Latest news with #BTP
BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
County lines drug arrests in West Midlands rail operation
Nine people have been arrested as police targeted West Midlands rail stations to tackle county lines drug Transport Police (BTP) and West Midlands Police swooped on stations in Coventry, Wolverhampton and Birmingham over two cash and weapons were seized, two men were recalled to prison and seven people including five children were the subject of safeguarding referrals, BTP said. More than 30 stop-and-searches were conducted and two men were taken to safety from a suspected "cuckooed" premises - where criminals take over the home of vulnerable people. Safeguarding organisations, The Railway Children and The Children's Society, were part of the operation and encouraged station staff, passengers and commuters to be mindful of child exploitation and to report any concerns they Supt David Udomhiaye said: "This week's activity to shut down county lines and identify and safeguard those they exploit was another nail in the coffin for the gangs that hide behind the vulnerable."These operations, using resources including our passive drugs dogs, knife arch and covert officers, take place every day across the network, sometimes you'll spot us, sometimes you won't, but rest assured we're always there to take action." Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Hindu
16 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Hindu
Bengaluru traffic police to crack the whip on civic contractors to ease road congestion
In a bid to ease traffic congestion and ensure smoother commuting, the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) have taken a stern stance against companies responsible for civic works that are either delayed or abandoned midway. The BTP will issue notices to civic contractors and utility service providers, directing them to complete long-pending road works within a week's time or face legal action . Karthik Reddy, Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic, who reviewed the traffic situation soon after taking over, told the media that incomplete or prolonged civic works—ranging from road digging for drainage, cable laying, to utility repairs—have become a major cause of traffic snarls across key junctions and arterial roads in the city. 'We have issued notices to such companies which have taken up civic works after obtaining due permission from Traffic Department or any other civic agencies and not completed the work,' Mr. Reddy told the media. These companies have been notified to complete the work within a week failing which legal action will be initiated against him, he reiterated . He further said that the Traffic Department would also recommend the civic agencies to blacklist such companies for their inordinate delays in completing the work and causing traffic problems in the city. Despite repeated requests and reminders, several contractors failed to restore the roads, leaving commuters to navigate through bottlenecks, dust, and uneven surfaces, which forced us to take this step, a police officer from the east division said. The move has come as a relief to road users, especially with monsoon rains making the situation worse. The police have also urged civic agencies like BBMP and BWSSB to coordinate better and avoid overlapping work that further adds to delays. With traffic density rising and road space shrinking due to civic works, the Bengaluru Traffic Police hope this action will prompt faster project execution and ultimately provide some breathing space to the city's choked roads. 40 choke points In addition to this, the department also identified 40 choke points in the city, a majority of them in the east division. One such example is a stretch between Silk Board Junction to K.R. Puram, which house several IT companies along the ring road. The city has 1.2 crore vehicles registered for the 1.4 crore population where traffic management is a challenging task, a senior police officer said . The traffic police are also focussing on haphazard parking of vehicles on roads which blocks the smooth movement of vehicles . The jurisdictional traffic police have been directed to take up the parking issue seriously and take necessary action. The BBMP has agreed to provide 10 towing vehicles to the department along with drivers. The traffic police will enforce the traffic violations strictly and even BBMP can take up action under BBMP Act on towing vehicles and enforce road discipline, he added .
