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Prince Albert —  Prince Albert RCMP investigating after firearm discharged at residence, vehicle

Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

On January 12, 2024 at approximately 4:10 a.m., Prince Albert RCMP received a report of a firearm discharge in the Driftwood trailer court, south of Prince Albert.

Investigation determined a vehicle drove by a residence. A firearm was discharged, causing damage to the residence and a vehicle parked outside of it. The residence was occupied at the time. No injuries were reported to police.

Prince Albert RCMP continue to investigate with the assistance of Saskatchewan RCMP’s Forensic Identification Services.

Anyone with information should contact Prince Albert RCMP at 306-765-5500. Information can also be submitted anonymously by contacting Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or www.saskcrimestoppers.com.

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Killer jailed for fatal stabbing during West Drayton street fight

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

The tenacity of murder detectives who compiled an undeniable dossier of evidence has resulted in the killer of Dariusz Wolosz from West Drayton, being jailed following a retrial.

Dariusz, 46, was fatally stabbed in January 2022 and Hillingdon man Harley Dee Thompson, will now spend more than two decades behind bars.

Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley led the investigation, he said: “Dariusz died after suffering multiple stab injuries. There had been a dispute and Thompson decided this was worthy of a man losing his life. Dariusz had been stabbed with severe force in his groin and chest, and there was no chance he could have survived such a ferocious attack.

“My thoughts remain with Dariusz’s family and friends in Poland and London. I hope that the jailing of his killer provides some measure of comfort to them as they continue to grieve.”

Dariusz Wolosz was killed on 4 January 2022 in Tavistock Road, West Drayton where a fight had taken place.

Thompson stood trial at Harrow Crown Court in May 2023. The jury were unable to reach a verdict in respect of the murder charge but did reach unanimous guilty verdict in relation to the charge of possession of a bladed article.

A re-trial commenced at Croydon Crown Court in December 2023 and following three hours of deliberation the jury unanimously convicted Thompson of murder.

DCI Jolley added: “Taking a case to court twice can be a part of the criminal justice process, and it requires dedication and energy from our officers to ensure that regardless of how many times this happens, their professionalism is of the highest standard.

“I would like to thank my team for their skill and hard work, which had a significant bearing on Thompson now being jailed for a murder he undoubtedly committed, but did not have the courage to admit.”

On Friday 12 January 2024, at Woolwich Crown Court, Harley-Dee Thompson, 29 (19.06.94) of Albert Road, Yiewsley was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years, minus 732 days spent on remand.

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Update 1: U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam continues to troubleshoot temporary VHF-FM radio communication disruption

Source: United States Coast Guard

 

01/14/2024 09:15 PM EST

SANTA RITA, Guam — U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam continues to address the ongoing temporary U.S. Coast Guard outage of VHF-FM radio communications, which is integral for maritime safety, on Jan. 15, 2024. “Our dedicated team of technicians is actively working to restore our full functionality as swiftly as possible,” said Lt. Kira Adams, command center chief at the Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam Joint Rescue Sub-Center. “We understand the importance of VHF-FM radio communications for maritime safety and appreciate the patience and cooperation of the maritime community during this period. The safety and well-being of our mariners and waterway users remain our top priority.”

For breaking news follow us on twitter @USCGHawaiiPac

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Coast Guard searches for boater ejected from vessel near Coki Point Beach in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Source: United States Coast Guard

 

01/14/2024 07:55 PM EST

Coast Guard air and surface crews are searching for a missing boater, Sunday, in the vicinity of Coki Point Beach and Thatch Cay in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.  Missing is Todman Davaughn, 51, who reportedly was ejected from a 28 to 30-foot white power boat after the vessel crashed and spun out of control several times.

For more breaking news follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

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PHOTOS AVAILABLE: Agencies respond to oil discharge near Venice, LA

Source: United States Coast Guard

News Release  

U.S. Coast Guard 8th District Heartland
Contact: 8th District Public Affairs
Office: 504-671-2020
After Hours: 618-225-9008
Eighth District online newsroom

 

Port conditions change based on weather forecasts, and current port conditions can be viewed on the following Coast Guard homeport webpages:

For more information follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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VKPP launch National Analysis of Police Recorded Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE) Crimes Report 2022

Source: United Kingdom National Police Chiefs Council

For the first time, a new report from the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP) sets out publicly a clear, detailed picture of reported Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE) crimes across England and Wales.  

Based on datasets collected from 42 police forces, this national snapshot gives insight and analysis into the scale and nature of CSAE, trends in offending, including crime types, where they were committed, and presents profiles of both victims and perpetrators. 

The analysis sets out the consistent growth in CSAE reported to police with 107,000 crimes reported to policing a figure that has risen significantly in the last ten years ago. More than half of CSAE offences were committed by children, a significant increase from what was previously known. The report also shows that over a third of CSAE contact crimes take place within the family environment. Group-based CSAE accounts for 5% of all identified and reported CSAE. 

