Posts Tagged ‘ police ’

Police verses cyclepaths

Whilst going through the park behind the Ackers in Small Heath this week a cyclist was punched in the face by one of a gang. He suspected he was about to be mugged, but fortunately two other cyclists turned up and they ran away. He reported the incident to the police, who advised: “always cycle on the roads, and not along paths in parks”. Those paths are part of the official cycle routes promoted by the council in this excellent map (order at the bottom of the page), but according to the police these places are no-go areas?

MyNeighbourhood.info is a site that maps crime. It’s not updated quickly enough for local vigilantes to slip into their tights and rush to the scene of the bicycle theft, but will let you see if more stuff gets nicked from the sheds in the next few roads than from your shed. And it shows where bus stops are. Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch! So tell us if you find out anything interesting.

Lovely set of photos on flickr of Police-work in Brum in the 50′s. Seen on The Big Picture.

Drinkers at Moseley’s famous Prince of Darkness faced a ‘sobriety’ test by police – with fines and warnings for anyone committing the crime of being ‘drunk in a pub’ according to yesterday’s Sunday Mercury (sorry, last online story on the Mercury site is 30 Dec). Keith Marsden, the landlord, had to get his regulars to walk along a chalk line – to prove they were sober enough (in November, but the Mercury have just caught up). They pub had already been sent a letter warning them that “there is clear evidence in the premises…of numerous people who are drunk/intoxicated” (The Stirrer). To my mind a pub isn’t doing its duty if people aren’t tipsy, and the patrons of the Prince aren’t any drunker than elsewhere, and Moseley’s more cerebral drinkers (Councillors, MPs, er me sometimes) might be a bit of an easy target for this bizarre law – I’d like to see the police take this line in the Australian bar up Broad St of a Saturday night.

Tough on crime, especially today

Did you know today was United Streets of Birmingham Day? I didn’t (kthx for the tip). It’s a Police initiative to “provide a focus for all community safety activity across the City with a particular focus on burglary, robbery and vehicle crime” and the day includes… high visibility patrols by police and local authority / environmental / youth wardens; speed enforcement checks; robbery vehicle patrols; anti-social behaviour responder vehicle in action; licensing enforcement operations (alcohol and fireworks); arrest days (warrants); lockdowns at transport hubs; active use of stop-and-search powers; Which is nice, although you might hope that “as many staff as possible take part in local activity” on the other 364 days of the year too. There are some sensible tips about safety and crime prevention on the website. All in all I’m not quite sure what they’re getting at with this, but I’m glad they’re doing something all the same.

Recent Comments

Archives

Is Brum Happy?

Birmingham's emotional wellbeing* on Saturday 11th of February 2012 10:07: 58.1 % (average)

Posts Tagged ‘ police ’

Police verses cyclepaths

Keep ‘em peeled

‘elo, ‘elo, ‘elo

You might as well do the white line

Tough on crime, especially today

@onBirmingham – Breaking Brum News on Twitter