Police 7: Policing News mid-May ’23

Police 7: Policing News mid-May ’23

The NYE’s Police 7 articles are intended to be a one stop shop for our readers covering crime prevention advice, court reports, police appeals for assistance, local community policing news, information on victim support, updates from the North Yorkshire Police (NYP) and the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for North Yorkshire and the Coroner.

Police 7 has been one of our most popular features with our readers, who appreciate getting regular updates from the Police via the NYE.

We lead these articles with a photograph of the late Shaw Taylor, as a tribute to him. Shaw was a groundbreaking forensic journalist, who pioneered police media appeals for information in the programme Police 5. His work led to the successful conclusion of many casses in the UK, Europe and the United States through local programmes that followed the pioneering format of his original programme called Police 5 in 1962.

The NYE will continue to immediately publish urgent appeals for information from North Yorkshire Police (NYP), in missing person’s cases etc.

Following senior NYE management discussion, Police 7 will be published twice a month from now on, not once a month. This is to improve our coverage and to ensure we get the Police appeals for information out to out readers promptly, so they are still relevant. This should also lead to a shorter more punchy and easy to digest series of articles

NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING

The following witness appeals and court reports may be of particular relevance to our readers and can be accessed from the NYP website. Address below:

• https://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/news/news-search

Witness Appeals

Woman Attacked in Scarborough

Police in Scarborough are investigating an assault on a woman on Victoria Park, towards Columbus Ravine, at around 8.45pm on Sunday the 7^th of May 2023.

The victim, who is aged in her 40s, was assaulted inside or around a red Ford Transit van she was travelling in.

The van was parked on the road, near the entrance to Victoria Park Carpark, at the time of the incident.

The victim sustained a large cut to her face which required specialist medical treatment, and a suspected bite mark to her hand.

A 41-year-old man from Whitby has been arrested in connection with the incident. Following questioning, he was released on bail while enquiries continue.

Could any witnesses who may have seen or heard the assault take place, and anyone who may have CCTV, phone or dashcam footage of the incident email  Rowan.Haywood@northyorkshire.police.uk, or call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select Option 2, and ask for Rowan Haywood.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12230081806.

Motorcyclist Killed near Cayton Bay

Police have issued an appeal for witnesses and dashcam footage after a motorcyclist died two weeks after he was injured as a result of falling from his bike near Cayton Bay.

It happened at around 1.25pm on Sunday 16 April on the A165, Filey Road, near the roundabout for Osgodby park-and-ride.

The motorcyclist, a 61-year-old man from Hull, was riding towards Filey with a group of other bikers when it is believed he attempted to overtake a red car but fell from his bike, suffering serious injuries.

He was taken to hospital for treatment but sadly died almost two weeks after the incident.

Officers are appealing to anyone who recalls seeing the group of riders, anyone who witnessed the incident, or has dashcam footage of before or after, to please get in touch.

Anyone with information or footage is urged to preserve the footage and email TC1674 Richard Grey at Richard.Grey@northyorkshire.police.uk or call 101 quoting reference 12230067662

Contact

Anyone with information is asked to make a report via the North Yorkshire Police website or by calling 101.

If you would prefer to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Court Reports and Victim Support:

Former York teacher jailed for sexually abusing girl

Former teacher in the York area John William Renel, aged 68, of Main Street, Sessay, has been jailed for 18 years for sexually abusing a girl in the 1990s. He was found guilty of one count of rape and four counts of indecent assault following a trial at York Crown Court.

Detective Constable Alison Morris, of North Yorkshire Police’s Non-Recent Abuse Investigation Team, said:

“John William Renel is a predatory child abuser who has caused unimaginable trauma to the courageous victim in this case.

I truly hope the outcome at court along with the significant custodial sentence handed to her perpetrator, provides comfort, strength and hope for the future.”

Former teacher jailed for sexually abusing girl

Jamie Alexander Wheeler, 32, previously of Riccall near Selby, has been jailed for four years and ten months after pleading guilty to 22 child sex offences.

