The IT security product company Intel Security1 and Socitm2, the Society of Information Technology Management, the Information Technology body covering local government and the public sector, are behind the Socitm Cyber Guide, which provides research, guidance and content on the cyber security issues impacting the public sector. Intel Security s sponsorship of the Socitm Cyber Guide, which is only available to organisations that use the Socitm Insight service, will make the resource available to Socitm s 1,749 members across Local Government and the public sector. Gordon Morrison, Director of Government Relations at Intel Security, said: Intel Security is delighted to support this very important cyber awareness guide. Anything that can assist in combatting the ongoing cyber threats to local authorities and the public sector, through placing best practice information in an easy to find accessible guide is a great development.

Intel Security has won Socitm s Supplier of the Year award . The award is given in recognition of contributions made by a private sector partner for the benefit of its public sector membership. Nigel Bragg, Commercial Partnerships Manager, Socitm, said: Socitm s prestigious Supplier of the Year award is given in recognition of outstanding contributions made by a private sector partner for the benefit of our public sector membership. This year s recipient has provided immense value to the Socitm membership through its collaboration on the Insight Cyber Guide resource, through its sponsorship of the upcoming IT Trends Survey on Data Security and through its ongoing support for both the Local CIO Council and Socitm North West groups.

We re delighted to announce the Supplier of the Year for 2016 is Intel Security.

References

1. ^ Intel Security (www.intelsecurity.co.uk)
2. ^ Socitm (www.socitm.net)

The chair of the Church in Wales international group, the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, John Davies, signed the joint statement alongside the general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Revd Lynn Green; the President of the Methodist Conference, the Revd Dr Roger Walton; the general secretary of the United Reformed Church, the Revd John Proctor; Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the Right Revd Dr Russell Bar; and the recording clerk for Quakers in Britain, Paul Parker. The joint statement comes as the UN s special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, reports that 376 people one third of whom were children have been killed in the two weeks since the collapse of the latest ceasefire. A further 1,266 were wounded.

The international aid agency M decins Sans Fronti res says that there have been 23 recorded attacks on Aleppo s eight hospitals since the end of July. In their statement, the church leaders say that they are appalled by the attacks on civilians by the Syrian Government, Russian and other forces in Aleppo. The responsibility for such attacks lies first and foremost with those who have carried them out.

But the frequency of such attacks in Syria also underlines a failure on the part of the international community to uphold long-established principles concerning the immunity of civilians in conflict, they said. Member states of the United Nations should seek to hold to account the parties responsible for indiscriminate attacks on men, women, children, hospitals, humanitarian and rescue workers, which could be construed as war crimes. The world cries out for an end to the death and destruction in Syria that daily adds to the largest flight of refugees since the Second World War.

We join with our brothers and sisters of other churches and other faiths in praying for the people of Syria. We claim no simple solution to a complex political reality but offer the simple message of our faith: that every life is valued by God and that the slaughter must end now. Earlier this month the UN Security Council debated two resolutions on Syria.

A draft text produced by the French and Spanish governments demanded an immediate halt to all aerial bombardments and military flights over the city of Aleppo. After a heated debate in which there were repeated urgent calls for humanitarian intervention for the besieged city of Aleppo, the text received 11 affirmative votes, two abstentions and two negative votes. Russia, one of those who voted against, is a permanent member of the security council and its vote effectively vetoed the resolution.

A separate text from the Russian government would have urged an immediate cessation of hostilities, particularly in Aleppo. It received only four votes in favour. This afternoon (Thursday) a unilateral humanitarian pause in the fighting was extended by Russia.

The brief pause in attacks will allow people in the city to leave via eight exit corridors .

Two of them are open to rebel fighters who are prepared to surrender their weapons.

The pause is due to come to an end at 7 pm EEST (4 pm GMT) tomorrow (Friday).

The silverback gorilla whose escape sparked a lockdown at ZSL London Zoo managed to drink more than five times his daily ration of blackcurrant squash before he was captured , a zoo chief has said. Professor David Field, the ZSL’s zoological director, said Kumbuka raided his food store after exiting his enclosure through two security doors that had been left unlocked by a keeper as he was feeding the female gorillas. The “alpha male” was kept calm by the member of staff, with whom he had a “close bond”, before guzzling five litres of undiluted sugar-free squash and eventually being tranquillised and moved back to safety, an in-house investigation into the incident said.

Armed police were called to the central London attraction and visitors were evacuated when the alarm was raised following the ape’s bid for freedom shortly after 5pm on October 13. Professor Field said the experienced keeper had made a “mistake” but his response in calming the animal down should be “applauded”. He said: “As he went down to feed the females, Kumbuka had opportunistically gone through the open door that the keeper had left unlocked and he came out, he just pottered out and started to explore the environment.

“The keeper reacted in a very professional, very calm manner and all his training kicked in, all his animal sense kicked in.

