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NEWS AROUND PRISON AND LAW / UNITED KINGDOM1 August 2006laut einer studie gibt es 1.000 bestechliche knastbeamte in england und wales. 1,000 jail staff taking bribes from inmates, says inquiryPRISON officers are taking bribes from inmates wanting help to move to less secure prisons, according to a leaked report on corruption in the jail system in England and Wales. An estimated 1,000 officers are suspected of involvement in corruption, ranging from accepting cash payments to helping inmates move to easier jails and smuggling drugs and mobile phones into prisons for their use.The leaked report, by the Metropolitan Police and Prison Service’s anticorruption unit, has come to light as prison numbers reached the record of 78,897 yesterday — just 817 below the total capacity of the 139 jails in England and Wales. Seven hundred of the available spaces are in open prison. The report on corruption said that, while most prison service staff were honest, some were accepting inmates’ cash for transfers to less-secure prisons where life is a bit more comfortable.The Prison Service said that the report, which was leaked to the BBC, overstated the corruption issue and had also relied on anecdotal evidence.However, senior figures within its own anticorruption unit are quoted as saying that the problem is growing and is not being tackled effectively. One unnamed prison boss is quoted in the report as saying: “Here corruption is endemic . . . I have identified over 20 corrupt staff, but there may be more.” Another says: “I currently have ten corrupt staff and I am managing the threat they pose to my prison — positive mandatory drug testing figures are over 20 per cent so it must be staff bringing in drugs.”More than half of prison officers and former prisoners questioned for a Home Office report published last year said that staff were responsible for smuggling contraband into prisons. The report said: “Many of the staff who were interviewed acknowledged that such trafficking goes on, and could substantially increase the amount of illegal drugs available in an establishment.”Phil Wheatley, director general of the Prison Service, said that the allegations of corruption involved only a small minority of staff, but it was important to deal with the issue.“There is a problem, there is always a problem about bent staff. I was warned about the dangers of staff being compromised on my very first day in the service in 1969,” he said. “It’s an ongoing problem with prisons. We need to be alert to it.”Mr Wheatley told the BBC Radio 4 programme Today: “I have no doubt that we have to regard this as something that is serious and work hard at it. But I don’t think that the answer is to create a large investigatory force, for which I would have to take resources away from frontline work to do, when actually the police are a genuinely independent investigation force able to investigate crime. And this is crime we are speaking about.” 1 August 2006ein neues terrorismus warn system, das aus 5 verschiedenen levels besteht, wird diese woche eingeführt. es soll früher als bisher vor einem möglichen anschlag warnen und die öffentlichkeit besser informieren. Britain launches new terrorism alert systemLONDON (Reuters) - The British government will launch a new security alert system on Tuesday which it says will keep the public better informed about the threat of terrorist attack. Analysts say the move is part of a concerted effort -- not only by the government but also by the two security services MI5 and MI6 -- to be seen as more accountable. The new system is similar to the one used in the United States for the past four years, with five levels ranging from 'low' (attack unlikely) up to 'critical' (attack expected imminently). The system is expected to start at 'severe', the second-highest level, indicating the government believes an attack is highly likely. Until now, the government has kept such information secret, arguing that it might cause the public unnecessary alarm. "I don't think it'll have a massive impact on the public but I do think it might help government, the security services and the police have a clearer idea of where they all stand in their assessment of the threat faced," said Chris Pope, intelligence analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). "It might also mean the authorities are less likely to be criticised when things go wrong." For decades, MI5 and MI6 have enjoyed -- many would say have actively nurtured -- a reputation for extreme secrecy. Countless James Bond movies and spy novels have helped cement that reputation in the popular imagination. But in recent years, both services have started to emerge from the shadows. First MI5, the domestic intelligence agency, launched its own Web site giving security advice, information about careers and an e-mail function allowing the public to contact the agency with information. "It has proved an invaluable tool in making the security service more transparent," a security service spokesman said. E-MAIL MOUNTAIN The Web site receives around 500 e-mails a month from people offering information they think could help MI5 with its work. In July 2005, following the deadly suicide bombings on the London transport network, that number shot up to 2,500. It was partly due to the success of the site that MI5's sister agency MI6 followed suit last year with a Web site of its own. Traditionally MI6, the espionage agency officially known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) and immortalised in the Bond movies, has been even more secretive than MI5. On its site, MI6 tells potential recruits they should not expect to become the next Bond -- the dashing, fictional secret agent created by author Ian Fleming. "Nevertheless, staff who join SIS can look forward to ... a stimulating and rewarding career which, like Bond's, will be in the service of their country," it says. In April this year, the SIS went a step further by advertising for recruits in the newspapers. "We operate around the world to make this country safer and more prosperous," read the advert, under a montage of photographs of exotic locations, an aeroplane and a man wearing a balaclava holding a machinegun. Britain's security services will, of course, continue to operate in secret, and will tell the public what they are doing only when they deem it appropriate. But the introduction of the new alert system may go some way towards reassuring people the government is trying to keep them informed about the gravity of the threat they face. "It's one more gentle step into the opening up of their world," Pope said. 25 July 2006seit heute können terrorverdächtige von der polizei bis zu 28 tagen ohne anklage inhaftiert werden. 