House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee: E-Crime - HC 70
House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee: E-Crime - HC 70

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 9780215061430

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The threat of a cyber attack to the UK is so serious it is marked as a higher threat than a nuclear attack. One can steal more on the internet than they can by robbing a bank and online criminals in 25 countries have chosen the UK as their number one target. Astonishingly, some are operating from EU countries. If we don't have a 21st century response to this 21st century crime, we will be letting those involved in these gangs off the hook. After a 10 month inquiry the Committee concluded that: a dedicated state of the art espionage response team should be established so that attacks can be immediately reported; Banks must be required to report all e-crime fraud to law enforcement; it is alarmed that CEOP is having its budget cut by 10% over 4 years, its experienced Chief Executive is leaving and it could lose its laser-like focus when merged with the National Crime Agency; it is still too easy for people to access inappropriate online content and those responsible need to take stronger action to remove such content - the Government should draw up a mandatory code of conduct with them to remove material which breaches acceptable standards; the DPP should review sentencing guidance and ensure e-criminals receive the same sentences as if they had stolen the same amount of money or data offline; the Government should look at setting up a similar organisation to the Internet Watch Foundation focused on reporting and removing online terrorist content

House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee: Asylum - HC 71
House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee: Asylum - HC 71

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2013-10-11

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 9780215062659

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The asylum system is overburdened and under severe pressure. The backlog of asylum cases that should have been cleared by 2011 has reached 32,600, with some people waiting up to 16 years for a decision. Thousands appear to be living in a sub-standard level of housing as part of the COMPASS contract supplied by the private contractors G4S, Serco and Clearel. These companies must be held accountable. The quality of decision making is also of great concern as 30% of appeals against initial decisions were allowed in 2012. The impact of decisions are grave - if asylum is not granted when it should be then the UK is failing to protect a vulnerable person. If asylum is granted when it is not deserved then the UK may well end up harbouring war criminals and terrorists. Those who apply for asylum should be checked against national and international law enforcement agency and security databases to ensure that we are not harbouring those who intend us harm. The Home Secretary has to give assurance that any anomalies in the process, which have allowed decisions such as this to take place, are addressed immediately. The are also oncerns about the level of support available to those who seek asylum in the UK. The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 section 4, which provides a reduced support system for asylum seekers who had had their claim refused but were unable to return to their country of origin through reasons that were no fault of theirs, is not a solution.

House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee: Pre-Lisbon Treaty EU Police and Criminal Justice Measures: The UK's Opt-In Decision - HC 615
House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee: Pre-Lisbon Treaty EU Police and Criminal Justice Measures: The UK's Opt-In Decision - HC 615

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2013-10-31

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13: 9780215063410

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This report is the Home Affairs Committee's response to the House's invitation of 15 July 2013, together with the Justice and European Scrutiny Committees, to submit a report by the end of October 2013 relevant to the exercise of the block opt-out of pre-Lisbon Treaty EU police and criminal justice measures, before the start of negotiations between the Government and the European Commission, Council and other EU member states on measures which the UK wishes to rejoin following exercise of the block opt-out. The Government has given notification of its intention to exercise the block opt-out. Its right to do so, and the conditions attached to the exercise of that right, are contained in Article 10 of Protocol 36 annexed to the EU Treaties. The block opt-out covers 130 EU police and criminal justice measures which had been adopted prior to 1 December 2009, the date of the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. The Committee has also set out: (i) That there are many problems with the European Arrest Warrant, in its existing form, in particular that it is on a system of mutual recognition of legal systems which in reality vary significantly; (ii) The Committee welcomes and supports the Government's reform package for the arrest warrant; (iii) The Committee recommends separate votes on the arrest warrant to the rest of the opt-in package at an early stage to provide a parliamentary mandate for the Government's negotiations.; (iv) The Committee concludes that if the Government proceeds with the opt-in as proposed, it will not result in any repatriation of powers. Indeed, the increased jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice may result in a net flow of powers in the opposite direction.