“The bond between Kumbuka and his keepers is exceptional and they talk to each other much as I’m doing to you but it’s more ‘hey Buki, how are you doing? Everything’s fine today, what’s happened? Did you see the Trump-Clinton debate?”

Once the keeper had backed behind a safety door and sparked the security alert, the 29-stone Kumbuka went in search of the drink.

“So as the keeper had backed out behind the security door, Kumbuka carried on just exploring the environment, he ventured in, probably knowingly, to where the food store is kept next to his den, in the keepers’ area, and helped himself to some blackcurrant squash.

“He certainly enjoys it but alongside that he enjoys fruit teas and other flavours as well but the blackcurrant squash was what was available.

“He’s a big boy, 29st, so he can cope with five litres but normally it’s diluted and rationed. He would probably get about a litre of diluted squash per day. He didn’t get his evening fruit tea.”

The police were called as part of a full security response because of the risk the animal posed.

“There was a small, small chance because a security door had not been secured that Kumbuka could have got out further than he did so until he was absolutely secure we had to enact our full procedures,” Professor Field said. But despite the animal’s security breach, Professor Field said the whole affair was “less dramatic than some would have you believe”.

An investigation by Westmister City Council, as the zoo’s licensing authority, was “ongoing” and ZSL would be “very open and transparent” with its own findings. He added: “We are working closely with our licensing authorities to really investigate the root cause of this. It was a really unusual set of circumstances, a really unusual mistake from a highly experience individual. We will look into the reasons why.

“Fundamentally the enclosure that we have is safe, it is fit for purpose.”

He added that the human error which facilitated the escape was rare and the risk of mechanical failure meant having an automated security system posed a “greater” threat.

Supplied The Supernaturals

Stonehaven s Hogmanay festival is facing legal action after music acts and companies were left out of pocket. The Supernaturals who had hits in the 1990s with songs including Smile and The Day Before Yesterday s Man are among those owed thousands of pounds. Open Air in the Square, which is run as a charity, has not paid some musical acts, two production companies and a security firm over a three-year period.

Organisers have apologised to those who have not been paid, blaming cashflow problems, and pledged all debts would soon be settled.

Since 2013 thousands of revellers have flocked to the coastal town to see big-name bands such as Deacon Blue, The Human League and Simple Minds.

For more on this story, see Friday s Courier.

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The firm accused of incorrectly withdrawing tax credits from hundreds of claimants is to have its contract ended early, staff have been told. Work being done by Concentrix will be brought back in-house immediately rather than waiting for the end of the contract next year, said the Public and Commercial Service union (PCS). HM Revenue and Customs announced last month it would not extend its contract with the company, which was at the centre of a parliamentary debate earlier this week.

MPs heard from Sarah Broome, a 40-year-old single mother from West Molesey in Surrey, who claimed she was forced to go six weeks out of pocket due to a decision by the company to end her payments. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “We’re delighted HMRC has agreed with us this work is best carried out in-house and, crucially, has accepted our argument to protect the jobs of Concentrix staff by transferring them into the department. We will be pushing for these workers to be employed on the same terms as their HMRC colleagues.

“Sadly, this could all have been avoided and the fiasco is further evidence it is a false economy to hive off important public services.”

A staff bulletin said discussions were continuing about the remaining period of the contract, adding that Belfast-based staff will automatically transfer to HMRC.

“This will provide permanent employment to Concentrix people who we require to deliver our priorities, offering job security to them well beyond the scheduled expiry of the contract in May 2017.

“We are currently working to agree transfer dates but it will be in the next few weeks.”

Rebecca Long-Bailey, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “This is a great victory for those families who have been unfairly targeted by Concentrix and for Labour and the trade unions, who have mounted immense pressure on the Tory Government to bring this operation back in house.

“I am pleased to hear that Concentrix employees will not be losing their jobs as a result of their company’s and this Government’s failures and will simply be transferred to HMRC.

“However, this Government still has a lot of questions to answer about how this mess came about in the first place and why they were so slow to take action. Labour will be holding a debate in Parliament next week calling for an immediate investigation into the Government’s handling of the contract and for urgent action to compensate families who have unjustly had their tax credits stripped away.”

A Concentrix spokesman said: “As the work previously carried out by Concentrix moves back to HMRC this means that, under the protection of employment regulations, Concentrix staff carrying out the work for HMRC will automatically transfer to HMRC.

“We have begun discussions with the staff about this transfer. This will provide permanent employment, offering job security to them well beyond the scheduled expiry of the contract in May 2017.

We do not expect any forced redundancies as a result of this transfer.”

A HMRC spokesman added: ” Concentrix has begun discussions with their staff about this transfer.

Those people moving to HMRC will be supported through further training, building on the improvements already delivered to the service we provide to our tax credits customers.”