4 weitere organisationen wurden auf die "terror-liste" gesetzt: al ghurabaa und save sect ( uk) , baluchistan liberation army /bla ( pakistan) und teyrebaz azadiye kurdistan / tak . 28-day detention comes into forceNew police powers to hold terror suspects for up to 28 days without charge come into effect today. The plans, included in the Terrorism Act 2006, were highly controversial and led to the Labour government's first Commons defeat since coming to power nine years ago. Original proposals to extend the maximum detention time from 14 days to 90 were roundly rejected in the Commons by a vote of 322 to 291, with 49 Labour MPs rebelling. MPs agreed on the 28-day limit as a compromise, with a judge reviewing the case every week, although the Liberal Democrats still insisted it was draconian. Today home secretary John Reid said it would give police the powers they needed to tackle the threat posed by terrorism, insisting: "We must defend our traditions and values against those who seek to abuse or undermine our way of life." He added: "This power will give our law enforcement agencies the tools they need to tackle the increasingly complex and global nature of terrorism and gather and analyse evidence to prosecute terrorists who make ever greater use of new technology such as encrypted computers." Earlier this month, the home affairs select committee said the 28-day limit may have to be extended, due to the growing number of terror suspects monitored by police and security services. However, chairman John Denham said any changes would have to be prompted by "compelling" evidence that an extension was indeed necessary, and the committee recommended a new independent body to keep the subject under review. From tomorrow, orders banning four new organisations will also come into effect. Al Ghurabaa and Saved Sect are based in the UK, while the Baluchistan Liberation army (BLA) and Teyrebaz Azadiye Kurdistan (TAK) are based in Turkey and Pakistan respectively. "Protecting the public and strengthening national security is my top priority and I am pleased that parliament has supported the banning of four groups - which are either directly involved in or which glorify terrorism," said Mr Reid. "From today it will be a criminal offence to belong to or encourage support for these organisations. By banning these groups we are creating a hostile environment in which terrorists find it more difficult to operate, and tackling every part of the terrorist network." 10 July 2006die verurteilung eines 17 jährigen nach den anti-social behaviour gesetzen wurde von dem high court in london jetzt zurückgenommen und als unverhältmäßig kritisiert. der jugendliche hatte sich mit seinen freunden in einem einkaufszentrum aufgehalten und wurde dort ohne jeden grund von einem polizisten aufgefordert das zentrum sofort zuverlassen. da er sich weigerte, wurde er im september letzten jahres zu einer 12 monatigen bewährung und einer geldstrafe verurteilt. High Court slams 'behaviour laws'The High Court has criticised the way anti-social behaviour laws were used to prosecute a 17-year-old schoolboy. The boy and his friends were talking peacefully at a south-west London shopping centre when they were told to leave by a policeman, two judges heard. The police officer made the order because of a persistent problem with anti-social behaviour in the area, though the group was well-behaved. The boy was convicted for not leaving, but that was overturned by judges. The two High Court judges said the police officer's direction was "not a proportionate response". Illegitimate intrusion MB, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted at Wimbledon Youth Court last September after being found guilty of contravening the direction. He was sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £50. But the two senior high court judges said there had been "an illegitimate intrusion into the rights of people to go where they please in public". Lord Justice May, sitting with Mr Justice Aikens, said the evidence before the youth court was that MB and his group "seemed well-behaved" at Wimbledon train station and the Centre Court shopping centre. But the beat officer - knowing that there had been a trend for youths from several of the local schools to meet in the vicinity and start fights - made the dispersal direction using powers under the 2003 Anti-Social Behaviour Act. Past experience Provisions of the Act allow the police to clamp down when they have "reasonable grounds" for suspecting that anti-social behaviour could cause members of the public to be "intimidated, harassed, alarmed or distressed". Overturning the conviction, Lord Justice May warned police officers that it was not enough, save in exceptional circumstances, to rely solely on past experience. There had to be "some behaviour on the part of the group" at which the direction was aimed to justify the direction being made. Otherwise, as the MB case illustrated, "it would intrude on the legitimate activities of young people coming from school by a particular route, behaving properly as they do so." The judge said he had some sympathy for police officers "having to operate what at the margins is difficult legislation". 9 July 2006der mi5 ( britischer inlandsgeheimdienst) hat 272.000 akten über einzelpersonen und 53.000 weitere über organisationen angelegt. seit 1997 wurden 110.000 personenakten vernichtet. MI6 has secret dossiers on 1 in 160 adultsThe Government was accused last night of hoarding information about people who pose no danger to this country, after it emerged that MI5 holds secret files on 272,000 individuals - a staggering one in 160 adults. MPs and civil-rights campaigners said resources should be concentrated on combating genuine threats - such as Islamic terrorism - rather than storing personal and political data about innocent citizens. Figures released by the Home Office last week reveal that another 53,000 files are held about organisations, but 110,000 files have been destroyed since Labour came to power in 1997. The information was obtained by Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker, who believes he was the target of MI5 surveillance in the Eighties because of his activities as an environmental protester. Five years ago he won a High Court ruling giving him access to his file, which ended the security services' blanket exemption from the Data Protection Act. Last night, Mr Baker said: 'I don't believe there are 272,000 people in this country who are subversive or potentially subversive. It suggests to me that there are files being held for not very good reasons. 