House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee: Leadership and Standards in the Police: Follow-Up - HC 756-I
House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee: Leadership and Standards in the Police: Follow-Up - HC 756-I

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2013-11-03

Total Pages: 28

ISBN-13: 9780215063441

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The Home Affairs Committee has criticised evidence given by both the officers subject to the disciplinary investigation and their Chief Constables. The individual officers gave evidence which the Committee found to be misleading, possibly deliberately so, and lacking in credibility. The Committee has decided to recall both Sergeant Jones and DS Hinton, next Tuesday 5th November 2013, to apologise for misleading it and has reserved the right to recall Inspector MacKaill should it be found that he too has misled the Committee. Both DS Hinton and Sgt Jones have been referred to the IPCC. The apologies given by Chief Constable Shaw (West Mercia), Sims (West Midlands) and Parker (Warwickshire) were welcomed although the decision taken by Chief Constables Parker and Sims not to redetermine whether their officers should face a misconduct panel was criticised. Mr Parker has also been criticised for seeking to correct the evidence of DS Hinton in a manner which suggested that he lacked impartiality. Assistant Chief Constable Cann (West Midlands) has been criticised for attempting to access the final report of the misconduct investigation prior to it being signed off by the IPCC. The Committee regretted an absence of leadership by all three Chief Constables at a critical time which could have, if utilised earlier, prevented reputational damage to the police service. The Committee believes that the IPCC should have carried out an independent inquiry in this case although it recognises that resource constraints which would have prevented it for completing an investigation quickly were the main factor behind the decision not to do so

House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee: Drugs: New Psychoactive Substances and Prescription Drugs - HC 819
House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee: Drugs: New Psychoactive Substances and Prescription Drugs - HC 819

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2013-12-20

Total Pages: 78

ISBN-13: 9780215065926

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We are facing an epidemic of psychoactive substances in the UK with deaths increasing by 79% in the last year. New versions of these "legal highs" are being produced at the rate of at least one a week, yet it has taking the Government a year to produce five pages of guidance on the use of alternative legislation. This slow response to the crisis may have led to more deaths. Those who sell these killer substances need to be held responsible. New laws should be enacted to put the onus on them. Especially at this time of year, young people need to take care about what substances they consume so their health and lives are not put at risk. Quick turn around mobile testing units should be utilised at festivals in order in order to facilitate the removal of potentially harmful or illegal substances from the site immediately and more specific education on psychoactive substances should be given in school and colleges. There are also currently 1.5 million people addicted to prescription drugs in the UK. The abuse of these types of substances is taking place in the shadows and its extent is still unquantified. Local GPs need to report their suspicious and collate information to illuminate this problem. Medical Royal Colleges should establish a joint working group to examine whether local health teams are effectively communicating concerns around individuals visiting multiple practices to request specific drugs.

House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee: The Work of the UK Border Agency (January-March 2013) - HC 616
House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee: The Work of the UK Border Agency (January-March 2013) - HC 616

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2013-11-08

Total Pages: 94

ISBN-13: 9780215063489

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The Border Agency backlogs, by the time it was wound up, had fallen to 432,000. However, most of the 70,400 reduction was achieved by simply loading pending cases onto the computer, and in some categories-such as those applying for further leave to remain on the basis of marriage or civil partnership-the backlog had actually grown. The Committee has no objection in principle to the introduction of a charge for access to the National Health Service for those who are in the UK only temporarily. However it expresses concerns about the possible application of the scheme to vulnerable people who have been trafficked into the country and recommends that the Government should pilot an alternative option for visa applicants to take out private health insurance instead. This has been a chaotic summer for immigration policy. First we had the controversial AdVans which were rightly ridiculed, and then it was revealed that Capita had botched the contract to clear the migration refusal pool by asking British citizens to leave their own country. Finally we saw a u-turn on visa bonds, however the uncertainty has already done damage. A more effective and less menacing message would be that the Government is willing and able to support those who are here illegally to return home if they want to. Tough enforcement action should be taken against those who are determined to remain here illegally, but for the target audience of potential voluntary returners, the effectiveness of the carrot is potentially undermined by the ostentatious brandishing of the stick