A SOLIHULL councillor has thrown his hat in the ring to become mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). Coun James Burn, Chelmsley Wood councillor and leader of the Solihull Green Party, has launched his campaign to head up the new super council . The Green Party candidate has previously voiced his concerns about the lack of transparency in the WMCA pointing to the lack of webcast meetings and the fact the ruling group is just made up of council leaders Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

However, if he is elected he promises to try change this and has pledged to set up an assembly of councillors, business leaders, and representatives from unions and the voluntary sector to help scrutinise his decisions if elected as metro mayor. While Coun Burn will not be able to formally cede power to the assembly he pledges to establish, he has promised to listen and abide by whatever is set up . Among his plans for the future of the region Coun Burn will invest in small businesses and cutting-edge, low-carbon technologies to ensure the long-term economic security of the region.

He also plans to use his experiences as a qualified social worker to launch a war on loneliness giving the region s elderly and marginalised people the support they require.

I have stopped loads of people asking about their opinions on the WMCA and they have no idea idea what I am talking about, Coun Burn said.

I do not want the first time many people hear about having a mayor is when the voting slip comes through their door.

I want to be a mayor that listens to people and heals the suspicions put in place by the behind-closed-door way the WMCA has been set-up and run so far.

The advisory group will tackle issues of security and emergency preparedness on college campuses. It also works with DHS to on recruiting students and creating and research and career opportunities for students in cybersecurity and public service. Syverud was sworn in by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson at a meeting in Washington, D.C.

Wednesday. He will serve on the DHS's Academic Advisory Council for a three-year term. Reporter Julie McMahon covers Syracuse University and Syracuse city schools.

She can be reached anytime: Email 1 | Twitter 2 | 315-412-1992 References ^ Email (www.syracuse.com) ^ Twitter (twitter.com)

Donald Trump recently made headlines about how NATO countries are not carrying their fair share of the defence burden. But even President Barack Obama publicly pointed out, in his address to Parliament no less, that Canada should contribute its full share to common security. Canadians are fond of pretending that underspending on defence goes unnoticed in the U.S. Well, I can tell you that American politicians on both sides of the aisle have told me and many other Parliamentarians that they are fed up with Canada and other NATO countries behaving like freeloaders. Sometimes they are polite and diplomatically refer to it as burden sharing but don t kid yourself for a minute they clearly understand that they are giving up other domestic programs to protect their freeloading friends and neighbours.

The difference between our current defence spending and what we committed to under NATO illustrates why the U.S. is right to feel annoyed. Reaching the two per cent threshold would require another $19 billion a year. In the last decade alone, this amounts to well over $150 billion in defence spending not exactly peanuts. It s also important to remember that the two per cent of GDP spending commitment was not forced upon us.

It was an agreement that we, and every other NATO nation, entered into willingly. And part of that spending commitment is allocating one-fifth to capital investment. One good way to do that would be to improve our fighter aircraft capacity. Canada needs a new fighter jet to replace the aging CF-18s which have already undergone one life extension. The reasons we need new aircraft are very simple.

How we get them is the complicated part. First and foremost, we need jets to defend our own airspace against enemy aircraft or hijacked airliners. There are too many rogue actors on the international stage who would like to do us harm. Protecting our skies from those threats is a key component of national defence. As a partner in NORAD, we co-operate with the U.S.

only in defending against aircraft attacking North America. But as North Korea s recent missile tests show, enemy or hijacked aircraft are only a small part of the threat. It s goofy to think we ve voluntarily excluded ourselves from ballistic missile defence. Secondly, we need new aircraft not just to protect Canada but to provide air support for military operations abroad by covering the backs of troops on the ground as our CF-18s did in the former Yugoslavia in 1997. The final reason we need a new, effective fleet of fighter jets is that having a robust air force serves as a deterrent to those that seek to do us harm.

Often just having a big stick means you re less likely to have to use it. Amongst our generals and military advisers there is a consensus that we need a new fighter-bomber to provide these functions for Canada. But amongst the chattering classes there is a virtual free-for-all about not just which aircraft should be purchased, but how we should go about getting one. I ve been looking at defence issues for the last 40 years and I d be the first to tell you that neither I, nor a committee of Parliamentarians, is qualified to make a decision on which aircraft is best. These are matters best left to the military men and women.

Fortunately, it appears the political waters have receded and a sensible approach to this situation is arising. Since the election, the prime minister has issued directives to hold an open and transparent competition to replace the CF-18.”

Furthermore, the questionnaire sent out to the competing defence contractors was by all accounts fair and inclusive. It s time that we got on with the fighter jet competition.

Colin Kenny is former chair of the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence.

Kennyco@sen.parl.gc.ca

Ryan Mauro, the national security expert for the anti-Muslim Clarion Project1 known for peddling anti-Muslim conspiracy theories about secret Islamist training camps in the United States, will address the Homeland Security Professionals Conference and Expo next week in Florida. The event, advertised2 on the Department of Homeland Security s website and scheduled to begin next Tuesday, is being organized by the Florida-based Security Solutions International (SSI), a law enforcement training group.

