NOTICE:   PANDEMIC FLU – YELLOW PHASE

NOTICE:   AIB NOTICE: SUBMITTING INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

NEWS:     £4K STUDENT TICKET FRAUDSTER IS STUNG

Pandemic flu – yellow phase

Please can all staff and officers note that the Area has moved into the yellow stage of the pandemic flu plan, in line with FHQ guidance.

Hygiene packs have been sent to all stations and departments for distribution by the OICs. If you have not received your mask and hand gel please contact your OIC in the first instance.

Hand gel should be used as per the guidance on display and we have provided masks - which must not be worn at this stage - for use if and when the Force goes to the next point of the prevention plan.

In addition, if you call in sick with swine flu, please give your line manager the reference number provided by the NHS so that this can be forwarded to HR.

FHQ will continue to monitor the situation and adjust the alert level if necessary.

If you have any questions, please contact Sgt Becky Jackson on 0207 391 8283.

For further information on swine flu, please visit: http://a00cms/btpintranet/Default.asp x?page=18409  

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AIB Notice: Submitting intelligence reports

The AIB department would like to make officers aware that the FIS system is currently out of action

For the time being, please click here to in order to submit intelligence reports.

If you have any further questions, please contact PC Dave Fish or Sgt Gail McKemmie via email.

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£4k student ticket fraudster is stung

A student fraudster who issued himself and his girlfriend massively discounted rail tickets has been ordered to pay back almost £4,000 after a London North investigation.

Stingray Dussan-Cabrera, a 20-year-old student from Rotherhithe, south-east London, was sentenced to 10 weeks' imprisonment, suspended for a year, plus 100 hours unpaid community work, at City of Westminster Magistrates Court earlier this week.

He was also ordered to pay back £3,911 back to the railways and £85 in legal costs.

Cabrera was caught when he showed Euston train staff a bogus ticket he had issued himself and staff became suspicious when he provided an unconvincing explanation as to why it was in his possession.

Cabrera provided rail staff with his real name and they reported the matter to the Area’s ticket fraud squad, who continued the investigation.

Enquiries by PC Jill Pocock established that Cabrera was employed at nearby Kings Cross Station as a ticket clerk. Officers arrested him at the station earlier this year in relation to allegations of theft of a ticket.

When in custody, officers seized an 'All Zones' travelcard that Cabrera had issued himself fraudulently to the value of almost £2,000. Enquiries established that Cabrera had also provided his girlfriend with a false annual season ticket from Guildford to London valued at £2,760. She handed this in to police when Cabrera was in custody.

Cabrera, originally of Colombia and a Spanish passport holder, was charged with one count of attempted fraud, two counts of fraud (abuse of position) and one count of false accounting.

Subsequent to his arrest a further 23 ticket offences came to light, which gave him travel at a cheaper rate than permitted. These were taken into consideration.

Detective Inspector Terry Pearce said: “Stingray is certainly one of the more unusual names I have come across. It certainly stuck in the minds of the rail staff that questioned him and ultimately led to his fraudulent activities being uncovered.

“Cabrera claimed that as a student he was short of cash and that he had been motivated by money worries. In all honesty, he was abusing his position for financial gain in order to enjoy free travel on the railways.””

”This result highlights the excellent work carried out by the Area Ticket Fraud Squad. Their dedication and effective relations with our industry partners continue to pay dividends, “added DI Pearce.

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Using your warrant cards to travel

Please can all officers take note that warrant cards can only be used to travel on the trains when you are actively on duty.

Officers travelling to and from work must apply for the residential pass and if you are travelling more than 70 miles, you will need to apply for a privileged season ticket.

Superintendent Dave Roney said: “Officers’ benefits and expenses have increasingly been in the media spotlight and BTP wants to make sure that our officers are playing by the rules.

“If any officers are found to be abusing their travel privileges they could face disciplinary action.”

For more information on how to apply for one of the passes, please contact Philomena Mascarenhas, of the Finance department, via email.

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Football Banning Orders for violent fans

Two Queens Park Rangers fans and one Peterborough United fan have been issued with Football Banning Orders (FBO’s) for their involvement in two separate incidents of football-related violence.

Queens Park Rangers fans Paul Colman, 50, of Watford, and 57-year-old John Spear, of Uxbridge, both received 6-year FBOs for their involvement in a brawl at Manningtree station, Essex, last year.

In addition, Colman received an 18 month jail sentence, while Spear was sentenced to 21 months in jail for their involvement in an incident of violent disorder in March 2008.

The two were sentenced for their part in disorder that saw innocent bystanders injured – including a 70 year-old Ipswich Town fan - when bottles and glasses were thrown in Manningtree station’s bar.

In the second case, Leonardo Barletta, 29, of Peterborough, recently received a 3-year FBO for being abusive to other fans and officers at Peterborough Railway station at the end of last year.

Barletta was charged for assault offences and was also ordered to pay an £80 fine and an additional £150 in costs.

PC Soomary, football intelligence officer, said: “In both these cases, I am pleased that the courts have imposed restrictive banning orders as they will severely curtail these men’s ability to travel.

“I would also like to thank my colleagues PC Lee Levens and DC Alan Reed for their contribution and help on both of these cases.”

