Chief Constable Ian Learmonth
Saturday, June 16, 2012
10:45 AM
Ian Learmonth among a list of the county’s finest to be recognised in the birthday honour’s list
Kent’s chief constable has received the prestigious Queen’s Police Medal in the birthday honours list.
Ian Learmonth, who joined Kent Police in July 2010, was among a list of the county’s finest to be recognised for their services and work in the county.
The chief constable was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal, which is given to officers for distinguished service.
Mr Learmonth joined Essex Police as a Cadet in 1974, and served with the force in a variety of uniform operational roles until 2005 when he was promoted to Assistant Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police.
In that role he led the major police operation for the G8 summit in 2005, and the policing response to the attack on Glasgow Airport by terrorists in 2007.
He was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable of Norfolk Police in 2007, where he led a major programme to redesign the force to put more officers on the frontline.
In July 2010, he was promoted to Chief Constable of Kent Police. His work with the force has been praised by both the Prime Minister in August 2011 during the disorder that gripped the country, and by the Home Secretary.
Mr Learmonth is the national lead for the police service on public order policing, a role he was given after last summer’s disorder.
He said he was both delighted and humbled to receive the Queen’s Police Medal.
“The success of Kent Police is down to the hard work and deep sense of public service of my officers and staff,” he said.
“I have not worked with a more dedicated team.
“I don’t consider what I do to be special, but I’ve worked with some amazing people over the years and seen the profound impact that effective policing has on people’s lives.”
Deputy Chief Constable Alan Pughsley added: “Ian Learmonth has given 38 years of his life to selflessly serving the community in a variety of difficult and dangerous police roles.
“He is an exemplary police officer who has always put the public first. It is a privilege to serve under his leadership, and this award from the Queen is very richly deserved and brings honour to the force as a whole.”
Director of Turner Contemporary, Victoria Pomery, was honoured with an OBE for services to the arts.
Ms Pomery runs the hugely successful gallery in Margate, which attracted more than half a million visitors in its first year of opening.
Others recognised in the honours list were leading hop grower Tony Redsell, who farms across Kent, who was awarded an OBE for services to the UK’s hop industry; Sally Anne Sweeney Carroll, founder and mentor of Transport for Sick Children, who received an MBE for services to child care; and Professor Christopher John Rudge, formerly national clinical director for transplantation and consultant in renal transplantation, who was honoured with CBE for services to transplantation and organ donation.
Mary Butcher, from Canterbury, and Heather Clemence, from Tonbridge, were both recognised for their talents and services to the community.
Ms Butcher was awarded an MBE for services to basket making after 35 years in the industry.
She said: “When I first saw a letter from the cabinet office, I wondered what I had done. Then I opened it and I couldn’t quite believe it.
“It’s such an honour, not just for me personally, but for the craft too.
“I have taught people in the last 35 years who have become traditional basket makers, and I have taught people to think differently about the basket making process.”
Heather Clemence has volunteered at Sevenoaks’ British Heart Foundation branch for more than 30 years and received a British Empire Medal for her long service.
She said: “I was completely surprised because I had no idea about it at all. I got it through my charity work which my husband and I have been doing since 1978.
“The award of the BEM is a great surprise and honour. I must share it with all those who, over more than 30 years, worked together as fundraisers.
“But most of all I will always remember the friendship we all shared, the happy meetings, the fun which we all had over coffee and biscuits and the pleasure of fundraising events.”
Source: www.kentnews.co.uk
Who's going to be our police chief? Sussex voters just don't care - The Guardian
Peter Jones has little doubt what Sussex needs to reduce crime. "We need to give a boot up the backside of the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] and get more people before the courts – they can be so risk-averse it's mind-boggling. It infuriates the public and infuriates the coppers who work their backsides off that the CPS sometimes cannot be bothered to push forward cases."
Jones, the leader of East Sussex county council, hopes he is not merely engaged in wishful thinking. The Birmingham-born politician is outlining what he wants to do if he becomes the county's first police and crime commissioner.
Jones is one of the Conservative hopefuls running for a position that some insist is significantly more powerful than that of MPs and most ministers. In as little as 120 days the Sussex electorate will join the rest of the country and vote for an individual who will acquire a mandate to organise the police budget, prioritise resources and hire and fire chief constables. Jones, from Hastings, is particularly excited about the position's co-ordinating role and is presiding over a slick campaign – "Vote PJ" – to ensure he fulfils his crime-fighting ambitions. Sussex is likely to see more offenders in prison should Vote PJ gain traction.
The one sticking point that worries even those going for the job is the apparent loss of interest by the government in what was touted as one of David Cameron's flagship policies and one of the most important police reforms of recent years.