Ryan Mauro, Clarion Project

Mauro, who often speaks at national security or law enforcement gatherings when he isn t a talking head on Fox News, has long spread anti-Muslim fear of Islam. In 2010, writing3 for Islamist Watch, he warned, Islamist groups are, as we speak, hard at work creating Muslim states-within-states in the U.S. He has repeatedly warned of European and American no-go zones, a debunked conspiracy theory that even its originator, anti-Muslim activist Daniel Pipes4 has now openly rejected. His invitation to speak at the conference comes as no surprise.

SSI has a long track record of anti-Muslim bias in its law enforcement trainings. Political Research Associates5 (PRA), a research group based in Somerville, Mass., profiled SSI in its 2011 report6, Manufacturing the Muslim Menace. The report noted that at one 2009 training, an SSI expert on Islam, Long beach PD detective Ebrahi Ashabi, showed a beading7 of a American Daniel Pearl. The report also quoted SSI CEO Soloman Bradman, who responded to criticisms of SII s trainings, which include titles such as Radical Islamic Culture and Middle Eastern Culture and Terrorism.

I can t take the responsibility of my course linking their religion Islam to terrorism. I think their religion got linked to terrorism a long time ago, he said. SSI s previous events include an Allah in America Day and its conferences, sometimes sponsored by its magazine, The Counter Terrorist, have invited anti-Muslim speakers in the past including another national security expert Steve Emerson8 in 20139.

Emerson, a man who has a made a career off peddling anti-Muslim sentiment, made headlines last year when he claimed10 that the city of Birmingham, the second largest in England, was a no-go zone for non-Muslims. PRA s report also found that SSI events give participants the opportunity to network with fellow professionals and experts on security topics. They also provide a stage to promote a political agenda that exaggerates threats and paints Muslim-American groups as supporters or terrorism. The 2016 conference in Orlando is no different, where anti-Muslim figures and law enforcement will be all under one roof yet again.

The government has taken positive steps recently to abandon11 Counting Violence Extremism (CVE) programs amid accusations of profiling American Muslims, in favor of community-based efforts. However, law enforcement and government agencies still give groups like SSI and anti-Muslim figures like Mauro a legitimate platform, which which only leads to the reinforcement of anti-Muslim bias within those institutions. Clarion is known for making and distributing anti-Muslim films that portray the threat of Islamism to Nazism. The New York Times described12 one film, The Third Jihad, as a hate-filled film about Muslims that argues that the real agenda for Islamists in America is to infiltrate and dominate the country.

Past and present members of Clarion s advisory board include anti-Muslim figures Frank Gaffney13, Walid Phares14, Raheel Raza15 and Zuhdi Jasser16, who narrated Clarion s 2005 film, Obsession: Radical Islam s War Against the West.

References

1. ^ Clarion Project (www.splcenter.org)
2. ^ advertised (www.dhs.gov)
3. ^ writing (www.islamist-watch.org)
4. ^ Daniel Pipes (www.splcenter.org)
5. ^ Political Research Associates (www.politicalresearch.org)
6. ^ report (www.politicalresearch.org)
7. ^ beading (www.theguardian.com)
8. ^ Steve Emerson (www.splcenter.org)
9. ^ 2013 (www.24-7pressrelease.com)
10. ^ claimed (www.washingtonpost.com)
11. ^ abandon (www.khou.com)
12. ^ described (www.nytimes.com)
13. ^ Frank Gaffney (www.splcenter.org)
14. ^ Walid Phares (www.splcenter.org)
15. ^ Raheel Raza (www.splcenter.org)
16. ^ Zuhdi Jasser (www.splcenter.org)

A PRESTIGIOUS name has been chosen for one of the four nuclear deterrent submarines which will be built in Barrow over the next 15 years. To mark Trafalgar Day, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has announced that her Majesty the Queen has approved the name ‘Dreadnought,’ for the lead Successor submarine which will protect our national security for years to come.

And here we go – Michael Fallon cuts the first piece of steel for the Successor programme in #Barrow @NWEMlive pic.twitter.com/7eBFZxdAim123

AGroveNWEM (@AGroveNWEM) October 5, 20164

The name is synonymous with Barrow’s submarine heritage as it marks 56 years since the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh attended a ceremony to mark the launch of Britain’s first nuclear-powered submarine – HMS Dreadnought. It is a wonderful nod to Barrow s legacy in the illustrious history of the Royal Navy

It also has extensive historical significance with the name borne by no fewer than nine Royal Navy ships.

In 1588, Royal Navy Officer Sir Francis Drake sailed a dreadnought to repel the Spanish Armada and more than 200 years later, another dreadnought used its firepower to help Lord Nelson win the Battle of Trafalgar. Construction officially began on the new Successor fleet earlier this month when Mr Fallon flew in to Barrow to cut the first piece of steel for one of the boats. READ MORE:

The Defence Secretary said: “Every day our ballistic missile submarines are used to deter the most extreme threats to Britain s security.

