Iraq faces the mother of all corruption scandals

But life is so much better than it was under Saddam Hussein [says Tony Blair]....60% of all Iraqis depend on the food rationing system and it is within this system that the corruption is happening. The Independent claims 1,000 officials are to be arrested...

All figures for piracy made up

the article claims that all figures for software piracy are "educated guesses" [ie made up by the business lobbyists]. Article appears to be talking about software piracy, but its a bizarre journey it has made. To the Independent from New Zealand and originating in Canada.

Hamza's sons jailed for car scam

Dont leave your luxury car in a long stay car park! Abu Hamza's sons will get the DVLA to transfer ownership to them...unbelievable tale.

Ecuadorian Town a hub for drug-running rebels, Colombia says

The 48th Front of FARC and the "Fatman" Oliver Solarte, who makes the money that runs the rebellion. the story is disputed and complex, but is a rare article on drug trafficking, organised crime and terrorism

MI5 "too stretched" before July 7th

BBC report of Intelligence and Security Committee report. Different newspapers spinning this in different ways. The significant statement is at the bottom. it was decided that Khan, Tanweer and Khyam of the fertiliser bomb plot] were involved in planning financial fraud rather than a terrorist attack...perhaps we should be devoting more resources to "small" frauds? No link from article to actual report. i will try to put it on here if it turns up. None of the papers has linked it yet.

Trade in illegal medicine exposed

Ever wonder why people can sell stuff in shopping malls, but the minute you try to take a photo or a video....Shazam...here comes security person!
The BBC story doesnt ask that question. This is a puff for a programe they will be showing later. Counterfeit drugs on sale in car parks.

Less than 1 in 10 terrorism arrests leads to conviction

i think I missed blogging this story last week. All the figures for the post 9/11 period.

Labour has fought phoney war on drugs

Centre for Policy Studies not the most objective reporters, and Telegraph not the most middle of the road newspaper...but its always good to have another side to the argument!

Rise in use of drug tests to sack staff

Report from Release, the drugs charity on calls to its emergency service from employees...and the lack of calls from employers suddenly.

CCTV makes "modest" impact on crime

Home office spinning this report the other way. It works well on crime in car parks, but not a lot else. Very little has been properly evaluated. Which goes for just about all crime prevention work, after all.

Eurojust chief embroiled in Portuguese Corruption Scandal

Not what Eurojust needed. All allegations at the moment but the Portuguese general prosecutor has begun disciplinary proceedings against Jose da Mota, the head of Eurojust. Worth a read and a follow-up around the web I suspect. EU Observer being cautious about the story.

Te-SAT 2009 EU terrorism situation and trend report from Europol

Finally found the full text. the link from EU Observer didnt work the first time, so a tinyurl link should work better, I hope.

MI5 linked to arest of Britons in Syria

I missed early reports on this, but include it because there have been allegations involving transmission of funds to al Qaeda. We shall see.

Two charged over Northern Bank Robbery

Tom Hanlon and George Hegarty arrested in Cork. breaking story.

Tracking Cyberspies Through the Web Wilderness

Great title for New York Times article on Ghostnet and the Tibetan exiles. Doesnt come up with final answers, but its still a fascinating story.

Italy arrests "al Qaeda plotters"

Two men originally arrested for organising illegal imigration now being held on suspicion of planning terrorist attacks in the long term.

SOCA claimsworld cocaine market "in retreat"

Well, I hope theyre right, but I would be rather surprised, since other authorities were telling us there was still over-production. The claim is that SOCA has been making life difficult for dug traffickers so the wholesale price is going up, while the quality on the street is going down. Other sources wonder about the fall in the purchasing power of the pound...
On the other hand, there is clearly better coordination with other European countries now over intelligence and joint operations. Expect a change of approach by organised crime in response.

Police to severely curtail use of stop and search powers

section 44 powers. Well, surprise, surprise, use against blacks rose 322%, use against Asians rose 277% and whites 185%...When you think stop and search was already used disproportionately against the black community, you can see this is about harassment, not counter-terrorism....and Asians will include Chinese, of course....and in the previous post, we learned just how huge the threat from Islamist terrorists in Europe is [n't]. Ah well...anyone who had bothered to read any of the research already knew this, but not our increasingly weird politicians. What does becoming Home Secretary do to a person's brain, I wonder? Never mind...wee Wullie Haig is coming...no surely not, he's destined for Foreign Secretary isnt he? Ian Duncan Smith then?

515 planned terrorist attacks in EU in 2008

397 by separatist movements. There was only ONE attack carried out in 2008 by "Islamists": the one in Exeter. You would never know that from the media and the government in the UK, now...would you? Better check this report.

Revealed: 77 trafficked Chinese children lost by care home

Report leaked to Guardian. Chinese children arriving at Heathrow, being placed in care home then vanishing. Organised crime suspected.

Review of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics in New Zealand

Link is to the report, but there is a wealth of statistical data elsewhere on this site. if you ever wanted to know something about new Zealand, here's the opportunity. "A rich source of data" It says!

Six jailed for election fraud

Former Conservative candidate Raja Khan and associates. He has since been expelled from the party.

DNA database profiles of innocent people to be removed

Note that the detailed proposals arent in the public domain yet. This is pre-announcement spin.

GCHQ denies Internet spy plans

Apparently the Sunday Times alleged that despite the Home Secretary's scrapping of plans for a centralised database, GCHQ was forging ahead with plans to monitor all communications.