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The ASU is here to help

Please can all officers note that when considering whether to issue a Penalty Notice of Disorder (PND), the Area Support Unit (ASU) is on-hand to thoroughly check the PNC for previous convictions and other disposals on your behalf.

The Area Support Unit is available during office hours and can be contacted on: 020 7391 8246/07/08.

If you have any further questions, please contact the Area’s ASU Manager Alan Jackson on the number above or via email.

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False passport man from Latvia is sentenced

A Latvian man who refused to leave Peterborough station has received a nine month sentence for using a fake passport which was in his friend’s name.

Victors Audziss, 24, recently appeared in court charged with possessing false identification papers.

Officers were called to Peterborough station in May to talk to Audziss when he refused to leave the station when asked by rail staff.

Audziss, from south London, was then arrested by PC Richard Kane who suspected that the passport he produced was false.

PC Chris Thompson-Chambers ran a PNC check on the passport and it came back that there was an international arrest warrant against the suspect.

Enquiries were made with Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and the UK Border Agency to ascertain who the suspect was.

Audziss admitted to using false identification and told officers he carried the altered passport, belonging to a Latvian friend, to help him avoid detection by authorities because he had a criminal record.

”Audziss thought he could hide his own criminal record by using his mate’s passport,” said PC Kane. “Unfortunately, Audziss’ friend had a worse record than him.”

“I would like to say thank you to PCs Joe Burns and Chris Thompson-Chambers who both assisted with the custody and interview process.

“I would also like to thank those officers who helped me on my BASS training, which taught me how to look for key behaviour indicators when talking to suspects,” he added.

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Arrest and file reference numbers

All officers are reminded of the need to ensure that they obtain a BTP Arrest Summons (AS) number when they are dealing with prisoners at Home Office custody suites.

Officers should also be asking Home Office custody officers to ensure that the BTP AS number is endorsed on charge sheets and not the Home Office number.

If a BTP AS Number is not obtained it can lead to duplicate entries being created on PNC and therefore, will increase the number of impending prosecutions on the system.

Please call the Crime Recording Centre on: 02920 921900 to get your BTP AS number.

In addition, when submitting case papers can officers ensure they obtain a BTP file reference (URN) number.

Please call the CJU on 020 7027 6400 during office hours to get a URN number.

If you are calling outside of office hours, please call the MICC on: 0207 922 4020.

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Stevenage man charged for assaulting female on busy commuter train

A Stevenage resident has recently been charged with sexually assaulting a female passenger on a busy passenger train following successful surveillance work from London North officers.

Iaon Lamban, 33, of Stevenage, was on an FCC train travelling from Stevenage to Cambridge when he approached the female victim and asked for a kiss.

When the victim refused Lamban’s advances he sexually assaulted her and then got off the train at Ashwell and Morden Station, near Cambridge.

The following day the suspect walked through the train and sat next to the victim again. Lamban verbally abused her and admitted he had watched her on previous occasions.

LN response officers PCs James McLean and Thomas Bradbury began plain clothes observations with the victim on the train in an attempt to arrest the suspect.

The Finsbury Park NPT also assisted the investigation and continued the plain clothes observations with the victim, as well as PCs Robert Woods and Abdel Montasir attending Ashwell and Morden Station to see if Lamban appeared there.

Officers eventually located Lamban at a garage near to Ashwell and Morden station and PC Woods arrested the suspect on suspicion of sexual assault.

Sergeant Neil McGrath said “This was a particularly disturbing case where a female passenger was sexually assaulted having been monitored by the assailant over a number of weeks.

“I have recently been in contact with the victim and she was impressed with BTP’s commitment and tenacity in dealing with her complaint.”

Superintendent Jim Nattrass added: “This is an excellent example of teamwork involving various units form Central sector, response teams and the new Mayoral-funded teams.

“They acted quickly and sensitively to the victim’s needs and were professional at all times.”

Lamban will be sentenced on 20 August at Stevenage Magistrates Court.

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Ramadan 2009 

Ramadan in 2009 is expected to start on Friday 21 August and will continue for 30 days. The exact dates are subject to the sighting of the moon.

For people of the Islamic faith, the month of Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, prayer and doing good deeds. During this month, Muslims are obliged to abstain from all food and drink between dawn and sunset.

The Association of Muslim Police (AMP) has written some advice which is available on the Briefing System here. It includes things such as when officers are feeling tired or need to pray during their shift.

The AMP advises that by having early meetings with staff, line managers will avoid any misunderstanding on when time off is being requested and any other conflict. Where possible all requests should be made before the start of Ramadan and staff should not overwhelm line managers at short notice leaving them difficult decisions to make on the spur of the moment. Supervisors should discuss these issues with their Muslim staff so that arrangements can be made in advance.

The Association of Muslim Police can be consulted for any additional guidance, its email address is [email protected]

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PC Nigel Wakefield returns to work

LN Weekly is pleased to announce that PC Nigel Wakefield has returned to work and is fighting-fit following a time of health-related absence.

PC Wakefield would like to thank Detective Inspector Terry Pearce and the Area Commander for the support they gave to him and his wife Lynn and all of his colleagues who sent well-wishes while he was off.

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