Olympic criminals to be fast-tracked

11:36am Saturday 30th June 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Joanna Davis

Olympics offenders in Weymouth and Portland are to be brought to justice within hours.

Anyone who commits a crime during the sailing events will be put before he courts swiftly in a zero tolerance appoach, the Crown Prosecution Service and Dorset Police say.

Weymouth Magistrates Court will start proceedings an hour earlier than usual at 9am and prosecutors will be on call 24 hours a day to assist with offenders.

Nick Hawkins, chief crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service Wessex, said priority will be given to Olympics offences and those cases involving visitors to Weymouth.

He said: “As CPS lead on maritime matters, I will be immediately available to deal with incidents on the water and my deputy chief crown prosecutor Kate Brown will oversee all prosecutions for offences on land.

“The CPS is fully linked into Dorset Police’s planning for the Olympics and will be able to respond to any requests for assistance.

“We do not anticipate an increase in crime during the Olympics, based on previous experience in Sydney and Athens.”

Offenders who are alleged to have committed crimes will be assessed under a defined ‘Olympics offence’ criteria, dependent on whether it happened during the Games, at a venue or involved an athlete, spectator or official.

A Dorset Police spokesman said plans are in place to fast-track foreign nationals who commit crime when visiting the borough.

She added: “If you bail a foreign national they can go back to their home country and then there are the logistics of getting them back here.

“Sometimes bringing an offender to justice, if they are bailed, can take two months.”

The plans will apply to all areas where Olympic events are taking place and also include other Olympic sites in the UK.

They have been drawn up by the CPS, with contributions from the police, courts and victim groups.

Alison Saunders, Chief Crown Prosecutor for London, said: “Many people who come to the Olympics won’t live here, so it is important that if offences are committed we act quickly. We are learning the lessons of the summer riots.”

The new measures are understood to target lower level offences such as mugging, pick-pocketing and ticket touting.

Ms Saunders added that it is not possible to predict whether overall crime rates would rise or fall during the Games.

Jeff Gardner, Victim Support’s locality director for London, said: “Victim Support has been involved in the criminal justice systems planning for the Olympics from the outset.

“Contingency plans to bring offenders to court within 24 hours for crimes linked to the Olympics are welcomed by Victim Support as we know that victims and witnesses of crime appreciate swift and fair justice.”

The timescale for offences committed as ‘Olympics offences’ will run until September 30.

Comments(27)

weymouthresident says...
12:03pm Sat 30 Jun 12

Why is everything in Weymouth 'for the Olympics'? Surely if it can be done for this it can be done at any time. It's unfair that the locals can't benefit from this more efficient system and get more scum off the streets in a more efficient manner.

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Under35andout says...
12:12pm Sat 30 Jun 12

this wont work just like all the other dumb ideas the council have

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Under35andout says...
12:15pm Sat 30 Jun 12

wouldnt it be better to make them come back to court at a later date,. arrested and made to walk home just saying awfull waste of resources that wont make less crime how about holding the idiots in the cells for hours , half these scum will be back out with in a day , well done in inviting every criminal down for a weekend of crime and disorder , oh and dnt worry scumbags u be out in a hour ---- CPS u bunch of stupid idiots

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marabout says...
12:23pm Sat 30 Jun 12

Under35andout wrote:
this wont work just like all the other dumb ideas the council have
How much influence does the Town Council have over the judicial system?

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tictac19700 says...
12:57pm Sat 30 Jun 12

This all sounds great, but when the offender has been arrested and fined he will next go to Jobcentre plus to ask for a crisis loan as he has missed his train and has no money left, all it will do is clog up yet another department and have these criminals hanging around longer, better to stick them in a big van and dump somewhere near the M27

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jmc1 says...
2:38pm Sat 30 Jun 12

tictac19700 wrote:
This all sounds great, but when the offender has been arrested and fined he will next go to Jobcentre plus to ask for a crisis loan as he has missed his train and has no money left, all it will do is clog up yet another department and have these criminals hanging around longer, better to stick them in a big van and dump somewhere near the M27
Why are you saying its going to be out of towner's,it could be all local people

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thetiger says...
3:15pm Sat 30 Jun 12

So, who are these 'Olympic Criminals'? Would they be the ones caught speeding in a sailing dinghy? perhaps dinghy rage? I wasn't aware there was a classification for 'Olympic Criminals, but hey ho, you learn something new every day. What's the difference between an 'Olympic Criminal' and a 'Common Criminal'? Ah yes, the former are the wealthy ones and the latter the poor ones. I despair!

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manyogie says...
3:16pm Sat 30 Jun 12

I want this done all the time in my town, Pooe.
Who do I see?