The Hindu
a day ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Traffic police to crack the whip on civic contractors to ease road congestion
In a bid to ease traffic congestion and ensure smoother commuting, the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) have taken a stern stance against companies responsible for civic works that are either delayed or abandoned midway. The BTP will issued notices to civic contractors and utility service providers, directing them to complete long-pending road works within a week's time or face legal action . Karthik Reddy, Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic, who reviewed the traffic situation soon after taking over, told the media that incomplete or prolonged civic works—ranging from road digging for drainage, cable laying, to utility repairs—have become a major cause of traffic snarls across key junctions and arterial roads in the city. 'We have issued notices to such companies which have taken up civic works after obtaining due permission from Traffic Department or any other civic agencies and not completed the work,' Mr. Reddy told the media. These companies have been notified to complete the work within a week failing which legal action will be initiated against him, he reiterated . He further said that the Traffic Department would also recommend the civic agencies to blacklist such companies for their inordinate delays in completing the work and causing traffic problems in the city. Despite repeated requests and reminders several contractors failed to restore the roads, leaving commuters to navigate through bottlenecks, dust, and uneven surfaces, which forced us to take this step, a police officer from the east division said . The move has come as a relief to road users, especially with monsoon rains making the situation worse. The police have also urged civic agencies like BBMP and BWSSB to coordinate better and avoid overlapping work that further adds to delays. With traffic density rising and road space shrinking due to civic works, the Bengaluru Traffic Police hope this action will prompt faster project execution and ultimately provide some breathing space to the city's choked roads. 40 choke points In addition to this, the department also identified 40 choke points in the city, a majority of them in the east division. One such example is a stretch between Silk Board Junction to K.R. Puram, which house several IT companies along the ring road. The city has 1.2 crore vehicles registered for the 1.4 crore population where traffic management is a challenging task, a senior police officer said . The traffic police are also focussing on haphazard parking of vehicles on roads which blocks the smooth movement of vehicles . The jurisdictional traffic police have been directed to take up the parking issue seriously and take necessary action. The BBMP has agreed to provide 10 towing vehicles to the department along with drivers. The traffic police will enforce the traffic violations strictly and even BBMP can take up action under BBMP Act on towing vehicles and enforce road discipline, he added .
South Wales Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- South Wales Guardian
Law should change to allow review of cases of jailed officers, lawyer says
Matt Foot said the change would be a 'very simple reform' to prevent cases such as that of Errol Campbell, whose name was posthumously cleared at the Court of Appeal on Thursday, almost 50 years after he was convicted. Mr Campbell, who died in 2004, was found guilty in April 1977 of theft and conspiracy to steal from the Bricklayers' Arms goods depot in south London, where he was a British Rail employee, and jailed for 18 months. The case against him was led by the discredited British Transport Police (BTP) officer Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell, who, along with two colleagues, later pleaded guilty to stealing from the same depot. The assistant chief constable of the BTP said following the Court of Appeal's ruling that he was 'disgusted' by Ridgewell's actions, and the force was 'sincerely sorry' to those affected. He also said the force is continuing to 'actively pursue a criminal investigation' into those involved. Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Wall and Mr Justice Butcher, said on Thursday it was with 'regret' that the court could not undo Mr Campbell's suffering. But they said they hope clearing his name 'will at least bring some comfort' to his surviving family, including his son, Errol Campbell Jr. Speaking to the media following the hearing, Mr Foot, who represented Mr Campbell Jr, said: 'In 1980, when Ridgewell was convicted, nothing happened to his cases. 'We are calling for a change in the law that, when a police officer goes to prison, there is an automatic review of their cases to look for miscarriages of justice. 'If that had happened, that would have saved more than 45 years of misery for the Campbell family.' When asked if he had political support for the law change, Mr Foot said: 'We are talking to the Justice Select Committee, we're talking to the junior minister, and we believe that it is something that could be put into Hillsborough Law, alongside that, as a very simple reform that could stop this sort of thing ever happening again.' He also called on BTP to name those who 'harboured' Ridgewell, claiming it was 'no secret' in the 1970s that the officer was 'racist and corrupt'. He added that there were 'bound to be others' who were victims of miscarriages of justice. Mr Campbell unsuccessfully appealed against his conviction in 1978, but his son applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), with the help of the charity Appeal, to look at the case in September 2024. The CCRC had already referred the convictions of Mr Campbell's co-defendants, Saliah Mehmet and Basil Peterkin, whose convictions were quashed in January last year. Henry Blaxland KC, representing Mr Campbell on Thursday, told the court it was dealing with victims of a miscarriage of justice brought about by 'state crime'. In a statement read out by Mr Foot outside the Royal Courts of Justice following the ruling, Mr Campbell Jr said that BTP knew that Ridgewell was 'corrupt' but 'let him carry on regardless'. He continued that his father's conviction 'caused absolute misery', but that his father was 'dapper' and 'a good man'. He also said that he was 'angry that Ridgewell is not alive for this day'. In 1980, Ridgewell, along with detective constables Douglas Ellis and Alan Keeling, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal from the Bricklayers' Arms Depot, with Ridgewell dying in prison before he had completed his sentence. In a previous judgment, the court found that their criminal activities between January 1977 and April 1978 resulted in the loss from the depot of goods to the value of about £364,000, 'an enormous sum of money at that time'. In a statement, BTP Assistant Chief Constable Charlie Doyle said: 'We are sincerely sorry to those affected by the criminal actions of former BTP Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell, whose appalling actions in the 1970s and 1980s led to the criminalisation of innocent people. 'We're continuing to review records relating to his corrupt practices, which includes those relating to officers who were associated with DS Ridgewell or may have assisted him in his criminal activity, and the review team has recently been provided with additional resources to support its work. 'I am disgusted by the actions of Derek Ridgewell, and while we know we can't change the past, his actions do not represent the BTP of today. 'We continue to actively pursue a criminal investigation into the actions of those involved and will present a file to the CPS for consideration once we have completed our inquiries.'
