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WATCH WORD
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Leicester & Leicestershire
Newsletter of CITY & COUNTY NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH – (LEICESTER & LEICESTERSHIRE)
Working in SUPPORT of LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE.
Charity No. 1072275
Issue 50/2017
The City & County Neighbourhood Watch is here to represent the concerns of members and their families. We operate entirely outside the police chain of command, so we can always promise an independent and confidential service
Working in SUPPORT of LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE
CITY & COUNTY NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH (LEICESTER & LEICESTERSHIRE)
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LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE
Kayleigh’s Love Story to be preserved in national archive
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Issued on 15/12/17 at 8:25 a.m.
The multi award-winning short film Kayleigh’s Love Story is to be preserved in the national film archive.
The eight-times award winning film is to be preserved by the national film and television archive at the British Film Industry as part of the UK’s rich heritage of film.
The short film about the rape and murder of 15-year-old Measham schoolgirl Kayleigh Haywood was made by Leicestershire Police last year to highlight the dangers to children of online grooming. It has been screened to hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren in the UK and overseas, and has been viewed online by an estimated 36 million people.
Deputy Chief Constable Roger Bannister said he was delighted that the importance of the film and its message was being recognised by the film industry.
He said: “We made the film to raise greater awareness of the dangers posed to children by predators operating online and the most important statistic is that it led directly to 50 children in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland coming forward and making disclosures to us.
“Those disclosures enabled us to safeguard those children – something that may not have happened without this film.
“To win awards for our work is of course extremely rewarding – enormous care and effort went into the making of the film and the decision about how we should show it to children in small, supervised screenings in school.
“To learn that the BFI now intend to preserve the film in the national archive is hugely satisfying, and helps create a permanent legacy for an inspirational piece of work that was born from the bleakest and most tragic of circumstances. I hope Kayleigh’s family can feel some consolation that their daughter’s legacy will help keep children throughout the world safe for generations to come.”
Tim Cabrelli, Senior Partner at Affixxius Films, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to see one of the most impactful pieces of work we’ve ever produced be entered into the BFI archive for prosperity.
“It’s an accolade that is rarely achieved within our sector and reserved more for the Hollywood blockbusters, so it’s great to see it getting further recognition and being preserved for future reference and generations to come.”
Kayleigh’s Love Story was a Gold Winner at the EVCOM awards this year, and this success qualifies the film to be entered into the BFI Archive.
LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE
Moving and uplifting Christmas Carol Concert
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Issued on 12/12/17 at 2:55 p.m.
Nearly three hundred people made it through the snow last night (Monday 11 December) to attend the Christmas Carol Concert held by Leicestershire Police and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service.
The service at Leicester Cathedral was attended by members of the public as well as serving and retired officers, staff and their families. The collection from the service will be shared between two charities – Leicester Children’s Holiday Centre and Cardiac Risk in the Young which was chosen by the family of PC Austin Jackson who sadly died on duty in March.
PC Austin’s wife and four children were at the service along with the Lord Lieutenant Lady Gretton, the Chief Constable Simon Cole QPM, the Chief Fire and Rescue Officer, Steve Lunn, the High Sheriffs of Rutland and Leicester, Tiff Lynch from Leicestershire’s Police Federation and the Police and Crime Commissioner Lord Willy Bach.
Guests were welcomed by The Very Revd. David Monteith, Dean of Leicester, and Leicestershire’s Cadets held a Guard of Honour. The congregation joined the choir in singing carols and enjoyed readings by the Chief Constable Simon Cole, PC Reg Varney who was awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Year's Honours, DC Tony Gale from the Christian Police Association, Steve Lunn, Chief Fire and Rescue Officer and Rick Taylor, Assistant Chief Fire and Rescue Officer.
Simon Cole, Chief Constable for Leicestershire Police said: “Last night’s service was particularly poignant as we had been working very closely all day with our colleagues from the fire service at a major incident in Birstall which caused significant damage to a house and neighbouring properties. I was also touched that we were joined by Austin Jackson’s wife, Simone, and their four children and that we were able to raise money for a charity that is important to them. It was a moving and uplifting service followed by hot drinks and mince pies, it was a really lovely evening.”
Adding to the poignancy of the occasion it was the Chief Fire Officer’s penultimate day at work before retiring. Steve Lunn, said: “It was a great honour to once again be part of last night’s carol service at Leicester Cathedral alongside Leicestershire Police. I was touched by the sheer number of people who did their utmost to attend in the adverse weather so I would like to thank everyone who managed to attend. It was a moving evening, and we hope everyone enjoyed it.”
LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE
Major new film to protect boys from grooming
Issued on 12/12/17 at 11:01 a.m.
A short film about a teenage boy who was groomed and murdered is being produced to help raise awareness among boys of the dangers of child sexual exploitation (CSE).
The film about Surrey teenager Breck Bednar is being made in an innovative collaboration between four UK police forces.
Surrey, Essex and Northamptonshire Police forces have combined in the project which is being managed by Leicestershire Police which made the award-winning film Kayleigh’s Love Story,
The film is being made with the active support of Breck’s mother Lorin LaFave, who will appear as herself in the film and who set up the Breck Foundation shortly after her son’s tragic death in 2014.
It is being funded by Leicestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Lord Willy Bach with additional contributions from Surrey Police.
The film comes two years after Leicestershire Police produced Kayleigh’s Love Story, a film about the grooming, rape and murder of 15-year-old Kayleigh Haywood, which has led directly to 50 children in Leicestershire coming forward and disclosing that they were being groomed by predators.
The film has been viewed by an estimated 36.6m people worldwide and has won eight national industry awards.