It is known that there is significant under-reporting of these crimes, but policing recognises the value of presenting a known baseline of recorded abuse and harm taking place against children, to inform future understanding. 

The report tells us: 

  • There were around 107,000 offences reported in 2022 – a 7.6% increase compared to 2021, nearly quadruple what it is was 10 years ago. Evidence continues to suggest many crimes remains unreported. 
  • Around 75% of CSAE offences related to sexual offences committed directly against children, and around 25% relate to online offences of Indecent Images of Children.   
  • The crime types regarding CSAE are changing. For example, historically Child-on-Child abuse accounted for around third of offences. The data in the report suggests that today this is just over half.  
  • CSAE within the family environment remains a common form of reported abuse, accounting for an estimated 33% of reported contact CSAE crime. Parents and siblings were the two most common relationships featuring. 
  • Group-based CSAE accounts for 5% of all identified and reported CSAE ranging from unorganised peer group sharing of imagery, to more organised complex high harm cases with high community impact. 
  • Reported CSAE is heavily gendered, as expected, with males (82% of all CSAE perpetrators) predominantly abusing females (79% of victims). Sexual offending involving male victims are more common in offences involving indecent images and younger children. 
  • The number of recorded incidents of Online Sexual Abuse continues to grow. It accounts for at least 32% of CSAE.  
  • 52% of all CSAE cases involved reports of children (aged 10 to 17) offending against other children with 14 being the most common age. This is a growing and concerning trend involving a wide range of offending. Whilst some include exploratory online sexual behaviours, some of the most prevalent forms include serious sexual assaults, including rape.  

Ian Critchley QPM, NPCC lead Child Abuse Protection and Investigation said: 

“Child abuse is an appalling crime, and this analysis helps us understand more widely the growing challenges we are all facing nationally not least young people growing up today. We also know that sadly reported crime remains significantly lower than the actual crimes of child abuse that take place with the Independent Inquiry reporting 1 in 6 girls and 1 in 20 boys will be abused in childhood, an appalling statistic and one we must all seek to change. This analysis will help police and our partners develop and improve our prevention, disruption, and investigation of these appalling crimes against children.  Whilst policing has made significant developments in its approach to tackling child sexual abuse this analysis enables us to review current approaches, continually adapting and developing our service and ensuring that the voices of children and victims are at the heart of everything we do. 

“Our collective offer must be to prioritise prevention – we must stop abuse happening, preventing the lifelong physical and mental harm it causes. We must give confidence to victims to come forward whether abused yesterday or many years ago, confident that they will receive a service that is of the utmost professionalism wrapped in care and compassion and we must relentlessly bring more offenders of these abhorrent crimes to justice, whilst taking due care not to criminalise young people when it is not warranted.  

“Tackling CSAE is a collaborative effort and requires police, partners and the public to work together to prevent harm, pursue offenders and protect children in a changing world.” 

Wendy Hart, Deputy Director for Child Sexual Abuse at the National Crime Agency, said: 

“As this report shows, the scale of child sexual abuse continues to increase year on year. It highlights that this is a largely hidden crime, and the NCA estimates that there are up to 830,000 adults in the UK that pose some degree of sexual risk to children.  

“We also know from our collective analysis that the severity of offending has increased, as have the complexities faced by law enforcement in tackling it. We are now seeing hyper-realistic images and videos of abuse being created using artificial intelligence, for example, while the rollout of end-to-end encryption by technology platforms makes it a lot more difficult for us to protect children.  

“Alongside our policing partners and Ofcom, we are working closely with industry to ensure platforms have adequate safety measures designed in, and that our collective ability to tackle the threat keeps pace with technology. 

“With over half of reported crimes involving child on child abuse, there has never been a greater need for education is in this space. Children, parents, carers and professionals can find information, resources and advice produced by the NCA’s dedicated education programme at www.thinkuknow.co.uk.” 

Notes to editors: 

Should you have any questions or queries regarding the report do email vkpp@norfolk.police.uk  

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Met catches duo who stole from gyms to fund their lavish lifestyles

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

Painstaking work by Met detectives has led to a couple being convicted for stealing bank and SIM cards from gym-goers’ lockers.

Ashley Singh and Sophie Bruyea would visit gyms and, while victims were exercising, Singh would rifle through their lockers.

The pair would then max out their victims’ credit cards on expensive tech and designer gear, before selling them on and using the cash to buy bags, shoes, holidays, and a pedigree puppy.

Meanwhile their victims had money drained from their accounts, couldn’t use their phones, and suffered huge stress and financial loss.

They have now been sentenced at court after Met officers linked them to the thefts.

DC Luis Martins Da Silva, from the Met’s economic crime team that investigated this case, said: “We know Londoners are worried about theft. It’s a horrible crime, and it causes a lot of stress, pain, and financial loss. That’s why we take this crime seriously and a whole team of us were committed to catching Singh and Bruyea.

