Carole Duggan: ‘I’m not going away, they’re not shutting me up’

Carole Duggan & Nephew, Mark Dugganoriginally by: The Guardian
published: 28 February 2014

Carole Duggan doesn’t want us to meet at her house, because she’s sure it has been bugged. She thinks her mobile has also been tapped, so we don’t decide on an alternative venue over the phone. We can’t make arrangements by email, either, because her laptop was stolen in a recent break-in.

It might have been just a random burglary, of course – but the thief was uncommonly tidy, didn’t touch her cash and other valuables, and stole only the computer and a phone. Besides, even if no one is listening in, she’s still wary about talking to me.

The press keep twisting her words, she says, and she worries that whatever she says will be used against her by the Daily Mail and the Sun. So we agree to meet at the train station in Manchester, and take it from there.

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Street triage team to tackle mental health emergencies

Benjamin Zephaniah & CI Sean Russell
Benjamin Zephaniah & CI Sean Russell – The One Show 4 February 2014

A scheme has started to ensure people with mental health issues in the West Midlands are kept out of custody and receive the right treatment. 

The Street Triage scheme will see mental health nurses and paramedics join police on callouts where people need immediate mental health support.

Mental health bosses say people in urgent need of mental health care during emergencies will benefit. The pilot follows in the footsteps of similar schemes across the country.

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IPCC upholds Powell family complaint

Mikey Powell sister and motherby: Mikey Powell Campaign
published: 31 October 2013

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) have upheld an appeal by Claris Powell, the mother of Mikey Powell, that the West Midlands Police Chief Constable’s report to the West Midlands Police Authority (WMPA) on 25 March 2010 entitled “The Organisational Response to the Death of Michael Powell and Linda Burtwas misleading.

The Powell family maintained that the report was misleading about the findings of the 2009 Inquest jury ruling in relation to when and where Mikey died.

In December 2010 the Powell family solicitors made a series of complaints on behalf of Mikey Powell’s mother, Claris Powell.

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