December 2008 - Crime in the news

• Sex offenders to contest inclusion on register

  Convicted sex offenders may now be able to contest their inclusion on the sex offenders' register following a High Court ruling. [22 December 2008]

• Texting crash peer to be sentenced

  A Labour peer who was sending and receiving text messages before being involved in a fatal crash will be sentenced today. [22 December 2008]

• No inquiry into Nickell murder

  No inquiry will commence over errors made by police when investigating the killing of Rachel Nickell. [19 December 2008]

• Son of rapist speaks out

  A man jailed for life after raping his two daughters and fathering nine children by them, bullied his whole family, according to his son. [19 December 2008]

• Officers shot at from escaping car

  Police officers have been fired at when they tried to stop a car in London. [18 December 2008]

• Racist claim in the Met

  A Metropolitan Police officer is commencing a claim of racial discrimination against the force. [17 December 2008]

• Teenager convicted for Rhys' murder

  Teenager Sean Mercer has been found guilty of the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones who was shot in a Liverpool pub car park in August 2007. [16 December 2008]

• Tokyo businessman convicted of abduction

  A Tokyo businessman has been convicted of abducting the British bar hostess Lucie Blackman. [16 December 2008]

• Merseyside mother faced son's killer

  As part of a pilot scheme, a Merseyside mother faced the man who tortured and murdered her 15-year-old son. [16 December 2008]

• Jury continues deliberations over Rhys murder

  The jury in the trial of the teenager accused of murdering Rhys Jones is due to return for a fifth day to consider their verdicts. [16 December 2008]

• Teacher accused of rape

  A senior teacher has been arrested over claims he raped a 19-year-old girl after giving her cocaine. [15 December 2008]

• Britons may be forced to prove innocence abroad

  The Government has agreed to EU-wide access to its 'Big Brother' databases, which means Britons could find themselves forced to prove they are innocent of crimes abroad. [15 December 2008]

• Seven more Sol Campbell abuse suspects found

  Seven more of the Tottenham fans suspected of abusive chanting aimed at Portsmouth's Sol Campbell have been found. [12 December 2008]

• Knife crime falls

  The number of young people found carrying knives in hotspot areas has fallen, according to government figures. [11 December 2008]

• Gang members violence summit

  Over 100 gang members from Glasgow have taken part in talks with police to try to curb violence. [12 December 2008]

• Wanted for indecent chanting at Sol Campbell

  Images have been released on Crimestoppers' Most Wanted of 16 Tottenham fans wanted over indecent and homophobic chanting directed at Portsmouth's Sol Campbell. [10 December 2008]

• No room at the inn for amateurs

  As the busy festive period for pubs and clubs approaches, the Security Industry Authority (SIA) is launching Operation Cinnamon – a nationwide, multi-agency campaign to carry out targeted and random checks on door staff working at licensed premises. [December 2008]

• Sex act killer driver jailed

  A drink-driver who killed a father and son in a motorway crash was performing a sex act on himself minutes before. [9 December 2008]

• Warning against Titan prisons

  Building giant Titan prison complexes in the UK will not help offenders to rehabilitate, a US civil rights lawyer will warn. [8 December 2008]

• Officers called to Lapland 2 as precaution

  Police were called to the Lapland West Midlands event over the weekend to deal with disappointed families. [8 December 2008]

• Shannon's Mum guilty

  Karen Matthews has been convicted of of kidnapping her nine-year-old daughter, Shannon. [5 December 2008]

• Hit-and-run appeal

  No arrests have been made so far after an 11-year-old boy was killed in a hit-and-run incident. [4 December 2008]

• Car-jacking victim critical

  A 46-year-old woman from Slough is in a critical condition after a man jumped in her car while she was scraping ice off it. [4 December 2008]

• Cocaine warning to young people

  A hard-hitting television and internet advertising campaign is being launched by the government to warn teenagers against using cocaine. [4 December 2008]

• Sun, Sea and Serious organised crime - Immediate success for Operation Captura 2

  Within 24 hours of launching Operation Captura 2 on Thursday 06 November, there were two arrests made from the 10 new most wanted appeals and the following week a paeodophile handed himself in due to his face being so widely distributed. [December 2008]

• Killer to serve 30 years

  Convicted killer and sex offender Peter Tobin has been found guilty of murdering Vicky Hamilton 17 years ago. [3 December 2008]

• Arrest over drive-by shooting

  An 18-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a fatal drive-by shooting in south London. [2 December 2008]

• Man stabbed in head by gang

  A man has been stabbed in the head after being attacked by a gang of four men in Plymouth. [3 December 2008]

• Football murder charge

  A 20-year-old man has been charged with murder after an amateur footballer died after a brawl with players from another team. [2 December 2008]

• Mosquito device should be banned

  The government is being urged to bring in rules to ban a new anti-social behaviour device which emits a high-pitched noise. [2 December 2008]

• Shot man in Guildford

  An armed man who was shot dead by police outside Guildford Cathedral in Surrey is due to be named. [1 December 2008]

• Woman arrested after child's body found

  A woman has been arrested in hospital after a child's body was found at an address in Kent. [3 December 2008]

• Knife attacker jailed for life

  A man who repeatedly stabbed a teenage girl and left her for dead has been jailed for life. [9 December 2008]

• Sex offender stabbed to death

  A man found murdered in south London was a convicted sex offender. [12 December 2008]

• Hundreds arrested in pub campaign

  More than 450 people were arrested over the weekend in Merseyside in an anti-crime campaign. [22 December 2008]