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Crabber says...
3:19pm Sat 30 Jun 12

You can just hear the 'Beak' now can't you?. "Guilty as charged 4 hrs cleaning Weymuff Beach,take him down,NEXT".
"Ah your charged with armed robbery and I find you guilty as well" Three weeks hard labour concreting the Harbour Walls. Take he r down". Finally, "You were found guilty of sleeping in one of our seafront shelters, so therefore I sentence you to be transported to one of Her Majesties Colonies for life". Court is now closed.

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ijwufo68 says...
3:52pm Sat 30 Jun 12

It looks they want there gold medal to!!!

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malckam says...
4:31pm Sat 30 Jun 12

Seems to be one word missing from this article - "Defense" - or is it to be assumed that anyone arrested by the Olympic Special Police are guilty and defense is not required.

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pigfarmer says...
5:20pm Sat 30 Jun 12

1. More Olympic ballcocks.
2. Defence.
Real English, not foreign.

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JamesYoung says...
5:28pm Sat 30 Jun 12

Well i think the mention of maritime incidents gives an idea of what is really meant by criminal. That is, somebody who decides to take his boat for a sail on a warm summers evening and is disturbing nobody.

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wykeregislad says...
6:10pm Sat 30 Jun 12

Having done my Olympic training this week and seen all that is planned by locq for the Olympics in Weymouth it's about time people got behind it rather then continually have a go, there's a lot of work going in to all this , maybe try and embrace it,

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oldbrock says...
6:37pm Sat 30 Jun 12

malckam wrote:
Seems to be one word missing from this article - "Defense" - or is it to be assumed that anyone arrested by the Olympic Special Police are guilty and defense is not required.
I noticed that mugging is classified as a "low level crime" try telling that to anybody who has been injured during such offence or the relatives of those who have died as a result.........

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islandman says...
7:41pm Sat 30 Jun 12

What will happen to the whino's that frequent area's of the promenade with their brown paper or plastic carrier bags which they hold up to their mouths.

Who said there was a law forbidding drinking in this way?

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weymouthfox says...
10:59pm Sat 30 Jun 12

Why cant't we have swift action against criminals every week of the year and not just during the dreaded Olympics?

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gameon says...
11:13pm Sat 30 Jun 12

Amazing the change in the police and judicial attitude of Zero Tolerance which is what most of us want full time so after the White Elephant is over it will be back to Crime Numbers ,raps on Knuckles,defence solicitors telling the courts how poor johny didnt mean to beat up the OAP he comes from a broken home hes unemployed and his mummy doesnt like him he wouldnt use the knife concealed on him, ,and to the poor people who are victims of burglary etc, extremely lucky if the police turn up the next day sadly it will be back to the same old pathetic softly softly approach .

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weypaul says...
9:47am Sun 1 Jul 12

Sharia Law has much to recommend it

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spangler says...
10:47am Sun 1 Jul 12

Anticipating a significant number of disgruntled paying spectators ?

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bedpans says...
1:10pm Sun 1 Jul 12

"Nick Hawkins, chief crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service Wessex, said priority will be given to Olympics offences and those cases involving visitors to Weymouth"... So what is the definition of an Olympic Offence???

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spangler says...
4:06pm Sun 1 Jul 12

bedpans wrote:
"Nick Hawkins, chief crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service Wessex, said priority will be given to Olympics offences and those cases involving visitors to Weymouth"... So what is the definition of an Olympic Offence???
Possibly these:
The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act (2006) Sect.22.
Terrorism Act (2000) Sect.44.
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act (1994) Sect.60.

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jeepster says...
4:49pm Sun 1 Jul 12

Possibly these:
The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act (2006) Sect.22.
Terrorism Act (2000) Sect.44.
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act (1994) Sect.60.

Does the above, include the Heroin dealers up by the Pier Bandstand? They've been reported to the Police, but still ply their odious trade.Maybe at last ,something will be done.

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maximan says...
10:51am Mon 2 Jul 12

malckam wrote:
Seems to be one word missing from this article - "Defense" - or is it to be assumed that anyone arrested by the Olympic Special Police are guilty and defense is not required.
a hum...Defence, we are not the 53rd state of America yet..

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pd7 says...
8:14pm Mon 2 Jul 12

The big crime was hosting the event in the first place .

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portland rebel says...
2:53pm Tue 3 Jul 12

wykeregislad wrote:
Having done my Olympic training this week and seen all that is planned by locq for the Olympics in Weymouth it's about time people got behind it rather then continually have a go, there's a lot of work going in to all this , maybe try and embrace it,
mug with the rose coloured glasses.

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oldbrock says...
11:17pm Tue 3 Jul 12

portland rebel wrote:
wykeregislad wrote:
Having done my Olympic training this week and seen all that is planned by locq for the Olympics in Weymouth it's about time people got behind it rather then continually have a go, there's a lot of work going in to all this , maybe try and embrace it,
mug with the rose coloured glasses.
more like "I'm alright Jack, pull up the ladder" so, he's happy, everybody else has to be

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