Source: Home Office published on this website Wednesday 21 August 2024 by Jill Powell

From 24 September, it will be illegal to own zombie-style knives and machetes as they will be added to the list of dangerous prohibited items already banned, including zombie knives, butterfly knives, Samurai swords and push daggers.

Ahead of the new ban coming into force, anyone who has one of these weapons is being urged to hand them over – safely and legally.

This scheme​ will be run at police stations across England and Wales for four weeks between 26 August and 23 September, without repercussions for surrendering these potentially dangerous knives safely. 

Individuals can also anonymously dispose of these weapons using safe, surrender bins, by contacting their local police, council or an anti-knife crime charity to find out about alternative options, other than police stations, in their area.

After 24 September, anyone caught with a zombie-style knife or a machete faces time behind bars.  

Policing Minister, Diana Johnson said: 

Too many people have access to weapons that can lead to devastating, life-changing consequences. There is no legitimate need for a weapon of this kind to be in our homes or on our streets.

That is why we will continue to make sure the tightest restrictions are in place to limit the availability of these lethal weapons. Implementing a ban on zombie-style knives is just the first step in our ambitious, dedicated plan to halve knife crime within a decade, and will closely be followed by making ninja swords illegal. 

It is absolutely crucial that members of the public come forward and safely hand in these weapons. We are offering people the chance to do the right thing – to help make our streets safer, prevent further loss of life and save so many futures.

We cannot do this alone, political, policing and community leaders must work together to bring the knife crime epidemic to an end and offer a better future for our young people.

Participating police stations are spread across the country, and people should contact their designated police station first to get advice on how to package up any weapons and bring them into the station. Members of the public who may be in possession of these weapons should read the government guidance to find their nearest designated police station and for further information about how they can hand these weapons in.  

This scheme is just one part of the government’s pledge to halve knife crime in a decade. Next steps will include further bans, stronger rules to stop online sales, and tough action to stop young people being drawn into crime.

Source: Children’s Commissioner for England published on this website Monday 19 August 2024 by Jill Powell

The Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza writes

“In light of the shocking case of Child Q, a 15-year-old Black girl who was strip searched while at school in Hackney nearly four years ago, I wanted to use my statutory powers as Children’s Commissioner to investigate the practice of strip searching children by the police. Child Q’s case was so extreme that I wanted to ensure it was a one-off – I was clear that ‘sorry’ was not sufficient. Such a case should and could not happen again.

“The findings from my initial project, focusing on the Metropolitan Police, were alarming. They exposed system-wide issues in the force with a lack of transparency, minimal scrutiny and non-compliance with statutory codes of practice when carrying out strip searches of children under stop and search powers, leaving these children exposed to unacceptable safeguarding risks.

“My second report, in March 2023, used data from police forces across England and Wales and proved that these issues were systemic, not isolated – they could be seen nationally. I am grateful to the many members of both Houses of Parliament for their efforts in bringing attention to the findings and the urgent change that is needed, as well as the responses from a range of organisations in support of my recommendations, many of which were subsequently recognised in the Government’s recent review of the codes of practice for strip searching children and vulnerable people.

“In this latest report, the third in my series of work, I present a complete analysis of strip searches conducted by police across England and Wales across five and a half years of data, from 2018 to 2023, including new data for 2022 to 2023. My research again confirms that the issues are not confined to London – indeed, there are indications that outside of London the issues are even more deeply entrenched. Throughout England and Wales, police continue to strip search children as part of stop and searches, revealing concerning practices and widespread failure to comply with safeguarding procedures designed to protect children.

Senior police officers have shared with me that there will be certain, limited times when an immediate risk of harm means that a search of this nature is both appropriate and necessary. My firm recommendation is that this should only be the case where there is a clear and immediate danger to the child or others. However, the majority of searches are still conducted on suspicion of drugs and nearly half result in no further action, indicating that many traumatic searches, similar to the experiences of Child Q, could be preventable. If such an intrusive and potentially traumatic power is deemed necessary, it must be accompanied by robust safeguards after considering of potential long-term impacts on children’s mental health.

“At the time of publication, there is much attention on children’s involvement with the police, in the wake of violent riots around the country. This disorder has been distressing to witness and I am clear that any individual found to have been involved should face appropriate consequences. But – first and foremost – children are children and need to be treated as such. Every interaction with a child should be viewed as an opportunity to understand their situation, safeguard them from exploitation, and work with them positively to prevent their involvement with crime.  