“We cannot know what dangers we might face in the 2030s, 2040s and 2050s, so we are building the new Dreadnought class.

“Along with increasing the defence budget to buy new ships, more planes, and armoured vehicles, this commitment shows we will never gamble with our security.

Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock also welcomed the Dreadnought title. He said: “Naming the new submarine Dreadnought underlines the importance of these vessels to the nation and is a wonderful nod to Barrow s legacy in the illustrious history of the Royal Navy.

“Dreadnought is a name steeped in centuries of glorious history, from the original HMS Dreadnought in 1553 right through to the very first nuclear submarine built in Barrow in 1960.

“It is a name that echoes through the ages and it is fantastic that it will be heard once again as the ground-breaking work done in the shipyard helps to guarantee the security of our nation for decades to come.”

The new boats will replace the ageing Vanguard class of boats which are set to be replaced by 2028 after being initially brought into service in 1994. The programme has now moved into “delivery phase one,” which will see manufacturing work begin on structural steel work for the auxiliary machine space of the first submarine.

The 41bn project will deliver the largest and quietest submarine ever conceived by the Royal Navy and the first to accommodate both male and female submariners from the outset. The programme will also be supported by a defence budget that will rise every year until the end of the decade, meeting the NATO commitment to spend two per cent of GDP on defence. READ MORE:

Several hundred suppliers will be involved in the programme at its peak with almost 85 per cent of those based across the UK.

Barrow is also set to see an influx of workers as part of the town’s commitment to building the next batch of submarines.

At its peak in the early 2020’s it’s thought that 5,000 staff will be working for BAE Systems to construct the new submarines with many of those set to based in Barrow shipyard.

References

1. ^ #Barrow (twitter.com)
2. ^ @NWEMlive (twitter.com)
3. ^ pic.twitter.com/7eBFZxdAim (t.co)
4. ^ October 5, 2016 (twitter.com)

A 43-year-old man has been shot dead at a house in west Belfast. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the shooting had taken place at Glenwood Court in the Poleglass area. Sinn Fein’s Jennifer McCann MLA said: “This brutal killing has achieved nothing other than plunging another family into grief and despair.

“I have expressed my condolences to the victim’s family and appeal to anyone with information to bring it forward to the police.”

Alex Atwood MLA, of the SDLP, said: “I completely condemn the latest barbaric attack on a man in west Belfast.

“These savage assaults had no place in our past and they have no place in our society today.”

The murder follows two paramilitary-style shootings earlier this week, one in west Belfast, the other in Dungiven, County Londonderry. On Sunday night, a 56-year-old man was shot several times in the leg at Glenwood Drive in Poleglass. Two days later, a 22-year-old man was abducted from Derry, shot in the leg and left wounded on a roadside near Hass Park in Dungiven.

Security sources say the shootings bear the hallmarks of so-called “punishment attacks” and appear linked to one of the dissident republican groups.

Just 7% of Freedom of Information requests made to An Garda S och na were granted in the first 14 months after the 2014 FOI Act was extended to include the force.

However, that was because most of the requests 67% fell outside the scope of the legislation, according to Superintendent Helen Deely, head of the Garda FOI unit. Speaking at the second national FOI conference in Kilkenny yesterday, Supt Deely said the current status of FOI is that 225 requests have been refused since the legislation to include the organisation came into force in October 2014. She said they received 364 requests in 2016 covering 795 questions, of which 169 were from journalists and 101 from members of the public. Five requests came from current and former staff for access to personal records. She said some were referred directly to human resources.

Overall, just 24 requests were granted and 54 were partially granted. Supt Deely said it is important to point out that the act only enables members of the public to obtain certain records pertaining to human resources, finance, and procurement, but that some of the requests fell outside these provisions. Records such as those relating to the Emergency Response Unit, Security and Intelligence, and the Criminal Assets Bureau are exempt.

Supt Deely said they received a significant number of queries in relation to audit reports. However, there were occasions when such was the volume of information requested that it was not possible to process within the statutory timeframe and it was deemed a refusal. The organisation spent the bones of a year preparing for the introduction of the act and 210 people were trained in advance. On the first day that the act took effect within the force, they received 24 FOI requests.

We anticipated receiving somewhere between 10 and 40 on the first day, she said. Of queries received in relation to finance, they included requests for everything from how many hats the force has bought to the cost of firearms and ballistic vests, to how much the Communications Clinic contract was worth, to how much was spent policing the ploughing championships.

She said it was only possible to give information on what the Garda were paid to police the event rather than how much it cost, mainly because of complex staffing arrangements. Supt Deely said the Garda FOI unit has completed 12 internal reviews and three refusals were varied on review. Eight were upheld. There were six appeals to the Office of Information Commissioner, with two upheld, one annulled and three decisions awaited. She said a record management policy is now a high priority .