Electrified Democracy
Electrified Democracy

Author: Andrew Blick

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-07-01

Total Pages: 387

ISBN-13: 1108613217

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The story of how the UK Parliament came to use the Internet from the 1960s onwards has never been told. Electrified Democracy places the impact of technology on parliamentary workings in its longer term historical context. The author identifies repeating patterns of perception and analysis, and cultural tendencies in the perception of inventions dating back over centuries that have reasserted themselves in connection with the parliamentary response to networked computers. He uncovers evidence and makes new connections, while situating all this within the wider global debates on connections between communication and democracy in the age of the Internet, constitutional law and history, and 'law and technology'. This book will be of interest to a wide readership including policy makers, researchers, and all those interested in contemporary controversies about the role of the Internet in modern societies.

HC 800 - Evaluating the new Architecture of Policing: The College of Policing and the National Crime Agency
HC 800 - Evaluating the new Architecture of Policing: The College of Policing and the National Crime Agency

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 56

ISBN-13: 0215081579

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Since 2010 the Home Secretary has set out an ambitious plan for the new landscape of policing. However, more progress has to be made to declutter the landscape and ensure that the organisations created meet the rapidly evolving challenges facing 21st century policing. Force mergers are clearly back on the agenda. The College of Policing was a great idea that has both vision and purpose. However, numerous hurdles, weak foundations, and an unrepresentative board have hindered its ability to function to its full potential. In time, the College has the power to fashion a new concept of policing. For the local bobby, he or she needs a certificate of policing that is affordable, an oath that is binding and ethics that are ingrained within its DNA, and training that is practical, however at the moment none of this exists. The NCA has been a success, and has proved to be more responsive and more active than its predecessor SOCA, but it is not yet the FBI equivalent that it was hailed to be. Its reputation has been damaged by the unacceptably slow response to the backlog of child abuse cases sent to it by Toronto Police. The NCA must establish practical benchmarks against which its performance can be assessed. Its current asset recovery is not of a sufficient volume when set against its half a billion pound budget.

HC 199 - Gangs and Youth Crime
HC 199 - Gangs and Youth Crime

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13: 0215081706

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The London Metropolitan Police Service reported in 2012, that they had identified 259 violent youth gangs and 4,800 'gang-nominals' in 19 gang-affected boroughs. Also in 2012, Greater Manchester Police identified 66 Urban Street Gangs and estimated the total number of gang members across Greater Manchester to be 886. The Office of the Children's Commissioner's 2013 inquiry into child sexual exploitation in gangs and groups found that 2,409 children and young people were subject to sexual exploitation in gangs and a further 16,500 children at risk, using a survey period of August 2010-October 2011. 21 police forces in England identified that they had criminally active gangs operating in their area. In total, individual forces reported 323 gangs as being criminally active, with 16 being associated with child sexual exploitation. In London between March 2013 and February 2014, only six per cent of stop-and-searches were conducted on females. London, while experiencing the most gang-related violence of any area in the country, has obtained only fourteen gang injunctions.

HC 629 - Police, the Media, and High Profile Criminal Investigations
HC 629 - Police, the Media, and High Profile Criminal Investigations

Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 24

ISBN-13: 0215078446

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This report considers the events surrounding the police raid on 14 August of the home of Sir Cliff Richard OBE in Berkshire, and the circumstances under which the BBC came to have advance information about the raid. It concludes that South Yorkshire Police's handling of this situation was inept. The naming of suspects (or the confirming of a name when it is put to a force) when there is no operational need to do so is wrong. South Yorkshire Police should not have tried to cut a deal with the journalist, but rather approached senior BBC executives to explain the damage that such premature disclosure could do to the investigation. The BBC's Director General, Lord Hall, confirmed to the Committee that the BBC would act on such requests from Chief Constables. In the absence of any such approach from South Yorkshire, the BBC was well within its rights to run the story, although as a result Sir Cliff himself has suffered enormous, irreparable damage to his reputation. It appears that the BBC reporter clearly identified the source of his leak as Operation Yewtree. It is unfortunate therefore that South Yorkshire Police did not notify the Metropolitan Police so that the source of the Yewtree leak could be investigated.