In Haywards Heath, close to the geographic centre of Sussex, public apathy towards the role of commissioner is overwhelming. "I haven't heard of any of them," said Brenda Griffin, 65, when shown a list of the candidates on the Sussex shortlist. Not one of 30 people asked on the town's main artery, South Road, recognised a single candidate. Nine out of 10 people were unfamiliar with the profound changes to policing that will shortly take place.
Anthony Kimber, a 65-year-old retired army officer from Rye, is also in the running, but perturbed by the apparent lack of government input. "The problem is that the government has become involved in other policing issues, this has slipped onto the back burner.
"The government has not allocated any money upfront. It's offered a website and I do tweeting [118 followers at the time of writing] but there is not a lot of publicity. I know party members who have not been officially told of my candidacy, which is disappointing."
Nonetheless Kimber has set out a detailed manifesto for his plans as commissioner. Anyone in Sussex guilty of antisocial behaviour should, he warns, watch out. His priority is creating an intelligence base of all incidents and people involved in low-level crime and disturbances.
"I would take the sort of approach seen in New York and California, really focus effort and intelligence on the problem, work out whether it's troublesome families the government is talking about or if it's mobile groups of youngsters. I believe that with serious effort and a targeted approach we would get to the bottom of it: who the culprits are, where they do it, and why they do it."
Kimber talks enthusiastically about landing the £85,000-a-year job and working with the current chief constable and community partnerships to eradicate antisocial behaviour throughout the county's 4,000 square kilometres.
There are at least 10 candidates vying for the role. Sussex has produced more Tory candidates than almost anywhere else (six) and a Conservative commissioner is favourite to prevail as voting patterns are predicted to reflect party lines. All must outline how they will revolutionise a police service that must lay off 1,050 staff and make savings of £50m over the next three years.
Another Tory candidate is a successful Arundel businessman and local councillor, Paul Dendle, who perhaps controversially seeks a moratorium on the government's steps towards privatising police roles. "You should delay privatisation until you reform and reduce inefficiency, otherwise you are locking in inefficiency for the length of the contract, which is a waste of public money. A lot of private companies are rubbing their hands because they know how inefficient it is," says Dendle, whose website features police minister Nick Herbert on the streets of Sussex.
Dendle's big idea is "lean systems thinking" based on the Toyota car production model in Japan, which involves asking frontline workers for their input to boost morale and improve efficiency.
Other Tory candidates include the director of a funeral firm, a former Metropolitan police chief inspector whose attempt to become Britain's first Chinese MP failed during the last elections, and the only woman candidate – district councillor and entrepreneur Katy Bourne, who chairs the Conservative Women's Organisation.
Labour is fielding two hopefuls, with the preferred candidate unveiled on Monday following a ballot by party members. Hastings councillor Godfrey Daniel is pledging to tackle antisocial behaviour, hate crime and domestic violence.
He, too, is worried that the process could be undermined by apathy. "Low public engagement is a worry. It's important that people know what they are going to vote for, otherwise the elected candidate could be quite scary."
Daniel is competing against Paul Richards, 44, of Eastbourne, a special adviser to two Labour cabinet ministers who has twice unsuccessfully stood for parliament and is the author of How to Win an Election. All have their work cut out if they want to fire the imagination of the Sussex public.
"I'll vote for anyone who lowers my council tax," said one Haywards Heath mother, unaware that tax is one of the powers that will elude the incumbent. Nicola Smith, 74, who has lived in the town for 35 years, wanted to see a detailed CV of all hopefuls before she even considered choosing.
Next month, Sussex Conservative party members will meet to choose their preferred candidate. They must hope the electorate match their enthusiasm.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
London 2012: IOC begins Olympics tickets investigation - BBC News
The International Olympic Committee has begun an investigation into claims that Olympics officials and agents breached rules on London 2012 ticket sales.
The IOC has held an emergency meeting of its ruling executive board via conference call after claims by the Sunday Times.
The IOC has referred the allegations to its independent ethics commission.
The organisation could also review how Olympic tickets are distributed among member countries.
Combat toutsThe Sunday Times submitted a dossier of evidence detailing claims that Olympic officials and agents had been caught selling thousands of tickets on the black market for up to 10 times their face value, says BBC Sports News correspondent James Pearce.
The newspaper alleges that its two-month investigation found corruption involving people representing 54 separate countries.
More than one million London 2012 tickets were distributed abroad among all the nations taking part in the Games, but the IOC has strict rules to try to combat touts.
National Olympic committees must ensure that their allocation is only sold within their own region.
Undercover reporters from the Sunday Times posed as Middle Eastern ticket touts, and were offered deals from various countries.
Last month a senior Ukrainian Olympic official resigned after being filmed by the BBC offering tickets for cash.