As guards, we keep everything it s part of our training, she said. You never know when it might be required in court. We have no destruction policy, so we have everything going back to 2008.

The law applies retrospectively to 2008.

Irish Examiner Ltd.

All rights reserved

Cope, 54, a Republican serving his third two-year term as first selectman, said protecting the borders and gun control are on the minds of many residents he s spoken to in the sprawling district, which contains 41 cities and towns. Both are areas in which Esty has failed her constituents, he said. I ve lived here 21 years and, going on the campaign trail as I have, people tell me they are worried about border security.

There could be a terrorist attack. We have (in the district) a lot of people who work on Wall Street and are really concerned about an attack on New York City. Cope, who is highly critical of Esty on a host of issues, said, I don t think anyone in the 5th District is safe because of her vote (on Syrian refugees).

It is not the vote I would have taken. She voted to not pause the influx of refugees Cope believes need to be better vetted. She also voted for the Iran nuclear deal, which is a path for them to get nuclear weapons, Cope said.

They are a threat to Israel and the Middle East, and Israel is our strongest ally. That was a terrible vote. Cope also said Esty is vulnerable with gun owners.

As the first selectman, I am also chief of police and I sign every gun permit that comes across my desk, Cope said in a phone interview this week. I ve seen an uptick in the number of permits after incidents like Orlando (where there was a shooting rampage in a nightclub). I hear people throughout our district saying Stop taking our Second Amendment rights away.

Connecticut is one of the most pro-gun control states in the country, in part due to votes that Esty has taken, Cope maintains. The 5th District, Cope said, is home to many sportsmen who own rifles. On jobs, Cope said Esty is supporting Hillary Clinton, who is proposing a $1 trillion increase in taxes, which would only cripple our economy and not help it.

Specifically, Cope said, We need to lower taxes and that is what will bring jobs back into Connecticut and allow small and large businesses to want to stay here. Lowering taxes will stimulate the economy and that will hopefully provide for better paying jobs for everybody. Cope called himself a fiscal conservative and said that, in Sherman, We pay down debt and do not add to it.

In this town, we pave our roads and enjoy a low mill rate (20.33). I ve managed to keep the mill rate low by reducing spending. Cope also went after Esty on veterans.

Esty has worked closely with veterans groups and said she s proud of the work her office has done with helping veterans in her district. She has not done more for veterans; she has done less, Cope said, adding, She has voted against the VA (Veterans Administration) Accountability Act, which hurts veterans. That would have protected whistleblowers within the VA and terminated poor managers.

Cope vowed to visit the mayors and first selectmen of every community in the district in his first year in office. After a news story appeared this past winter alleging that Esty had never visited Sherman, Cope said she came on a winter afternoon on a Monday. Sherman is closed on Mondays.

If she did her due diligence, she would have known to visit any day but Monday. Cope said he is cautiously optimistic about a victory on Nov.

8, noting, Ms. Esty has a lot more money than I do.

I have also not taken any special interest monies.

Robert Storace can be reached at 860-801-5202 or at rstorace@newbritainherald.com 1 .

References ^ rstorace@newbritainherald.com (www.centralctcommunications.com)

• Devices issued to guards in a bid to reduce violent and abusive behaviour
• Guards at Guy s and St Thomas hospitals will wear the body-worn cameras
• Total of 850 incidents were recorded in a matter of months at the hospitals

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A hospital has issued body-worn cameras to its security staff after a dramatic rise in assaults on front-line NHS workers. Guards at Guy s and St Thomas hospitals will wear the devices in a bid to reduce violent and abusive behaviour from patients. It comes just days after Scotland Yard announced it was introducing more body video cameras to frontline officers than any other force in the world.

Guy’s Hospital, which will introduce body-worn cameras following a dramatic rise in violent assaults

A total of 850 incidents were recorded between April and September by Guy s and St Thomas NHS trust in central London a 27 per cent rise on the same period last year. Dame Eileen Sills, the trust s chief nurse, told the London Evening Standard: We have seen an increase in both the numbers but also the level of violence. Some of our staff have been harmed. Some have been left with black eyes after they have come to work.

Some have been pinned to the floor. Some have been hit a level of violence we have not seen in the organisation until recently.

It s getting worse, which is why we are launching the campaign.

Body-worn cameras are digital devices about the size of a cigarette packet which can record hours of footage, which can then be used as evidence in court if an incident occurs.

Metropolitan police officer displays his body camera. The force will issue more of the devices than any other force in the world

Over the past six months, the trust saw 75 arrests on its premises up from 30 in the same period last year and 26 patients were excluded, meaning they will only be provided with emergency treatment. Dame Eileen added: We think it will help de-escalate some situations. They give confidence to our security officers.

Also, when someone is wearing one, the individual will not necessarily exhibit the extreme behaviours they have done in the past.

