New figures shown to The Steel Bugle by using the Freedom of Information act have revealed that over 70% of traffic incidents involving South Yorkshire Police vehicles were in fact caused by the police officers driving.
The information comes after an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission opened looked into the death of a man who was killed in March of this year in the Denaby Main area of Sheffield by a police vehicle which was responding to a call.
Out of a total of 94 incidents which occurred during the course of 2008 eighteen are still yet to be resolved and could be added to the number caused by the police. The accidents involving SYP vehicles resulted in 51 casualties including 3 pedestrians, 2 of which were drunk at the time. Two of the incidents resulted in homes being damaged by SYP vehicles in accidents which saw police cars going out of control and crashing through resident’s gardens and into their homes.
In 2008 the vehicle fleet management of South Yorkshire police began a three year strategy to optimise the best performance possible for the people of south Yorkshire. Nigel Hiller, Director of finance and administration for the SYP released a report in 2008 which he said the new strategy would “Transform vehicle fleet management to provide outstanding service in a way that actively supports the policing of South Yorkshire”
Michal Lodej, The Steel Bugle
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Students At Risk From Mumps
Students are being warned as the levels of reported cases of mumps are on the rise throughout England and Wales with young adults at greater risk.
Nine hundred and ninety-eight laboratory confirmed cases of mumps in England and Wales have been reported in January and February 2009. This compares with 322, 274, and 1173 cases in the same periods of 2008, 2007, and 2006 respectively. The disease is thought to be on the increase as those who were born between 1981 and 1989 may not have received the MMR vaccine and those who did may have only received it once.
Dr Mary Ramsay, who monitors mumps cases at the Health Protection Agency said, "The increased occurrence of the disease is mainly among older teenagers and young adults in their early twenties, and mostly among those in further or higher education establishments. Some in this age group were too old to be routinely vaccinated with MMR when it was first introduced in 1988. And some others may only have received one dose of MMR”.
The fact that there is a large group of people who fall into the bracket of those who are at risk means that the Agency is expecting a large number of cases to continue over the next few years. Another contributing factor to the rise in mumps is that the group at risk are currently attending semi-closed institutions which allow the disease to pass more freely from one person to another.
Some students who have caught the disease feel that not enough is being done to raise awareness about the dangers of mumps. Elizabeth Fisher, a student at Sheffield Hallam University said “At first the doctor treated me for an infected saliva gland. It wasn’t until later that I was diagnosed with mumps, and by that time could have spread it to anyone. When I was eventually diagnosed with mumps I wasn’t told anything about how contagious it was or given any information at all”.
Health Protection Agency advice, along with the Department of Health, is that school leavers and other young adults who have not received MMR or only received one dose, should ensure that they take up the offer of MMR vaccination.
Michal Lodej, The Steel Bugle
Nine hundred and ninety-eight laboratory confirmed cases of mumps in England and Wales have been reported in January and February 2009. This compares with 322, 274, and 1173 cases in the same periods of 2008, 2007, and 2006 respectively. The disease is thought to be on the increase as those who were born between 1981 and 1989 may not have received the MMR vaccine and those who did may have only received it once.
Dr Mary Ramsay, who monitors mumps cases at the Health Protection Agency said, "The increased occurrence of the disease is mainly among older teenagers and young adults in their early twenties, and mostly among those in further or higher education establishments. Some in this age group were too old to be routinely vaccinated with MMR when it was first introduced in 1988. And some others may only have received one dose of MMR”.
The fact that there is a large group of people who fall into the bracket of those who are at risk means that the Agency is expecting a large number of cases to continue over the next few years. Another contributing factor to the rise in mumps is that the group at risk are currently attending semi-closed institutions which allow the disease to pass more freely from one person to another.
Some students who have caught the disease feel that not enough is being done to raise awareness about the dangers of mumps. Elizabeth Fisher, a student at Sheffield Hallam University said “At first the doctor treated me for an infected saliva gland. It wasn’t until later that I was diagnosed with mumps, and by that time could have spread it to anyone. When I was eventually diagnosed with mumps I wasn’t told anything about how contagious it was or given any information at all”.
Health Protection Agency advice, along with the Department of Health, is that school leavers and other young adults who have not received MMR or only received one dose, should ensure that they take up the offer of MMR vaccination.
Michal Lodej, The Steel Bugle
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