Friday, 30 July 2010
Monday, 26 July 2010
O2 Think Big
As some of you may remember we recently won an opportunity to join the O2 Think Big project. This means we get £300 to put a project into action. We attended a workshop in Cardiff to plan our project and now we are nearly ready to go! We will be recording our progress on a new O2 Think Big website. If we meet our goals and have a good result we are eligable to be selected for further workshops, goodies, professional help and £2500!
So heres our project:
Originally we were planning on using the money for promotional purposes aiming for national awareness. Due to our budget of £300 this is unachievable. Our material is already being used on a national level but awareness of our charity is minimal and the plan is to increase awareness of SAV and increased use of our resource. We are therefore going to focus on local and regional promotion. Our plan for doing this so far is as follows:
Most of these goals are achievable and we will be discussing a plan of action at our next Trustee meeting. We are sure we can achieve most of this for free but the £300 will come in handy for offering to cover various expenses. If anyone would like to get involved and help us achieve these goals please get in touch as your help would be very much appreciated!
So thats the latest. Wish us luck.
So heres our project:
Originally we were planning on using the money for promotional purposes aiming for national awareness. Due to our budget of £300 this is unachievable. Our material is already being used on a national level but awareness of our charity is minimal and the plan is to increase awareness of SAV and increased use of our resource. We are therefore going to focus on local and regional promotion. Our plan for doing this so far is as follows:
- Advertise with other organisations (to a degree we are already doing this online)
- Local and regional magazines
- Encourage local and regional newspapers to support us by printing our logo and web address at the end of any story of violence they report on and may be get them to include a quote by the charity
- Online advertising
- Radio advert - sponsorship from local stations to allow us some air time
- Approach county councils and local councils and ask for their official support with links on their websites and permission to include their logos on our website
Most of these goals are achievable and we will be discussing a plan of action at our next Trustee meeting. We are sure we can achieve most of this for free but the £300 will come in handy for offering to cover various expenses. If anyone would like to get involved and help us achieve these goals please get in touch as your help would be very much appreciated!
So thats the latest. Wish us luck.
Friday, 23 July 2010
The Big Fix Event and Merseyside Secure Unit presentation
Wednesday 21st was the ITV fixers Big Fix event up at the London Studios! It was very exciting and a proper tv set. Its the same studios that they film some of the x-factor series and other shows like loose women and graham norton! Fab! It was a pretty great night too although the prison cell style accomodation for the night left something to be desired! Ha. I met a fantastic guy called Evans who also campaigns and works to prevent and raise awareness of violence. Fantastic guy. He went on set the same time as me so we had a lot in common and it was brilliant to meet someone on the same wave length! Our part in the live fixers event is embeded below along with some pics.
The Big Fix Part 2: Fighting Gangs, Knives and Violence from ITV Fixers on Vimeo.
So after spending 2 days in London we then travelled up to Warrington, Merseyside to a secure unit for vunerable young offenders to give a talk and show the DVD. This was always going to be a tough challenge and a real test for the power of the DVD but it all went very well. There was a strong reaction from 2 out of the 4 groups and the other 2 were silent which is apparently a sign that it had a good effect. The staff were happy with the day and i felt that it all went very well. I going to contact the guy who arranged it in a months time to see if there has been any noticable long term effects. Fingers crossed!
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| Fixers Set |
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| Evans and Me |
The Big Fix Part 2: Fighting Gangs, Knives and Violence from ITV Fixers on Vimeo.
So after spending 2 days in London we then travelled up to Warrington, Merseyside to a secure unit for vunerable young offenders to give a talk and show the DVD. This was always going to be a tough challenge and a real test for the power of the DVD but it all went very well. There was a strong reaction from 2 out of the 4 groups and the other 2 were silent which is apparently a sign that it had a good effect. The staff were happy with the day and i felt that it all went very well. I going to contact the guy who arranged it in a months time to see if there has been any noticable long term effects. Fingers crossed!