'We want the security services to be effective. We don't want them going down blind alleys and wasting their resources on people who are no threat to the country.' Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil rights group Liberty, said: 'We need to be sure that MI5 officers are not keeping files just for the sake of it. 'Resources should be concentrated on gathering information on those who pose a real threat to this country.' But intelligence expert Rupert Allason believes information should never be thrown away. He said: 'A security agency is only as good as its files and it should never give up a personal file - even when somebody dies. 'It is enormously important for agents running a current operation to be able to look back 40 or 50 years and see links and connections.' A Home Office spokesman said: 'We are not prepared to comment any further than the information given in the answers to the parliamentary questions.' 3 July 2006der mi5 führt ermittlungen gegen 8.000 menschen die als al qaida sympharisanten bezeichnet werden. die aktion läuft unter dem namen rich picture . MI5 conducts secret inquiry into 8,000 al-Qa'ida 'sympathisers'Up to 8,000 suspected al-Qa'ida sympathisers are being investigated by MI5 and the police in an operation to identify future terrorists, The Independent has learned. The huge covert inquiry, known as project Rich Picture, is aimed at finding people who are being groomed for terrorism, and at identifying the Islamist extremists carrying out the recruitment. The nationwide investigation follows intelligence suggesting there is a very small, but significant number of British-born and Britain-based Muslims, who are prepared to carry out bombings and other terrorist attacks in this country. Undercover officers are gathering information from all over the country, including at colleges, mosques and internet websites where extremists may try to "groom" or radicalise those sympathetic to the aims of al-Qa'ida. Of the estimated 1.6 million Muslims living in Britain, counter-terrorist sources have disclosed that they believe up to 0.5 per cent - about 8,000 - support al-Qa'ida's aims, and have links to Islamist extremists. These are the people being investigated. Despite assurances by police and intelligence chiefs that they are not spying on the Muslim community, the huge scale of project Rich Picture is certain to provoke anger among some Muslims who believe they are being unfairly stigmatised and targeted. Relations with some sections of the Muslim community have already been damaged following the shooting of a suspect in Forest Gate, east London, who was later released with his brother without charge. Project Rich Picture was set up shortly after the suicide bombings in London in July last year after it became clear that British-born citizens were becoming radicalised. Following the London attacks, in which 56 people died Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, director general of MI5, told the Intelligence and Security Committee that the main lesson learned from the attacks was the need to get into "the unknown" - to "find ways of broadening coverage to pick up currently unknown terrorist activities or plots". The committee, which oversees the running of the intelligence services, said of the police and agencies: "Their goal is to become more proactive at identifying those who may be being groomed for terrorism and those doing the grooming, and so to spot where terrorism may next occur." The resulting operation is aimed at up to 8,000 potential terror supporters. A security source said: "What we have been doing up to now is fire-fighting. There has been a huge volume of plots to investigate. "Rather than just firefighting we are finding out the causes, why it's happening, why are people radicalised, and how they are radicalised, and then deal with some of these issues." Until recently, the intelligence services have been concentrating on uncovering and disrupting active terrorist plots in the UK. By July 2005, the number of "primary investigative targets'' known to security services had risen from about 250 in 2001 to 800. But a big expansion of MI5 and police counter-terrorism resources has allowed the agencies to start looking at the recruitment and grooming of future bombers. MI5 has grown from just under 2,000 staff in 2001 to about 2,500 today, rising to 3,500 in 2008. A security source said: "It is trying to drill down and identify those who may be coming into contact with radical sources. It is finding out these people at an early stage. You only have to look at the background of the 7 July London terrorists to see the speed to which radicalisation can take place. "Some of those who blew themselves up were spotted, recruited and radicalised within a year." The security service and police chiefs believe that Islamist extremists are targeting people in Britain who are sympathetic towards the aims of al-Qa'ida and who believe the London suicide bombings were justified. They point to surveys in the past year, by Populus, YouGov, and ICM, which found between five and seven per cent of British Muslims believe the London bombings were justified. Much of the work of Project Rich Picture is being done by MI5 officers based at new regional stations with the help of GCHQ, the government's eavesdropping centre in Cheltenham. Four centres: Scotland, the north-west, north-east and midlands are up and running. A further four, in the south-west, Wales, the east and the south-east will be operational by year's end. A security source said: "The whole Rich Picture business is an investigation to get information on the ground which we would not have looked at before. It is not an attempt by agencies to spy on the Muslim population. It's looking at those people directly attached or linked to terrorist activities." [ zurück ] |