May 2000
On this page
The Incredible Shrinking Capital
Anniversaries and conferences
Regional conferences
Report from the Wales representatives
Scottish visiting
Human rights

London is shrinking. Well, that's not actually true of course. In actual fact the Greater London connurbation is probably growing with more houses being constantly built. So what is happening to London size-wise?

In policing terms the capital shrunk as of 1st April 2000 with many areas leaving the Metropolitan Police Service to become parts of Hertfordshire, Essex and
Surrey Police Forces. This is down to the Greater London Authority Act (the one responsible for creating the Mayor, new Assembly and new Police Authority for London) which has changed the size the MPS district so that it is conterminous with the 32 London Borough Council areas.

All very interesting you may say, lots of work there, but what's that got to do with Lay Visiting? Well clearly a lot because the surrounding Police Authorities will become responsible for widening their arrangements to cover their new patch. Equally, there are pre-existing London Panels who are responsible for these areas. VT is keen to find out how the process is going. How are the Authorities approaching the issue? What arrangements are being put in place? Is the London approach significantly different from the shire approach? How's it going folks? Write to VT at 4 York Avenue,

Lincoln, LN1 1LL with you updates and views or email VT here.

Anniversary and Conferences
Perhaps it isn't something to celebrate but next year will be the 20th anniversary of the Brixton riots. This and other inner city riots of the early 80s were responsible for the Scarman report which introduced the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, statutory consultation arrangements and, of course - Lay Visiting. Watch this space for details of NALV planned events. The Management Committee have decided that a London conference to mark the event is required and this will take place with hopefully some high profile speakers and media coverage. Forward any ideas you may have to Ian Smith at NALV at 155 Chorley Road, Swinton, Salford  M27 4AE or email Ian Smith here.

One unfortunate downside to the decision to have an 'Anniversary Conference' next year is that it would be too close to the normal NALV conference date of November. It was therefore agreed that there would be no conference this year in lieu of the big event next year and that areas should be asked to hold Regional events. Regional dates agreed so far are detailed elsewhere in this edition.


Regional Conference Season
The following Regional Conferences are to be held this year. Some dates are to be confirmed and your local Scheme Administrator should be able to help with any further updates. VT wants to know how these conferences go and any items of interest for your colleagues nation-wide! Articles, letters and best practices are very welcome along with some pics if possible!

Northern Ireland - Friday 12th May 2000.
Hosts - Northern Ireland Police Authority

Central Regions - Saturday 3rd June 2000.
Hosts - Warwickshire Police Authority

North - East Region - Saturday 10th June 2000.
Hosts - North Yorkshire Police Authority

Wales Region - September / October 2000.
Hosts - South Wales Police Authority

South - East Region - Saturday 28th October 2000.
Hosts - Surrey Police Authority

London - Dates to be announced.
Hosts London Regional Committee

North West Region -  dates to be announced.
Projected hosts - Greater Manchester Police Authority

NOTE- VT ONLINE IS ANXIOUS TO RECEIVE REPORTS OF LOCAL OR REGIONAL CONFERENCES. PLEASE EMAIL THE WEBMASTER HERE.


Report from the Wales Regional representatives.
Gwent
With the assistance of an Inspector from the Gwent Police Criminal Justice Department the Lay Visitor guidelines have been rewritten and issued to all lay visitors. The lay visitors are drawn from members of the public and all 20 have recently undergone refresher training again with the assistance of an Inspector and Sergeant of the Force Criminal Justice Department. The Chief Constable attended one of the training sessions.

The retraining was very much welcomed by the visitors who were very appreciative of the increased level of support given to them by the Police Authority. This has resulted in renewed vigour throughout the scheme and an increase in the number of visits that are now taking place. Additional staff are in the process of being appointed to the Clerk's Office and one post will have the responsibility for lay visiting.

North Wales
An advertising campaign is about to begin with approaches having been made to the voluntary councils and the universities. Two new appointments have been made to the Police Authority. Mr Kelvin Dent is the new Clerk and Mrs Jan Penn is the new Senior Officer with responsibility for lay visiting.

Dyfed and  Powys
An advertising campaign has taken place in the area to recruit members of the public and appointments are currently in the process of being made.

South Wales
The South Wales Police Authority Scheme undertook 162 visits between 1st October and 31st December i999.

A recruitment campaign will shortly begin with particular emphasis on attracting applications from ethnic minorities.

During a recent visit two lay visitors, Nesta Morgan and Tony Bright, were greeted by members of the Prince's Trust staging a 24-hour sponsored lock-in in aid of charity.

Mr John Littlechild
South Wales Police Authority


Scottish Visits?
The last VT outlined the exciting developments that were taking place North of the Border with trials in Fife and Northern Constabularies underway to implement Lay Visiting in Scotland. If not, previously this edition of VT should be winging its way across the highlands and lowlands to those participating in the new schemes. NALV and VT are keen to support Scottish Lay Visiting in any way it can and are certainly interested in hearing any news, views and experiences from the development of the process and first visits. Write to Mike Robinson, Visiting Times, 4 York Avenue, Lincoln, LN1 1LL or email him here

Human Rights Act
Rights of the individual are something obviously dear to the hearts of Lay Visitors who try and ensure on every visit that the detainee's rights and welfare under PACE are adhered to. There has been much talk of the new Human Rights Act and how this will affect so many parts of our lives. This is probably very true, but how will it affect Lay Visiting? One thing that has arisen already with NALV is that the Act could affect, for example, the way in which Lay Visitors are removed from office. An individual's right to be treated fairly and receive natural justice is obviously essential from a moral and best practice viewpoint - it might also be essential from a legal one now as well. I hope a future VT will be able to go into much more detail on the implications of the Human Rights Act on visiting. Any thoughts and contributions welcome. Write to VT at 4 York Avenue, Lincoln, LN1 1LL or email VT here.
LINKS TO ....
Editorial  -   The incredible shrinking capital   -   The new London police authority
NALV London regional committee  -   Is Lay Visiting to become statutory?
The London view of Lay Visitor Training   -   What would you do?  -   Annual Conference 1999
The Future of NALV training   -   What is a police authority ?  -   Your local NALV representative
Lay visiting in Northern Ireland   -   Your letters   -   And the winner is.. last issue competition
What does NALV Central Committee do?   -   Regional Conferences 2000   -   Regonal reports, Wales
Visiting in Scotland   -   The Human Rights Act   -   Police authorities- have your say!   -   Hidden volunteers
No detainees, no problem   -   Lay visitor honoured   -   This is your VT   -   Annual conference update
VISITING TIMES ONLINE SPRING 1999   -   VISITING TIMES ONLINE DECEMBER 1999
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