Friday, 9 July 2010
Who else is fed up with the police phrase 'this is an isolated incident'!?
I would like to make an observation in this post and see how many others feel as i do. I also want to comment on the falsness and unreliability of statistics.
Everytime the police release a statement about a serious crime or murder they state 'this is an isolated incident'. What does this mean to you?? To me this means that it is a rare occurance and doesnt happen regularly. I have found out the true meaning of the phrase following a talk with the Avon & Somerset Constabulary PR officer. What the police actually mean when they say this is that 'the crime was not linked to any other incident that happened that night'! Miss leading? PR play on words to reassure the public? Out right manipulative lying? I suppose the power of language is powerful, using the right phrase, the right words in a carfully crafted manner can give an impression and im sure the police are all to aware that the public will see this as having a different meaning.
I want to demonstrate this over use of the 'isolated incident' phrase and demonstrate that it does in fact mean 'not related to any other crime that night'. In Taunton since Lloyds murder there have now been another 2. There have been atleast 2 before this too. So from Lloyds news report onwards, here we go:
Sorry, i cant find a written news report from that far back but the video says it all approx half way through. There was also another murder involving a polish couple but there was very little reported on this. The most recent story is below (01/07/10).
POLICE say they have launched a murder investigation following the death of a 53-year-old man in Taunton on Wednesday.Three people were arrested after an alleged assault at a house. The victim was taken to Musgrove Park Hospital but later died.
A police spokesman said: “Officers would like to hear from anyone who may have information to help their investigations and would like to hear from anyone who was in the Severn Drive area between 8pm to 9.30pm. They have stressed that this was an isolated incident.
So thats a very small example. Next time there is a murder report on the news make sure you listen out to those famous words 'this is an isolated incident'. See how meaningless that saying becomes.
Talking about statistics, is it public knowledge that every year when police statistics on crime are published they change the definition of the classifications?? Assault can mean one thing one year and another the following year, this can give the impression of rises and falls in crime rates and on face value its true and accurate but underneath it all is clever manipulation to give the positive impression the authorities want. There have of course also been reports of false police statistics by the media and not to mention the fact that there is reported and unreported crime. There is a lot of crime that goes unreported and i would also like to point out that crimes are only taken into statistics when the perpertrator has been convicted. Now this bit was fairly obviouse however our slack and leanient legal system mean that alot of criminals do not get convicted. When i do school talks i rely more on the A&E statistics, it is always good to have statistics to back up what is being said and when people attend A&E it is recorded as to why they are attending. According to A&E stats assault has increased, but according to police there is no change and in some areas there is an improvement, this leads me to the conclusion that the stats are incorrect or more crime is going unreported to the police.
The Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Now, i have debated whether to share this with people for a long time. I used to be in full support of the police saying that they do the best job they can with the resources they have. However over the last few years my opinion of them has deminished.
During the filming process for our DVD we had to close a road, i was passed from person to person in the police to find the correct person i needed to speak to. I also had to deal with the coucil and the highways authority who were very helpful and supportive. The police on the other hand were very unfriendly and difficult and after wasting much of my time (approx 1 month!) promptly turned around and said i never needed to speak with them in the first place. So our first night of filming went ahead as planned. They initially offered us PCSO's for the night too which they then refused at the last minute.
On the second night we again submitted the road closure form and i, despite being told it was unnecesary thought it best to inform the police as this is the usual protocol. I was met with a frosty phone call and the chap said that he didnt know why i was telling him as he had already told me i didnt need to inform the police. So the second night of filming went ahead, we closed a road on a quiet industrial estate on a Saturday night. The first hour of filming went ok, then the police turned up, did they approach us, no! They drove up and down the road forcing us to stop filming and clear the road twice delaying our filming, we then moved on to a scene which required a crane which along with the ambulance meant the road was fully blocked. This time the police were unable to pass and so they stopped their car in the middle of the road directly in our camera shot and put their lights on full. After a short while we approached them, they opened their window and without any effort to elite the car they said 'we dont know anything about this, whats going on' and demanded to see our papers (which luckily we had). Now, on a busy Saturday night, what were the police doing on a quiet industrial estate, why did they not get out of the car to ask us what was happening the first time and why did they deliberatly get in the way. I complained the next day and had no reply.