St Thomas’ Hospital has seen a sharp rise in violent and abusive behaviour, and it is hoped the devices will help tackle the problem

Superintendent Roy Smith, of Scotland Yard, said: I think it protects staff and patients, because if there is any sort of violence people can see instantly that they are being recorded on body-worn video. Security officer Charlee Dunn, 23, said the aim was not to behave like police officers in the hospital.

We are trying for a more friendly approach. We look after patients here, she said. The Metropolitan Police is set to hand out 22,000 cameras to all neighbourhood and response officers at a cost of nearly 10million.

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1. ^

Thieves are targeting work vans across the Cambridgeshire area because they know there are rich pickings to be had, police have said. Officers have issued a fresh security warning for motorists after the claims, which were made during a Sawston sector police meeting on Tuesday night. Chief Inspector James Sutherland, area commander for South Cambridgeshire, updated residents and representatives of crime in their areas before opening up the floor for questions.

‘Spate of van break ins’

A representative of Great Abington Parish Council asked about a spate of work vans being broken into with tools and work equipment stolen in the village, and what could be done to deter thieves. Chief Insp Sutherland said thieves were also targeting work vans in East Cambridgeshire and South Cambridgeshire not just Great Abington. He said: Bigger groups are coming from all around because they know there are rich pickings to be had in Cambridgeshire.

We have been trying to contact the owners of work vans urging them to take their tools out of the van at night time.

Transit type vans are a target and people are coming to this area specifically to look for them; people have to secure them.

We are not going to arrest our way out of this problem.

Whilst we don’t blame victims for crimes, these incidents are entirely and completely avoidable if you take the tools out of your van each day and lock your car.

Chief Insp Sutherland said perimeter alarms were a really good idea to deter thieves, as well as parking your vehicle on your driveway.

Security advice from police

Security advice from police includes locking your car whenever you leave it.

Other tips include:

Removing everything from the car; don’t even leave a jacket where it can be seen

Closing the sunroof along with the windows when you leave

Not storing things in the boot; take them with you

Storing car ownership information in your home, not your car

Having a routine to ensure you always take the keys out of the ignition

Taking removable stereos and sat nav equipment with you

In addition, using secure (theft resistant) number plates can make your plates less attractive to thieves

The Walton Centre becomes the second specialist hospital in Merseyside to be given an outstanding rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The first being the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital. The Learning from Mistakes league table was drawn together by scoring NHS provider organisations based on the fairness and effectiveness of procedures for reporting errors; near misses and incidents; staff confidence and security in reporting unsafe clinical practice; and the percentage of staff who feel able to contribute towards improvements at their trust. The data for 2015/16 was drawn from the 2015 NHS staff survey and from the National Reporting and Learning System.

The Walton Centre was among 18 providers out of more than 200 Trusts to be graded as outstanding ; 102 were good; 78 gave cause for significant concern and 32 had a poor reporting culture. Director of Nursing Hayley Citrine said:

We are really pleased to be rated as outstanding. At The Walton Centre, we ve done number of things to ensure our staff feel comfortable about raising concerns. We want to create a culture where staff feel confident to raise concerns, where staff are listened to, and actions are taken.

We actively promote staff engagement and regularly hold staff listening weeks to ensure we are getting quality feedback that can shape future care. We also have forums called Berwick Sessions which are opportunities to discuss areas we perform well in and areas where we can make further improvements. Openness and transparency are very important to us and are part of our value system we call The Walton Way.

Director of Nursing Hayley Citrine

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Owners of trailers are being asked to review their security arrangements following a spate of thefts in the south of the county. Since 6th October, 9 trailers have been stolen from the Long Sutton and surrounding areas. The trailers are of a variety of type.

Owners should ensure that they have a good quality hitch lock and that the trailer is further secured by wheel clamp, or it is securely tethered to a fixed point.

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Previous articleSouth Lincs agent recognised by National Industry Body1

References

1. ^ South Lincs agent recognised by National Industry Body (lincolnshiretoday.net)

By Warren Lee, 21st October 2016, 16:17

A Hertfordshire student who created an internationally-used cyber-crime tool from his own bedroom has pleaded guilty to three offences at London’s Old Bailey. Following a complex investigation by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) Regional Cyber Crime Unit, officers tracked down Adam Mudd, 19, of Toms Lane, Kings Langley. Mudd admitted two counts of computer misuse which involved creating and administrating the stressor tool – which was used by other cyber criminals internationally – and a count of money laundering in relation to the financial gains he’s made as a result. Also during his interviews he admitted security breaches against his own college while he was a pupil studying computer science.

The Central Criminal Court today (Friday) heard that Mudd had developed ‘stressor’ tools to flood the computing networks with data, creating a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack which prevented them from functioning and left the systems vulnerable to compromise. Mudd carried out 594 DDOS attacks against 181 individual IP addressed between December 2013 and March 2015. The teenager also sold the tool on the internet and ran his stressor as a business, gaining proceeds from its distribution to other cyber criminals – analysis of the tool showed that it had been used by others in more than 1.7million denial of service attacks against victims worldwide.