'Strongest sanctions'The IOC said in a statement: "The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has moved quickly to deal with allegations that some National Olympic Committees (NOC) and Authorised Ticket Resellers (ATR) have broken rules relating to the sale of Olympic tickets.
"The IOC takes these allegations very seriously and has immediately taken the first steps to investigate.
"Should any irregularities be proven, the organisation will deal with those involved in an appropriate manner.
"The NOCs are autonomous organisations, but if any of the cases are confirmed the IOC will not hesitate to impose the strongest sanctions.
"The IOC has also determined that it will take on board any recommendations coming out of the inquiry to improve the way that tickets are allocated and sold internationally in the future."
London 2012 organising committee Locog said it would support the IOC in its investigation "in any way we can".
"Rules and regulations for selling London 2012 tickets to international fans are clear and unambiguous," it said.
No tickets intended for the British market were involved, it added.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
London 2012 Olympics: IOC launch investigation into 'black market tickets' - Daily Telegraph
After being alerted to the latest allegations, the IOC called an emergency meeting of its executive board and said it would investigate.
The committee will also consider a complete shake-up of how Olympic tickets are distributed among member countries.
A spokesman said: “On being informed of the allegations, the IOC immediately convened an extraordinary meeting of its executive board and determined a number of actions - the convening of the ethics commission and asking for any evidence of wrongdoing to be provided to the Commission without delay.
“The IOC takes these allegations very seriously and has immediately taken the first steps to investigate. Should any irregularities be proven, the organisation will deal with those involved in an appropriate manner. The NOCs are autonomous organisations, but if any of the cases are confirmed the IOC will not hesitate to impose the strongest sanctions.
“The IOC has also determined that it will take on board any recommendations coming out of the inquiry to improve the way that tickets are allocated and sold internationally in the future.”
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
BASEBALL RECAP: Arkansas 8, Kent State 1 - YAHOO!
BASEBALL RECAP: Kent State 3, Kentucky 2
GARY, Ind. - Kent State leadoff hitter Evan Campbell belted the first pitch he saw Full Story »BASEBALL RECAP: Kent State 3, Kentucky 2
The SportsXchange
Source: sports.yahoo.com
Off with her head! Margate traders complain Mary Queen of shops is ignoring poverty in the seaside resort and making it too trendy - Daily Mail
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Mary Portas has been tasked with rejuvenating Margate
With her track record of helping ailing retailers get back on their feet you would think residents of any town would welcome Mary Portas with open arms.
But those in Margate have shown some resistance to the Queen of Shops because they fear she is trying to make the town too trendy.
The seaside resort in Kent has been chosen as one of 12 'Portas pilot towns' which will receive a 100,000 boost from the government in a bid to try and revive it.
Tasked by David Cameron to find out what was causing the death of Britain's high streets, Portas put forward a list of recommendations to improve towns.
Much of her advice has been taken on board and a 1.2m Government grant was given to towns who needed it the most.
She now hopes to transform the 'practically dying' resort by creating an enterprise centre and will help instal free public wi-fi in shops and also open a quality market.
But some in the town, where 36 per cent of shops are boarded up or closed, are worried they won't be able to afford anything and fear she is ignoring the needs of poverty stricken residents.
Matt, a store manager of JC Rook, the butcher told the Independent: 'You can't turn the town into something it is not. People here don't have an awful lot of money. There is no point creating lots of high-end clothing boutiques.'
There have also been concerns that Portas is more worried about putting the needs of her television company before the town.
Three of the 12 towns chosen to receive the grant will be filmed as part of a TV show and Margate is one of them.
At a public meeting held by Margate's Town Team to showcase plans of how they hope to spend the money Portas, followed closely by the camera crew, said they were an integral part of the rejuvenation.
'This isn't about me. They [the cameras] are not here to trip you up, they are here to show the journey. You either let the cameras in with me, or I go back on the train and some other town gets it and I would be very upset about that.'
Thirty six per cent of shops in Margate are boarded up or closed
The seaside resort was once a buzzing holiday destination for Britons
Chairman of the Margate Town Team Robin Vaughan-Lyons said that concerns had been raised about the presence of TV cameras.
'What we did was forward the bid for the good of Margate and Margate High Street so, of course, we are very protective and passionate about our town.
'We want to make sure it is portrayed well. You could say the eyes of the world are on Margate, so obviously we do not want to be let down.'
Shopkeepers have also expressed concern about a gagging order which prevents them discussing what is happening with members of the media or posting messages on Facebook or Twitter.
They feel it is important for local people to know what is happening.
Portas has since asked production company Optomen to lift any restrictions.
A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said the retail guru had 'asked for any restrictive elements of the contract in question to be changed'.
The department also confirmed the town would still receive their grant even if they withdrew from the series.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
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