When it came to doing ambulance and A&E interviews i asked them if they would like to be interviewed as well to give an all rounded approach to violence. Initially they did not reply but i soon got a call from a lady at HQ from the PR team. She seemed very pleasant and we met with her to show her the film, she initially seemed very impressed and keen to help. We arranged a meeting at my local police station under the impression i was going to meet the custody seargent to discuss interviewing. When i arrived alone i was taken into an office, next 5 police officers including senior police officers entered and they said they would like to see this film. I was unable to say much and felt very intimidated as they had blocked the door. They watched the film without a word. When it had finished i was bombarded with statements such as 'that will never be shown in schools on my patch', 'thats scare mongering', 'thats inaccurate', 'theres no violence in Taunton' and more. Whilst trying to stand my ground against 5 police officers i asked them 'if i was lying about crime levels in Taunton why had there been so many murders?' I then asked them if they knew how many there had been. They looked at each other at then said sheepishly they would have to check their records. I said there have been 5 that i know of in my lifetime, is that acceptable?! I was then accused of having a political agenda and the police said they would only be involved if i sensored the film, made it a 15 rated, put a password on the site, and remade the film to include a police interview (the launch was in 1 month!). After having a think i decided to compromise, i would add an interview if it was done within that month, i would put a 'suggestion' of 15 yrs and above with a warning on the website but that is all. This wasnt good enough for them, it was their way or not at all. So i said no. This film was designed to show and tell the truth and it should not be lightened or changed or sensored. I havent spoken with the police since.
Obviously this can be seen as a tall story so in due course i will be adding the filming footage showing the police in action on our filming set.
So for those of you wondering why there are no police interviews on the SAV site this is the reason.
Everytime the police release a statement about a serious crime or murder they state 'this is an isolated incident'. What does this mean to you?? To me this means that it is a rare occurance and doesnt happen regularly. I have found out the true meaning of the phrase following a talk with the Avon & Somerset Constabulary PR officer. What the police actually mean when they say this is that 'the crime was not linked to any other incident that happened that night'! Miss leading? PR play on words to reassure the public? Out right manipulative lying? I suppose the power of language is powerful, using the right phrase, the right words in a carfully crafted manner can give an impression and im sure the police are all to aware that the public will see this as having a different meaning.
I want to demonstrate this over use of the 'isolated incident' phrase and demonstrate that it does in fact mean 'not related to any other crime that night'. In Taunton since Lloyds murder there have now been another 2. There have been atleast 2 before this too. So from Lloyds news report onwards, here we go:
Sorry, i cant find a written news report from that far back but the video says it all approx half way through. There was also another murder involving a polish couple but there was very little reported on this. The most recent story is below (01/07/10).
POLICE say they have launched a murder investigation following the death of a 53-year-old man in Taunton on Wednesday.Three people were arrested after an alleged assault at a house. The victim was taken to Musgrove Park Hospital but later died.
A police spokesman said: “Officers would like to hear from anyone who may have information to help their investigations and would like to hear from anyone who was in the Severn Drive area between 8pm to 9.30pm. They have stressed that this was an isolated incident.
So thats a very small example. Next time there is a murder report on the news make sure you listen out to those famous words 'this is an isolated incident'. See how meaningless that saying becomes.
