JAIL FOR METAL THIEF WHO TARGETED HOME OF HOGWARTS EXPRESS

MAN GIVEN TWO-YEAR LIME STREET BAN

Jail for metal thief who targeted home of Hogwarts Express

A man has been jailed for a year after carrying out thefts at the home of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Express.

Neal Currie, together with three accomplices from Lancashire and Manchester, targeted the Steamtown depot, near Carnforth, where the locomotive used in the Harry Potter films is housed.

Currie, Leon Currie, Daniel Brodie and Carl Hoole all appeared before Lancaster Crown Court on Monday, 3rd August, for sentencing having pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.

The court heard that the men had travelled to Steamtown on two separate occasions, in November 2007 and April 2008, with the intent to steal copper cable and metal from the depot.

Neal Currie was sentenced to six months imprisonment for each offence – to run consecutively. Meanwhile Leon Currie and Carl Hoole were handed suspended jail sentences while Daniel Brodie was ordered to complete 140 hours community service.

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Man given two-year Lime Street ban

A Liverpool man has been banned from entering Lime Street station for two years.

Christopher John Walsh, 31, has been barred from the station as part of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order imposed at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 3^rd August.

The order also bans Walsh, of Bower Grove, Seaforth, from taking a pedal cycle onto any station or train in Merseyside.

Officers from British Transport Police applied for the ASBO following a catalogue of abusive and aggressive behaviour.

Inspector Ken McVey, of BTP, said: “Staff at Lime Street have made a number of complaints against Walsh after he verbally abused them and shouted obscenities at them.

When challenged, Walsh has a tendency to become aggressive and has caused staff at the station to fear for their safety.”

Walsh also has a history of making false reports to police and has flouted several railway byelaws by riding his bike in station and has used the cycle as a weapon against staff.

Insp McVey added: “The evidence supplied in support of the ASBO application dated back as far as 2006 when Walsh tampered with the emergency equipment on board a train.

“The ASBO, with its four strict conditions, should provide BTP and Merseyside Police with an effective tool to control and monitor Walsh’s offensive behaviour.”

Walsh is also banned from behaving in a manner that causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person in Merseyside and from making any false reports of crime to the police in Merseyside.

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Health and Safety requirement for all staff

All staff are required to complete four Health and Safety courses on the IvySoft e-learning programme.

BTP has a legal obligation to ensure all staff complete the courses and as such all North West Area officers and staff are asked to follow this link to the documentation.

All courses should be completed by the end of August and a guidance document accompanies this newsletter. Anyone with further questions should email the Health and Safety department.

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Record your training needs

Managers are reminded of the need to have the summary of their team’s training needs logged with Brian Mason (Area Training Manager) by 17^th August.

These training gaps should have been identified during each member of staff’s IPA.

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New Section 44 leaflets

The Area Media and Marketing department recently sent out BTP’s new ‘Section 44: Stop and Search’ leaflets.

You should have received them in the post and if not, please be assured that they are making their way down to you.

Please destroy the old leaflets and all officers should make themselves familiar with the new literature.

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BTP Rugby Club set for charity match

The BTP Rugby Club is inviting officers and staff are to attend their next match, which will see them raising money for a children’s charity.

The team are set to play a side from the Child Victims of Crime charity on Wednesday 2 September, with the BTP team presenting a gift to the charity after the game.

For further information about the match or to confirm attendance, please contact PCs Nick Loader and Julian Gardiner via email.

Date: 2 September 2009

Venue: East London Rugby Club

Kick off: 2pm TBC

Nearest Tube/rail station: West Ham

For further information about the Child Victims of Crime charity, click here.

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Mobile phone scam warning

Officers and staff are advised to be aware of a mobile phone scam that allows a fraudulent company to make calls at the phone user’s expense.

The scam involves a user receiving a call from a person saying they are a company engineer, or telling the user that they are checking the mobile line.

The caller then asks the user to press #90 or #09 or any other number. Pressing a number gives the caller access to the phone’s SIM card and allows them to make phone calls at the user’s expense.

Officers and staff are advised to end any such calls immediately, without pressing any numbers.

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Ordering BTP merchandise and giveaways for NPTs

BTP-branded merchandise and promotional giveaways should be ordered by NPTs directly from approved suppliers via the order forms on the Intranet.  These items are not kept in stock by the Media and Marketing Department and therefore it is imperative that they are ordered by NPTs well in advance of an engagement event.

The merchandise that can be ordered includes BTP memory sticks, sticky notes, pens, pencils, personal alarms, drink bottles and jelly beans. These items can be used for community engagement events, days of action, school visits, campaigns and awareness days, for example.

To order the materials:

1.      Select the products you want to order from the lists on the Intranet

2.      Make sure you have secured funding from your department head / line manager

3.      Submit a white form to Finance, who will generate a purchase order number

4.      Download the appropriate order form(s) and complete, ensuring these include the purchase order number

5.      Send the order to the supplier using the details listed on the bottom of each form.

Please allow an appropriate length of time for delivery as this can sometimes take up to six weeks.

Please click here for the link or see the Media and Marketing pages on the Intranet for the merchandise lists and order forms.

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