Pulse.Assent

Environment Agency enforcement teams in the East Midlands have adopted wearing body worn video cameras in their fight against crime following a successful six-month trial of the practice in the North-East.

The trial in the North-East found that wearing the cameras helped to reduce incidents of anti-social behaviour, assaults and threats against Environment Agency staff.

Following a growing number of abusive incidents during site inspections to waste sites, enforcement officers will be equipped with body worn video cameras on their visits. The cameras will also be used by fisheries enforcement officers during their routine activities.

Footage captured on a bodycam in the North-East was recently used by the Environment Agency for the first time to convict an offender. The defendant pleaded ‘guilty’ of wilfully obstructing the officers in the execution of their duty and using abusive behaviour towards two officers when he knew they had video evidence.

Pete Haslock, Enforcement Team Leader for the Environment Agency in the East Midlands, said:

The safety of our staff is paramount. They are well trained in dealing with hostile situations and we take any threat against them very seriously. Our preference is to prevent hostility in the first place and wearing the cameras can prevent threatening situations from escalating.

We want to get on with our jobs without the threat of violence and the cameras will help to protect staff and bring obstructive individuals to justice. Officers will switch on the cameras if and when they enter a hostile situation or where hostility may be anticipated. That could be a site where they have experienced aggressive behaviour in the past or an unknown quantity, such as on a remote river bank.

Studies also show that people are less likely to contest the evidence when they know their offence is captured on camera, which could help speed up justice and reduce legal costs.

Anyone with information about illegal fishing activities or to report illegal waste activity, should contact the Environment Agency’s 24/7 Incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID) programme, funded through UK Aid Connect, will work with faith groups, NGOs and academics to promote religious diversity, with a focus on helping countries around the world to embed freedom of religion or belief policies in poverty reduction and development approaches.

The Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon said:

This money will go a long way in bolstering the work of civil society and NGOs to promote respect, and the value of religious diversity and tolerance. It will sit alongside the excellent work British diplomats do in flying the flag for human rights.

As the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, I will ensure that the UK stands up for everyone’s right to practise or not practise a religion that is in line with their conscience, wherever they are in the world.

International Development Minister Lord Bates said:

Today’s announcement underscores the government’s commitment to empowering people across the world irrespective of religion or belief and builds on the Prime Minister’s pledge to tackle religious prejudice and intolerance in all its forms.

The problems facing the world’s poorest and most excluded people are complex with no single answer; that is why UK Aid Connect is crucial to bringing together different organisations that can work with global communities to find solutions to these problems.

Young people are key to creating a better, more tolerant world. As part of this announcement HMG’s Respect in Education will receive increased funding so that schools in the world’s poorest countries can teach more children about respect for religious diversity.

The announcement follows the government’s recent announcement of a further £1 million funding for places of worship that have been subjected to hate crime attacks.

Further information

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• Three prisons to pilot new scheme to support at-risk offenders
• Dedicated housing funding to provide stable accommodation for up to two years
• Support to help prisoners integrate into communities for the long-term

Leeds, Pentonville and Bristol prisons have been chosen to spearhead the £6 million pilot programme aimed at helping vulnerable ex-prisoners find and stay in stable accommodation.

Research shows that those who are homeless or in temporary accommodation are significantly more likely to reoffend within a year than those with a stable place to live.

The pilots are aimed specifically at prisoners serving short sentences who are at high risk of returning to prison. This represents the latest in a series of measures aimed at breaking the cycle of reoffending, from improving prisoners’ employment prospects to reinforcing family ties.

The sites will pilot a new partnership approach between prisons, local authorities, probation staff, charities and others who will work together to provide the support prisoners need when they are released – such as signing up for benefits – but will primarily be focused on finding them suitable accommodation.

The two-year programme forms part of the Government’s £100m Rough Sleeping Strategy announced over the summer.

Justice Secretary David Gauke said:

These ground-breaking pilots will help prevent rough sleeping among vulnerable ex-offenders and support them as they start a new life after prison.

As well as ensuring people have somewhere to live, dedicated key worker support will help ex-offenders manage the practical challenges of finding a job and other issues that come with trying to reintegrate into society.

Every time we help an ex-prisoner into a new life – with a stable home, strong relationships and a regular job – we increase the chances of seeing fewer victims of crime in the future.

Housing benefit top ups and rental deposits will ensure that accommodation will be provided from the day offenders leave prison, bolstered through wrap around support from key workers to address other needs which may normally cause the loss of a tenancy, such as attending appropriate probation and employment appointments.

Heather Wheeler MP, Minister for Housing and Homelessness said:

When leaving custody, ex-offenders should all have a safe and suitable home to go to and there is work to be done to ensure this is the case.

These pilots will prove pivotal to our understanding of the situation and to inform any future accommodation provision. This will help improve the outcomes for ex-offenders across the country.

Once the trial has completed, it will be fully evaluated to assess the potential for the scheme to be rolled out more widely across England. We will also be working with the Welsh Government to deliver a similar accommodation solution.

The Rough Sleeping Strategy was launched in August 2018 and sets out to halve rough sleeping on England’s streets by 2022 and end it altogether by 2027. It is backed by an additional £100 million and developed across government in conjunction with charities and experts.

The strategy lays out a 3-pronged approach to tackling rough sleeping, including preventing rough sleeping by providing timely support, intervening to help people already on the streets get swift, targeted support and helping people recover, find a new home quickly and rebuild their lives.

Mr Charles Hay MVO has been appointed British High Commissioner to Malaysia in succession to Ms Vicki Treadell CMG MVO. Mr Hay will take up his appointment in April 2019.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Full name: Charles Hay

Married to: Pascale Sutherland

Children: Two daughters

2015 to 2018	Seoul, Her Majesty’s Ambassador
2011 to 2014	FCO, Director, Consular Services
2009 to 2011	FCO, Assistant Director, HR Services, Human Resources Directorate
2006 to 2009	Madrid, Deputy Head of Mission and Counsellor (Political and Economic Affairs)
2004 to 2006	FCO, Head, G8 Presidency Team
1999 to 2004	Brussels, First Secretary (Economic and Finance), UK Permanent Representation to the European Union
1998 to 1999	FCO, Press Officer
1996 to 1998	Prague, Second Secretary (Press and Political)
1993 to 1995	FCO, Desk Officer, Security Policy Department
1987 to 1993	British Army, Captain, the Gordon Highlanders. Service including in Northern Ireland, Berlin, Cyprus, Falklands

Further information

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