Leader Live
5 days ago
- Politics
- Leader Live
Law should change to allow review of cases of jailed officers, lawyer says
Matt Foot said the change would be a 'very simple reform' to prevent cases such as that of Errol Campbell, whose name was posthumously cleared at the Court of Appeal on Thursday, almost 50 years after he was convicted. Mr Campbell, who died in 2004, was found guilty in April 1977 of theft and conspiracy to steal from the Bricklayers' Arms goods depot in south London, where he was a British Rail employee, and jailed for 18 months. The case against him was led by the discredited British Transport Police (BTP) officer Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell, who, along with two colleagues, later pleaded guilty to stealing from the same depot. The assistant chief constable of the BTP said following the Court of Appeal's ruling that he was 'disgusted' by Ridgewell's actions, and the force was 'sincerely sorry' to those affected. He also said the force is continuing to 'actively pursue a criminal investigation' into those involved. Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Wall and Mr Justice Butcher, said on Thursday it was with 'regret' that the court could not undo Mr Campbell's suffering. But they said they hope clearing his name 'will at least bring some comfort' to his surviving family, including his son, Errol Campbell Jr. Speaking to the media following the hearing, Mr Foot, who represented Mr Campbell Jr, said: 'In 1980, when Ridgewell was convicted, nothing happened to his cases. 'We are calling for a change in the law that, when a police officer goes to prison, there is an automatic review of their cases to look for miscarriages of justice. 'If that had happened, that would have saved more than 45 years of misery for the Campbell family.' When asked if he had political support for the law change, Mr Foot said: 'We are talking to the Justice Select Committee, we're talking to the junior minister, and we believe that it is something that could be put into Hillsborough Law, alongside that, as a very simple reform that could stop this sort of thing ever happening again.' He also called on BTP to name those who 'harboured' Ridgewell, claiming it was 'no secret' in the 1970s that the officer was 'racist and corrupt'. He added that there were 'bound to be others' who were victims of miscarriages of justice. Mr Campbell unsuccessfully appealed against his conviction in 1978, but his son applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), with the help of the charity Appeal, to look at the case in September 2024. The CCRC had already referred the convictions of Mr Campbell's co-defendants, Saliah Mehmet and Basil Peterkin, whose convictions were quashed in January last year. Henry Blaxland KC, representing Mr Campbell on Thursday, told the court it was dealing with victims of a miscarriage of justice brought about by 'state crime'. In a statement read out by Mr Foot outside the Royal Courts of Justice following the ruling, Mr Campbell Jr said that BTP knew that Ridgewell was 'corrupt' but 'let him carry on regardless'. He continued that his father's conviction 'caused absolute misery', but that his father was 'dapper' and 'a good man'. He also said that he was 'angry that Ridgewell is not alive for this day'. In 1980, Ridgewell, along with detective constables Douglas Ellis and Alan Keeling, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal from the Bricklayers' Arms Depot, with Ridgewell dying in prison before he had completed his sentence. In a previous judgment, the court found that their criminal activities between January 1977 and April 1978 resulted in the loss from the depot of goods to the value of about £364,000, 'an enormous sum of money at that time'. In a statement, BTP Assistant Chief Constable Charlie Doyle said: 'We are sincerely sorry to those affected by the criminal actions of former BTP Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell, whose appalling actions in the 1970s and 1980s led to the criminalisation of innocent people. 'We're continuing to review records relating to his corrupt practices, which includes those relating to officers who were associated with DS Ridgewell or may have assisted him in his criminal activity, and the review team has recently been provided with additional resources to support its work. 'I am disgusted by the actions of Derek Ridgewell, and while we know we can't change the past, his actions do not represent the BTP of today. 'We continue to actively pursue a criminal investigation into the actions of those involved and will present a file to the CPS for consideration once we have completed our inquiries.'