“More encouragingly, this third report shows there are signs of clear and positive change. The total number of strip searches conducted across England and Wales appears to be declining, particularly in London. This suggests that some efforts to address the issue are having an impact. Additionally, while the disproportionate number of searches that Black children experience remains a critical concern, the disparity has reduced. Black children are now four times more likely to be strip searched compared to national population figures, rather than six times as previously reported. This indicates steps are being taken in the right direction, though much work remains to resolve this inequality.

“Additionally, we are seeing evidence that the majority of police forces have made procedural changes to how they carry out strip searches and nearly half of searches between July 2022 and June 2023 resulted in the force making a safeguarding referral – a significant increase from previous years and an indication that an increasing number of children who experience a strip search are receiving support afterwards.

“In total, 457 searches were conducted on children between July 2022 and June 2023 in England and Wales – which is equivalent to one child every 19 hours over this period, on average. Of these, half resulted in no further action being taken – calling into question the necessity of such an intrusive search in the first place.

“Furthermore, this report presents new evidence that police forces are, on average, twice as likely to routinely record additional characteristics of vulnerability, such as whether a child is in care, has a medical condition or is a victim of sexual exploitation, for searches in custody compared to searches under stop and search. As strip searches under stop and search are conducted in a less controlled environment and often under high-tension, time-pressured conditions, strip searches during stop and search should undergo more rigorous scrutiny than those conducted in custody, not less. More must be done to safeguard vulnerable young people, and mitigate significant unrecorded data, which is currently obstructing proper transparency and scrutiny.

“The current system still lacks effective safeguarding procedures. It relies heavily on frontline officers, who are not specialists, to always act correctly, without adequate scrutiny to ensure adherence to vital safeguards, and with little consideration of the impact on vulnerable children. It cannot be the job of police officers alone – we need health and children’s social care services to step up as the other statutory safeguarding partners and consider how to commission mental health and neurodiversity support. Consideration also needs to be given to bringing in education, youth work and youth justice services.

“My sustained attention on this issue stems not from internal whistle-blowers or inspection reports but from the bravery of a girl speaking out about her traumatic experience. There is an urgent need to strengthen guidance around strip searches, ensure oversight and inspection, and reform a culture that has allowed non-compliance to go unchallenged. It is unacceptable that police forces across England and Wales cannot adequately account for the necessity, circumstances, and safeguarding outcomes of every strip search of a child they have conducted. The way these searches have been conducted indicates that police too often forget that children are children. The primary duty of the police, as with all professionals, should be to protect children from harm. We must strive for a system where an officer encountering a child suspected of carrying drugs or a weapon prioritises their safety first, always.”

Source: Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) published on this website Tuesday 20 August 2024 by Jill Powell

Sexual images of children sent to Huw Edwards could still spread on WhatsApp “today, tomorrow, and the next day” amid warnings Meta is failing to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material.  

Edwards admitted having indecent imagery of children as young as seven, including Category A imagery, the most extreme category of child sexual abuse imagery in the UK which can include penetration, rape, sadism, or even bestiality.

The material was sent to Edwards via WhatsApp, an end-to-end encrypted messaging service, where even the company itself cannot see, let alone block, the criminal files being shared.

Now Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips has joining child protection charities and the National Crime Agency in calling on Meta to do more to stop images and videos of child sexual abuse from being shared on its platforms.

Meta, which owns WhatsApp, says current methods of detecting and blocking child sexual abuse imagery are incompatible with end-to-end encryption, which the company says it uses to help keep people, including children, safe.

Dan Sexton, Chief Technology Officer at the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said: “I’d like to ask this question. How is Meta going to prevent this from happening again? What is stopping those images being shared again on that service today, tomorrow, and the next day?

“Right now, there is nothing stopping those exact images and videos of those children being shared on that platform, even though we know about it, and they know about it, and the police know about it. The mechanisms are not there. That’s what I’d like to see changed. 

“We should not be seeing this in the news time and time again. It is a solvable problem.

“There are tried, trusted, and effective methods to detect images and videos of child sexual abuse and prevent them from being shared in the first place. But in WhatsApp, these safeguards are effectively switched off, with no alternative measures in place.

“This was a technology-enabled crime against children and I think this is where we need to see change.

“We must not forget they are at the heart of this scandal, and everyone, including big internet companies and platforms, owe it to those victims to make sure their imagery cannot spread even further. At the moment, Meta is choosing not to.”

