”.

Mr Healey said the ship had “directed lasers” at pilots of a P-8 surveillance aircraft monitoring its activities – a Russian action he deemed “deeply dangerous”.

In a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the defence secretary said: “We see you. We know what you are doing. And we are ready.”

The ministry said while tracking the Yantar, Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset and other civilian ships in the area “experienced GPS jamming in a further demonstration of unprofessional behaviour, intended to be disruptive and a nuisance”.

Russia’s UK embassy dismissed the accusations and insisted the Yantar is a research ship in international waters.

The defence secretary also repeated government plans to increase defence spending and work with NATO allies to bolster European security.

And he stressed how plans to buy weapons and build arms factories will create jobs and economic growth.

A report by a group of MPs, also released on Wednesday, underlined the scale of the challenge the UK faces.

It accused the government of lacking a national plan to defend itself from attack.

The Defence Select Committee also warned that Mr Healey, the prime minister and the rest of the cabinet are moving at a “glacial” pace to fix the issue and are failing to launch a “national conversation on defence and security” – something Sir Keir Starmer had promised last year.

The UK has seen a 30% increase in Russian vessels threatening UK waters in the past two years, according to the MoD.

But the ministry maintained the UK has a wide range of military options at its disposal to keep UK waters safe.

Three RAF P-8 Poseidon aircraft have deployed to Keflavik Air Base in Iceland in the largest overseas deployment of the RAF P-8 fleet so far, the MoD said.

They are conducting surveillance operations as part of NATO’s collective defence, patrolling for Russian ships and submarines in the North Atlantic and Arctic.

The operations come just weeks after HMS Duncan tracked the movements of Russian destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov, and frigate HMS Iron Duke was dispatched to monitor Russian Kilo-class submarine Novorossiysk.

UK

Ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans for Aston Villa game ‘based on false hooligan claims’

Published

6 hours ago

November 23, 2025

admin

Ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans for Aston Villa game 'based on false hooligan claims'

West Midlands Police has defended the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending an Aston Villa match after it was claimed that false intelligence was used.

Supporters of the Israeli club were barred from the Europa League fixture at Villa Park on 6 November.

West Midlands Police chief superintendent Tom Joyce told Sky News before the game that a “section” of Maccabi’s fanbase engaged in “quite significant levels of hooliganism”.

According to The Sunday Times, West Midlands Police claimed in a confidential dossier that when Maccabi played Ajax in Amsterdam last year, Israeli fans threw “innocent members of the public into the river”, and added that between 500 and 600 supporters had “intentionally targeted Muslim communities”.

The report also said 5,000 Dutch police officers had been deployed in response.

However, the Netherlands’ national police force has questioned the claims, reportedly describing information cited by its British officers as “not true” and in some instances obviously inaccurate.

Sebastiaan Meijer, a spokesman for the Amsterdam division, told The Sunday Times that he was “surprised” by allegations in the West Midlands Police report, which had linked 200 travelling supporters to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

Mr Meijer denied that his force had such intelligence, adding that the claim was meaningless given the country had a policy of conscription.

Also, Mr Meijer said that Amsterdam’s force “does not recognise” the claim in the British report, attributed to Dutch law enforcement, that Israelis were “highly organised, skilled fighters with a serious desire and will to fight with police and opposing groups”.

The Dutch police added that the only known case of a fan being in the river appeared to involve a Maccabi supporter. While being filmed, he was told he could leave the water on the condition that he said “Free Palestine”.

In an interview with Sky News before the game, West Midlands Police referenced disorder when Maccabi played Ajax in Amsterdam last November.

Mr Joyce said ahead of the Villa Park match: “We’ve had examples where a section of Maccabi fans were targeting people not involved in football matches, and certainly we had an incident in Amsterdam last year which has informed some of our decision-making.

“So it is exclusively a decision we made on the basis of the behaviour of a sub-section of Maccabi fans, but all the reaction that could occur obviously formed part of that as well.”

Maccabi’s visit to Birmingham came amid heightened tensions due to Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza.

A safety advisory group (SAG) recommended that Maccabi fans should be banned from attending the fixture on the advice of the police. The ban drew criticism, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it was the “wrong decision”.

West Midland Police’s statement in full

Following The Sunday Times report, West Midlands Police stood by its “information and intelligence”, adding that the “Maccabi Fanatics… posed a credible threat to safety”.

In a statement to Sky News, the force said: “West Midlands Police’s evaluation was based primarily on information and intelligence and had public safety at its heart.

“We assessed the fixture between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam as having involved significant public disorder.

“We met with Dutch police on 1 October, where information relating to that 2024 fixture was shared with us.

“Informed by information and intelligence, we concluded that Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters – specifically the subgroup known as the Maccabi Fanatics – posed a credible threat to public safety.

“The submission made to the SAG safety advisory group was based on information and intelligence which helped shape understanding of the risks.

“West Midlands Police commissioned a peer review, which was conducted by UKFPU [United Kingdom Policing Unit], the NPCC [National Police Chiefs’ Council] and subject matter experts.

“This review, carried out on 20 October, fully endorsed the force’s approach and decision-making.

“We are satisfied that the policing strategy and operational plan was effective, proportionate, and maintained the city’s reputation as a safe and welcoming place for everyone.”

Sky News has approached Dutch police for comment.

UK

Titanic couple’s pocket watch sells for record £1.78m

Published

6 hours ago

November 23, 2025

admin

Titanic couple's pocket watch sells for record £1.78m

A gold pocket watch that belonged to an elderly couple who drowned as the Titanic sunk has sold for a record-breaking £1.78m at auction.

The 18-carat Jules Jurgensen engraved watch was owned by first class passenger Isidor Straus, who died when the ship sank in April 1912.

He and his wife Ida were portrayed in the film Titanic as a couple who held each other as the ship went down.

When he was offered a seat on a lifeboat due to his age, he replied that he would not go before other men.

His wife refused to leave him, and the couple were last seen alive sitting on deckchairs, facing fate by each other’s side.

They were among very few first class passengers to perish in the disaster.

The watch was recovered from Mr Straus’s body along with other personal items and returned to his family.

It had been a present for his 43rd birthday in 1888 – the same year he became a partner in the New York department store, Macy’s.

The watch, which had remained in the couple’s family, was sold at Henry Aldridge & Son Auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire.

The £1.78m for the item is the highest amount ever paid for Titanic memorabilia, according to the company.

A letter written by Mrs Straus on Titanic stationery and posted while onboard the ship fetched £100,000.

The previous record was set last year when another gold pocket watch presented to the captain of a boat that rescued over 700 passengers from the liner sold for £1.56m.