Breck’s mother Lorin said: “When I first learned about Kayleigh’s tragic story of grooming online, and saw the amazing short film Kayleigh’s Love Story, I knew I wanted similar exposure for Breck’s tragedy as I believe only through education of grooming and exploitation can we strive to empower our young people to keep safer online.
“Because the characteristics of grooming are similar, with the control, manipulation, befriending, compliments, gifts, building a relationship through shared interests and laughs, I felt that a boy’s version with gaming and computing was a natural follow on to Kayleigh’s version of a girl being groomed through social media for a relationship.
“I am so thankful to Leicestershire Police and the other Police forces for enabling this film to happen and I look forward to working together to create a safer online for our children."
Matt Tapp, Director of Strategic Communications at Leicestershire Police, said he hoped this film, to be called “Breck’s Last Game” would be equally successful in raising awareness of CSE.
He said: “During screenings of Kayleigh’s Love Story to parents in Leicestershire, a number talked about Breck’s case.
“Following an initial meeting with Lorin earlier this year, and detailed talks with Surrey, with Essex, and with Northamptonshire with whom we have a joint CSE Communications Strategy, we all decided that we should make a film about what happened to Breck.
“Each of the four forces will decide how best it wishes to disseminate the film, but certainly in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire we hope that, in liaison with schools, we can show it to schoolchildren in controlled screenings as we did with Kayleigh’s Love Story.
“At some point late next year we intend to post the film online, with suitable warnings about its content.”
Following a procurement process, the contract to make Breck’s Last Game has been awarded to Affixxius Films of Loughborough, who also produced Kayleigh’s Love Story.
Casting sessions will be held in January and it is anticipated that the film will be completed by mid-March.
Leicestershire’s Assistant Chief Constable Rob Nixon said: “Kayleigh’s Love Story has been extremely successful in warning children of the dangers of online grooming. But we recognise that boys are far less willing to report CSE than girls, and we felt the need to develop a campaign that would help resonate with boys.
“I believe Breck’s Last Game, shown to a suitable and age-appropriate audience and with the right support wrapped around screenings, will do just that”.
PCC Willy Bach said he was proud to support this film, adding: “We all have a responsibility to provide children and young people with the knowledge to protect themselves, whether that is in the street or on-line. It is important that we make this information easy to access and easy to understand, which is why a film is so much more effective.
“It is not just girls who fall victim to this evil, but for too long male victims have been overlooked. It’s hard to believe, but sadly many boys and young male victims actually suffer in silence rather than speak out. This means they don’t receive the appropriate support service to help them recover and, unfortunately, the perpetrator is not brought to justice because no-one knows about the crime.
“It’s time that we shone the spotlight on this type of criminality and encourage victims to speak out, knowing that they will be treated with sensitivity and understanding.”
LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE
Watchdogs grade Police legitimacy as “good”
Issued on 12/12/17 at 1:00 a.m.
Leicestershire Police makes fair decisions and treats people with respect.
That’s the headline finding of an inspection of the force conducted by Government Police watchdogs.
The Inspectors focused on three specific questions when they carried out their visit to examine the force earlier this year:
· To what extent does the force treat all of the people it serves with fairness and respect?
· How well does the force ensure that its workforce behaves ethically and lawfully?
· And to what extent does the force treat its workforce with fairness and respect?
The conclusion reached by her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) was that the Force was “good” in all three areas. Judgement grades given by HMICFRS when they carry out such inspections are either ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’.
Leicestershire’s Deputy Chief Constable Roger Bannister welcomed the HMICFRS’s findings, contained in a report published today (11 December) entitled “PEEL: Police legitimacy (including leadership) 2017”.
He said: “Policing with legitimacy is the bedrock of policing in the UK. Police officers have powers unlike any other non-military organisation. We can use force, and we can detain people. And it is critical that the public believe and trust us to use those powers appropriately and fairly.
“But there are other, important reasons why we must at all times behave fairly, honestly, and legitimately. Behaving in that way will instil the public’s confidence and trust in us, and the more the public support and believe in us, the more likely they are to lead lawful lives, and work with us to keep communities safe from harm.
“It’s very satisfying, therefore, that HMICFRS have given us across-the-board good grades for the three areas that they examined in detail during their visit.”
Lord Willy Bach, the Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “Quite simply this report is good news for Leicestershire Police and good news for the public of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. It recognises the good practice embedded throughout the force which has a really positive impact on both public confidence and workforce morale.
“I’m particularly pleased to see that the Inspectors have acknowledged the progress made in areas where improvements had been recommended in the last inspection and the focus, from leaders across the force, on treating people with fairness and respect.
“Stop and search has always been a sensitive subject and it is important that people are treated appropriately during any such encounters. The inspectors note the external scrutiny accorded to Stop and Search, including the involvement of my office on the stop and search reference group, which I hope reassures people that that way in which the force conducts stop and search is closely monitored.
“However, there is never room for complacency and having discussed the findings of the report with the Chief Constable I will continue to push for further progress in the coming months and years.”
In detail, the inspectors found that:
· “Leaders at all levels within Leicestershire Police demonstrate a strong commitment to treating people with fairness and respect”
· The Force “seeks scrutiny of its services to improve its treatment of people” and is “progressive” in seeking public feedback about the use of stop search powers
· Leaders in the force “understand their responsibility to act as role models and this culture is set by senior leaders of the force”
· The force is making “good progress” towards ensuring that it is fully compliant with national vetting standards
In its analysis of how the force deals with discrimination, HMICFRS found that there is a culture of intolerance towards such matters in Leicestershire Police, and that “senior officers work with staff representative groups to identify trends that might suggest discrimination in the treatment of people or the workforce”.