In total, Mudd had benefited to the tune of approximately $385,000 worth of ill-gotten gains – though the final amount will be confirmed in future confiscation hearings. Police from the Regional Cyber Crime Unit, supported by the National Crime Agency, were alerted to Mudd’s criminal activity and he was arrested at his home, where devices including his computer were seized for investigation. Detective Inspector Martin Peters of ERSOU’s Regional Cyber Crime Unit said:

“My team has learnt a lot from this complex investigation, due to the nature of the criminality, the sheer volume of data and the global reach of the offending.

It is important that this case sends out a clear message to others who may be tempted by – or who are already engaging in – cyber scams from the comfort of their own bedrooms. Criminality is now no longer solely on the streets, but that does not mean we cannot trace you and bring you to justice. We will work with law enforcement agencies, locally, regionally, nationally and globally to combat this criminality.

“Adam Mudd’s case is a regrettable one, because this young man clearly has a lot of skill, but he has been utilising that talent for personal gain at the expense of others. We want to make clear it is not our wish to unnecessarily criminalise young people, but want to harness those skills before they accelerate into crime.

We are working at local, regional and national level with partners to educate people about cyber-crime and personal safety online, as this is our best chance of preventing offences from being committed and beating cyber-crime.”

Mudd pleaded guilty to two offences under the Computer Misuse Act and a further offence of money laundering under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

He will be sentenced in December.

Charity Fraud Awareness Week runs from October 24 to 28. Organisers agree that fraud within charities can be regarded as the f-word something distasteful that it s hard to imagine that staff or volunteers would want to or could do to the good cause. But that could be part of a problem that makes a charitable body a soft touch, it s argued. Hence the week, which seeks to promote fraud awareness and encourages everyone working within the charity and not-for-profit sectors to start a conversation about fraud. For infographics and posters visit https://www.fraudadvisorypanel.org/charity-fraud/get-involved/1.

The Fraud Advisory Panel itself a charity, which works to raise awareness of fraud points out that it s vital for charities of all shapes and sizes to protect their income and assets by building strong defences. All trustees and managers should have the knowledge and skills to recognise the tell-tale signs of fraud and then to shape an effective and proportionate response. On Friday, October 28, the panel and the sector regulator the Charity Commission2 are running a second annual conference in London, titled Prevention is better than cure . For a digest of proceedings and discussions at the first, 2015, conference, visit the panel website3. peakers include representatives from: Amnesty International, Big Lottery Fund, British Council, British Pregnancy Advisory Services, Charities Security Forum, Charity Commission, City of London Police, Fundraising Regulator, Macmillan Cancer Support, Oxfam GB, RBS, The Salvation Army UK and Weber Shandwick.

For more about the 2016 event visit the events4 part of the panel website. Visit www.charitiesagainstfraud.org.uk5. Separately, the Charity Commission s serious incident reporting regime has been in operation since 2007. By incidents the Commission typically means fraud, theft and safeguarding of children and other vulnerable people. Its current guidance for charities, How to report a serious incident in your charity , has recently been reviewed.

To raise awareness of the updated guidance and to seek views on its revision, the commission has begun consulting6 on the proposed changes.

More in the December 2016 print issue of Professional Security magazine.

References

1. ^ https://www.fraudadvisorypanel.org/charity-fraud/get-involved/ (www.fraudadvisorypanel.org)
2. ^ Charity Commission (www.gov.uk)
3. ^ panel website (www.fraudadvisorypanel.org)
4. ^ events (www.fraudadvisorypanel.org)
5. ^ www.charitiesagainstfraud.org.uk (www.charitiesagainstfraud.org.uk)
6. ^ consulting (www.gov.uk)

Vandalism: More than 500 of damage caused. Alva Glen Heritage Trust1

An 8ft “cyber gong” musical structure has been damaged in a spate of “intolerable” vandalism.

The cemented support legs of the aluminium tube in Alva Glen, Clackmannanshire, snapped off after being pushed by vandals. More than 500 of damage was caused to the gong, used by children to make musical notes, sometime between October 2 and Monday.

Community group Alva Glen Heritage Trust said it received a report of possible vandalism from a member of its board. It said: “The report was investigated yesterday by two trust board members and (they) found that one of the cyber gongs had been ripped from its position and thrown to the ground.

“This has been removed from (the) site to a place of security. The matter has now been reported to the police.

“The glen has experienced a high level of vandalism over the past few months and has now reached an intolerable level when installations that were put in place to be enjoyed by the children and families are being wantonly destroyed by a minority element frequenting the glen.”

Police are appealing to the public for more information. Please contact the police on 101 or, to remain anonymous, Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111.

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References

1. ^ Alva Glen Heritage Trust (www.facebook.com)
2. ^ the App store (itunes.apple.com)
3. ^ Google Play (play.google.com)