Talking about statistics, is it public knowledge that every year when police statistics on crime are published they change the definition of the classifications?? Assault can mean one thing one year and another the following year, this can give the impression of rises and falls in crime rates and on face value its true and accurate but underneath it all is clever manipulation to give the positive impression the authorities want. There have of course also been reports of false police statistics by the media and not to mention the fact that there is reported and unreported crime. There is a lot of crime that goes unreported and i would also like to point out that crimes are only taken into statistics when the perpertrator has been convicted. Now this bit was fairly obviouse however our slack and leanient legal system mean that alot of criminals do not get convicted. When i do school talks i rely more on the A&E statistics, it is always good to have statistics to back up what is being said and when people attend A&E it is recorded as to why they are attending. According to A&E stats assault has increased, but according to police there is no change and in some areas there is an improvement, this leads me to the conclusion that the stats are incorrect or more crime is going unreported to the police.
The Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Now, i have debated whether to share this with people for a long time. I used to be in full support of the police saying that they do the best job they can with the resources they have. However over the last few years my opinion of them has deminished.
During the filming process for our DVD we had to close a road, i was passed from person to person in the police to find the correct person i needed to speak to. I also had to deal with the coucil and the highways authority who were very helpful and supportive. The police on the other hand were very unfriendly and difficult and after wasting much of my time (approx 1 month!) promptly turned around and said i never needed to speak with them in the first place. So our first night of filming went ahead as planned. They initially offered us PCSO's for the night too which they then refused at the last minute.
On the second night we again submitted the road closure form and i, despite being told it was unnecesary thought it best to inform the police as this is the usual protocol. I was met with a frosty phone call and the chap said that he didnt know why i was telling him as he had already told me i didnt need to inform the police. So the second night of filming went ahead, we closed a road on a quiet industrial estate on a Saturday night. The first hour of filming went ok, then the police turned up, did they approach us, no! They drove up and down the road forcing us to stop filming and clear the road twice delaying our filming, we then moved on to a scene which required a crane which along with the ambulance meant the road was fully blocked. This time the police were unable to pass and so they stopped their car in the middle of the road directly in our camera shot and put their lights on full. After a short while we approached them, they opened their window and without any effort to elite the car they said 'we dont know anything about this, whats going on' and demanded to see our papers (which luckily we had). Now, on a busy Saturday night, what were the police doing on a quiet industrial estate, why did they not get out of the car to ask us what was happening the first time and why did they deliberatly get in the way. I complained the next day and had no reply.
When it came to doing ambulance and A&E interviews i asked them if they would like to be interviewed as well to give an all rounded approach to violence. Initially they did not reply but i soon got a call from a lady at HQ from the PR team. She seemed very pleasant and we met with her to show her the film, she initially seemed very impressed and keen to help. We arranged a meeting at my local police station under the impression i was going to meet the custody seargent to discuss interviewing. When i arrived alone i was taken into an office, next 5 police officers including senior police officers entered and they said they would like to see this film. I was unable to say much and felt very intimidated as they had blocked the door. They watched the film without a word. When it had finished i was bombarded with statements such as 'that will never be shown in schools on my patch', 'thats scare mongering', 'thats inaccurate', 'theres no violence in Taunton' and more. Whilst trying to stand my ground against 5 police officers i asked them 'if i was lying about crime levels in Taunton why had there been so many murders?' I then asked them if they knew how many there had been. They looked at each other at then said sheepishly they would have to check their records. I said there have been 5 that i know of in my lifetime, is that acceptable?! I was then accused of having a political agenda and the police said they would only be involved if i sensored the film, made it a 15 rated, put a password on the site, and remade the film to include a police interview (the launch was in 1 month!). After having a think i decided to compromise, i would add an interview if it was done within that month, i would put a 'suggestion' of 15 yrs and above with a warning on the website but that is all. This wasnt good enough for them, it was their way or not at all. So i said no. This film was designed to show and tell the truth and it should not be lightened or changed or sensored. I havent spoken with the police since.
Obviously this can be seen as a tall story so in due course i will be adding the filming footage showing the police in action on our filming set.
So for those of you wondering why there are no police interviews on the SAV site this is the reason.
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