Deborah Denis, CEO of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a charity which helps offenders or people worried they may offend, address and change their behaviour, said: “What happened with this scandal is really shocking news for many people, but we see this all too often in our work.

“It shows that people who offend online come from all backgrounds and walks of life. It also shows the huge consequences of this illegal behaviour.

“Edwards’ offending has destroyed his reputation, his career, and caused deep hurt to the people that love him most. It could all have been avoided.

“What might not be as obvious is that, as long as this imagery is being shared, children are suffering. When they are abused, the harm does not end there, it continues. Edwards has added to the suffering of the children in those images.

“There is a responsibility on everyone to not offend, but it’s all too easy to share and find these illegal images, and tech companies need to do more to stop that. We know from our decades of experience that abuse thrives in secrecy and that end-to-end encrypted platforms are easy places for people to offend.

“We urge Meta to consider the many thousands of young victims of online sexual abuse every year and to ensure the necessary child safety measures are put in place to keep their platforms safe.

“Preventing harm from happening in the first place must be something we all strive for. Anyone worried about their own behavior needs to know that there is anonymous support available to change, including from our Stop It Now helpline. If Edwards had had the courage to reach out when he first suspected he had a problem, it is possible he could have addressed his behaviour.

“We must encourage the kind of environment where people can, confidently and confidentially, take steps to change their own behaviour at the earliest opportunity.”

Source: The Charity Commission published on this website Friday 16 August 2024 by Jill Powell

The Charity Commission, the regulator of charities in England and Wales, has published fresh research that shows public trust in charities at highest level since 2014.  

The research reveals that information about how money is spent by a charity is the single most important factor for most people. This is followed closely by knowing that the charity achieves its purpose, that it makes a difference and that it operates to high ethical standards.  

Overall, trust in charities is high and continues to recover. Charities now score 6.5 out of 10 for trust, up from 6.3 in 2023, from a low of 5.5 in 2018 following a series of scandals. 58% of people have “high” trust in charities (7 out of 10 or higher), placing it among the most trusted groups in society, second only after doctors.  

In a challenging financial environment, the research illustrates a growing reliance on charities for support, alongside a declining percentage of people donating to charities. 47% of people say they donated money or goods, or raised funds for charity, compared with 62% in 2020. By contrast, there has been an increase in people saying they have received charitable services, such as financial help, food or medical support from a charity – 9%, up from 3% in 2020.  

Around half of people say they have heard of the Charity Commission, with 19% knowing it ‘well’. Awareness of the Charity Commission is associated with higher trust in charities, with those who have heard of the regulator being more likely to report high trust (63% vs. 52%). Around 4 in 10 people are aware of the online Register of charities.  

Charity Commission Chief Executive, David Holdsworth, says: 

“These findings are encouraging, demonstrating that charities collectively are once again firmly trusted by the public, making a visible, essential difference locally, nationally and globally. But there is no room for complacency, for charities or for us as regulator. The new findings point to the challenging financial environment charities are operating in, with a decline in the number of people giving to charity, whilst the high cost of living appears to be driving more people to access charity services.

“In these financially challenging times, charities must continue to show people how they deliver on their purpose, including how every penny makes a positive difference. Anyone can look up this information on our public Register of charities, which gives details of each charity’s purpose and spending.”

Alongside the research into public trust, the regulator has published the findings of a survey into charity trustees’ attitudes towards their role.  

The research finds that most trustees share the public’s high expectations of conduct in charities – 61% agree that because of its registered status, their charity’s standards of behaviours and conduct ought to be higher than that in other organisations.  

Overall, trustees have high stated levels of confidence in their responsibilities, and generally understand what they should do when making decisions, with those who are aware of the Charity Commission demonstrating they are better informed.   

But the research, also conducted by BMG, finds that trustees are less clear on things they should not be doing, including making decisions based on their personal views, or avoiding awkward questions. They are also less confident about dealing with conflicts of interest, and overseeing charity finances. 

For the first time, the Commission asked charity trustees about their charity’s use of Artificial Intelligence. Only 3% of trustees said their charity has used AI, however this rose to 8% of larger charities (income £1m+). 

Previously published data from the research confirms how widespread problems with banking services are for trustees – 2 out of 5 trustees said their charity has experienced a banking issue over the past year. The Commission has previously spoken out on its concerns about the impact on charities of poor service from the banks. Earlier this year, the Commission said it was “shocked, but not surprised” by “undeniable evidence of the extent and impact of the appalling service charities receive from some banks.” 

The full research is available on GOV.UK