“You couldn’t fail to be moved by the devastating impact their callous behaviour had on people, and we hope that by catching them this offers victims a little bit of solace. I would urge anyone who has had something stolen to get in touch, because we do want to drive down this crime and go after those who target the public.

“We will now look to forfeit the proceeds of their crimes to try and help compensate those who went through this.”

The pair’s spree was noticed by a local officer, who realised there was a pattern and flagged it to detectives who are experts in economic crime.

A team, who are based in Lewisham, painstakingly traced the pair’s phones, cars, and faces on CCTV and linked them all together. Met officers arrested them at Gatwick Airport on 27 January, 2023 as they returned from Paris with 2,000 Euros worth of designer goods.

All in all 18 people were targeted in what the sentencing judge branded a “wicked conspiracy”. The judge described the impact the pair’s “wide-ranging spree” had had on people, including instances where people no longer felt safe around strangers, or had suffered professionally due to the stress.

There were 18 fraud reports in total, with 14 in the Met area, one from Sussex, one from Hertfordshire and two reports from Cambridgeshire.

The pair, of Widmore Road, Bromley, were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Wednesday, 10 January to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation between January 2022 and January 2023 with a total value of £250k.

Ashley Singh, 39, (22.01.84), was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment while Sophie Bruyea, 20, (09.11.03), was sentenced to 20 months at a young offenders’ institute, suspended for two years, a rehabilitation programme and 120 hours unpaid work.

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St. Bernard — Meteghan RCMP investigating suspicious fire

Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

This morning, at approximately 1:30 a.m., Meteghan RCMP and fire services responded to an active structure fire at a property near the 3600 block of Route 1 in St. Bernard.

Upon arrival at the scene, officers found an unoccupied residence fully engulfed in flames.

At this time, from the information and evidence gathered at the scene, RCMP officers believe the fire is suspicious in nature and have opened an arson investigation.

The investigation, led by the Meteghan RCMP with assistance from the Yarmouth/Clare Street Crime Enforcement Unit, is ongoing.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Meteghan RCMP at 902-645-2326. Should you wish to remain anonymous, call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or use the P3 Tips App.

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Six arrested over plot to disrupt London Stock Exchange

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

Detectives investigating a plot to disrupt the London Stock Exchange have arrested six people.

The investigation began after information was passed to the Met by the Daily Express on Friday, 12 January.

It was alleged that activists from the Palestine Action group were intending to target the London Stock Exchange on the morning of Monday, 15 January, causing damage and ‘locking on’ in an effort to prevent the building opening for trading.

In the early hours of Sunday, 14 January Met officers working alongside colleagues from Merseyside Police arrested a 31-year-old man in Liverpool on suspicion of conspiracy to cause criminal damage.

A further five people, all believed to be part of the same plot, were arrested later on Sunday for the same offence.

A 29-year-old woman was arrested in Albert Road, Brent and a 23-year-old man was arrested in Voss Street, Tower Hamlets. Two women, aged 28 and 26, were arrested in Liverpool. A 27-year-old man was arrested in Brighton.

All six remain in custody.

Detective Superintendent Sian Thomas said: “These are significant arrests. We believe this group was ready to carry out a disruptive and damaging stunt which could have had serious implications had it been carried out successfully.

“I’m grateful to the Express for their willingness to provide the information gleaned from their own investigation. It was instrumental in helping us intervene successfully.

“Having only been provided with the material on Friday afternoon we had limited time to act.

“It is thanks to the determined efforts from our Public Order Crime team and our colleagues in Merseyside that we were able to identify, locate and arrest those we suspect to be involved in this plot.

“Mindful of the suggestion that this was one part of a planned week of action, we are in contact with the City of London Police as well as other forces across the UK to ensure that appropriate resources are in place to deal with any disruption in the coming days.”

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Port Williams — Southwest Nova Traffic Services charges man with theft and driving offences

Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

On January 13, at approximately 10 a.m., an RCMP officer with Southwest Nova Traffic Services observed an Acura travelling 84 km/hr in a 50 km/hr zone on Hwy. 358 in Canning.

The officer activated their emergency equipment and followed the vehicle in an attempt to initiate a traffic stop; the officer didn’t engage in a pursuit.

The officer saw the vehicle turn off Hwy. 358 and onto Church St. in Port Williams. When the officer came upon the vehicle, which was reported stolen from New Brunswick, it had crashed into an embankment after failing to negotiate a curve.

The vehicle, driven by a 26-year-old Canning man, was damaged and the airbags deployed. EHS took the driver to hospital as a precaution.

The man, who’s prohibited from driving Nova Scotia, was taken into custody and faces the following charges:

  • Property Obtained by Crime Over 5,000
  • Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle
  • Driving While Suspended

The investigation is ongoing.