Former teacher Wheeler pleaded guilty to possessing a paedophile manual, three counts of making (downloading) indecent images of children, six counts of sexual touching, eight counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, two counts of taking an indecent photo of a child and two counts of meeting a child to engage in a sexual act.

His offending was discovered when a colleague reported concerns after seeing inappropriate images on the desktop of his laptop.

During his arrest, Officers seized 33 electronic devices including laptops, phones and memory sticks. Forensic examination of the devices revealed over 26,000 indecent images of children including 4,721 category A images, which are the most serious and depict the worst kind of abuse.

Officers also discovered a paedophile manual that went into detail about how to groom children in the lead up to abusing them sexually.

Wheeler was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely and given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Claire Hudson of York and Selby CID, said:

“The images found on Wheeler’s devices depicted sickening and very distressing images of children being abused.

Behind every image is a terrified child that has suffered in the worst possible way. By downloading these images he has helped fuel the horrific trade in child sexual abuse images, re-victimising every child in those photos and videos.

While we did not identify any evidence that he was directly involved in the worst kind of sexual offending, we did identify direct offences of sexual touching and other grooming offences to which he thankfully pleaded guilty and spared the victims the trauma of giving evidence at court.

When his offending was discovered, we worked with our partner agencies to ensure immediate safeguarding measures were put in place, including his suspension from his job and conditions imposed to prevent any contact with any children.

I hope Wheeler uses his time in prison to take make use of the help available to prevent re-offending in the future.”

If you are a victim of abuse, please do not suffer in silence. You can report it through any of the following methods:

• Please contact the police on 101.
• If you are in immediate danger, always dial 999 for an emergency response.
• Victims who would prefer not to go direct to the police and are not in immediate danger, can contact Bridge House, North Yorkshire’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), on 0330 223 0362, email sarc@nhs.net.
• You can also contact Supporting Victims direct at supportingvictims.org or call 01609 643100.
• NSPCC Helplines: Help for adults concerned about a child – call 0808 800 5000. Help for children and young people – call Childline on 0800 1111. Go to uk/preventing-abuse.

If you are concerned about your own thoughts, feelings and behaviour towards children, you can get help and support from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. Find out more about their Stop It Now campaign here Stop It Now! UK and Ireland | Preventing child sexual abuse

Crime Prevention

Scarborough Knife Amnesty

North Yorkshire Police is urging people to put potentially lethal weapons out of harm’s way.

To make it as easy as possible, a ‘knife amnesty’ bin has been installed at Scarborough police station.

Simply wrap an unwanted knife in thick paper or cardboard as a safety precaution, and bring it directly to one of the locations. You do not have to give your name or any other details – just drop it in the clearly-marked bin.

The amnesty bins will be in place from Monday the 15^th of May to Sunday the 21st of May.

A permanent knife bin is also available in Harrogate, between Asda car park and Dragon Road car park, close to the recycling bins.

The aim of the bins is not only to reduce knife crime, but also give reassurance to people who simply want to dispose of unwanted knives and sharp objects – such as old kitchen knives, or unused work tools – safely and securely.

Taking a knife out of circulation in this way prevents it from ever falling into the wrong hands, helping to keep communities safer.

In addition to the amnesty bins, throughout the week police will be speaking to young people to educate them about the dangers of knife crime. They will also be carrying out high-visibility patrols, stop and searches and other enforcement activity in areas linked to possible knife crime.

Detective Superintendent Andrea Kell, of North Yorkshire Police, said:

“It only takes one knife in the wrong hands to cause serious injury or even death. Knives destroy lives, it’s as simple as that.

Every knife placed in an amnesty bin is one less knife that could be used as a lethal weapon on the streets. That’s why I’m urging everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to dispose of them this week.

Our officers and staff use every tactic available to reduce the number of knife incidents, but we can’t do it alone. By working together with our partners and the public we are more effective, responsive and can take steps to prevent people carrying and using knives.

As well as disposing of knives safely, we need our communities to support us in giving information about those who carry them. Please, do the right thing – you might save a life. Contact us on 101, through our website or anonymously via Fearless.org or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”