Girls aged 13, 14 and 15 bailed after McDonald’s police attack

Three teenage girls arrested after two police officers suffered serious injuries at McDonald’s in Harrogate on Friday night have been released on bail pending further enquires.

The police community support officers from Harrogate’s neighbourhood policing team were called to the McDonald’s on Cambridge Road following reports that the girls, aged 13,14 and 15, had entered despite being banned due to anti-social behaviour earlier in the evening.

The group refused to leave when asked by officers and trouble flared at around 7pm.

One of the PCSOs suffered a suspected broken nose and the other sustained tissue damage to the cheek. Both received hospital treatment.

Detective Constable Amy Sharrad, who is leading on the investigation, today thanked people who had given information. She added:

“We are aware of some footage circulating on social media of the incident, and would ask that those who have posted footage to contact us as soon as possible with any information.”

Anyone who has any information that can assist the investigation can email Detective Constable Amy Sharrad at amy.sharrad@northyorkshire.police.uk or call North Yorkshire Police on 101.

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NSPCC concern over North Yorkshire police child protection report

The NSPCC has described a report detailing failings into child protection investigations at North Yorkshire Police as “concerning”.

The highly critical report published this week by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services found that the force does not prioritise safeguarding and child protection highly enough.

It said standards of investigation in relation to child protection were poor and arrangements were not “consistently providing either the quality of service or a good enough response”.

The report said in some cases “highly vulnerable” children went missing from children’s homes, but officers would record those incidents as “cause for concern” rather than missing — which meant officers did not look for them.

Now, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said the force should “act quickly” to address the recommendations in the report.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: 

“Protecting children must be of utmost priority for law enforcement agencies, and so it is concerning that HMICFRS found this was not the case for North Yorkshire Police.

“The inspection’s findings included an inconsistent approach by the force to the risk of those suspected of sexually exploiting children and officers not always understanding their primary role was to protect children.

“Putting children at the heart of these investigations is paramount, and it is promising that the force recognises it needs to do more to safeguard children and is committed to providing better outcomes for them. To do this, it is crucial that it acts quickly to implement the Inspectorates recommendations.”

Critical report

The report was particularly critical of the force’s approach to children considered to be at risk.

Inspectors, who conducted the assessment from November 1 to 12 last year, examined 73 cases where children had been at risk. The report said:

“We assessed the force’s child protection practice as good in 13 cases, requiring improvement in 34 cases, and as inadequate in 26 cases. This shows the force needs to do more to give a consistently good service for all children.”

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Another criticism was that the force doesn’t share information with safeguarding partners early enough.

HMIC made a number of recommendations, which included:

Chief constable apology

Following the report’s publication, Lisa Winward, chief constable of North Yorkshire Police, apologised and said the force “fully accepted” the inspector’s findings.

She said:

“It is extremely disappointing that while the Inspectorate found examples of good practice during their inspection in November 2021, they also found a lack of consistency in our treatment of children across the cases that they examined. 

“We fully accept the findings of the Inspectorate and I offer my deepest apologies to any child that we have let down or could have protected more effectively. We haven’t always got it right and we know that is not good enough for the children of North Yorkshire. 

“We have been working at a pace to address the issues that were identified in the Inspectorate’s report. Our plan for improvement in our performance has already been submitted to the Inspectorate. We are tracking our plan and will publicly report on our progress.

“We welcome the recognition by the Inspectorate that our officers and staff, who manage child abuse investigations, are committed and dedicated despite working in difficult circumstances. 

“I can assure all our communities that we absolutely recognise that protecting children is one of the most important things that we do. We are working to ensure that we have the right systems and processes in place to support our officers and staff to protect and safeguard every child.”

Police spot 222 driving offences in five hours in Harrogate

North Yorkshire Police identified more than 200 driving offences in Harrogate in five hours during a blitz to coincide with new mobile phone legislation.

The force revealed today it undertook the operation between 11am and 4pm on Friday, when the new laws come into force.

Officers from the police’s roads policing group and local neighbourhood policing teams targeted drivers in Harrogate.

Among the offences recorded were speeding and using a mobile phone while driving. It is not known how many resulted in further action.

Mark Hutchings, from the force’s road safety team, said the aim was to reduce deaths and make the roads safer. He added:

“Officers targeted drivers on Friday, the day when the new mobile phone legislation came into effect, in an effort to make sure motorists take note of these important changes and abide by the new law.

“We will continue to undertake targeted activity such as this across the county as part of Operation Boundary – North Yorkshire Police’s dedicated road safety and enforcement operation.

“We’ll be on the look-out for road users across the county who take risks – risks that can, and do, cost lives.”

Police guidance on the new legislation is available here.

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Police launch crackdown on underage drinking in Ripon

Police are to lead a crackdown on underage drinking in Ripon in the latest attempt to tackle the city’s long-running problem with crime and antisocial behaviour.

North Yorkshire Police said today Ripon has joined 240 locations in the country designated as a Community Alcohol Partnerships area.

These partnerships see police work with retailers, schools, neighbourhood groups, Trading Standards, local authorities and other emergency and health services to reduce alcohol problems.

As part of the initiative, retailers will be assessed by Trading Standards and police to check they are not selling alcohol to children.

Intervention work to prevent under-18s drinking will also be carried out.

According to North Yorkshire Police, the partnerships have led to a 61% reduction in weekly drinking by teenagers, a 50% drop in young people hanging round shops and asking adults to buy alcohol, and a 42% decline in anti-social behaviour involving drink.

Ripon Community Alcohol Partnership will officially launch on Wednesday next week.

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PCSO Helenor Gwatkin, who is leading the launch for North Yorkshire Police, said:

“We’re listening to residents’ concerns about antisocial behaviour in Ripon and we’re addressing them in several ways.

“Our targeted patrols are one part of the solution, but the community alcohol partnership allows us to focus on prevention and early intervention. This stops issues from arising, reduces offences and helps educate young people to make better choices.

“Community alcohol partnerships have been very well supported in other parts of North Yorkshire and I am confident the initiative in Ripon will be just as well received.”

Alcohol education

Ripon

Police, youth services and other local organisations will provide alcohol-free activities for young people and work with schools to take a proactive approach to alcohol education.

Kate Winstanley, director of Community Alcohol Partnerships, said:

“I am delighted to see the launch of a CAP in Ripon. Underage drinking is associated with school and educational problems, unprotected sex, drug-taking, violence and drinking problems in later life.

“In just over a decade CAP has set up more than 240 partnerships around the UK and our evaluations show they are having a significant impact on reducing children’s alcohol consumption, improving their health and wellbeing and enhancing the communities where they live.”

North Yorkshire Police ‘not effectively safeguarding children’, say inspectors

Inspectors have found North Yorkshire Police’s investigations of child protection cases are poor and need to improve.

A highly critical report published today by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services found that the force does not prioritise safeguarding and child protection highly enough.

It said standards of investigation in relation to child protection were poor and arrangements were not “consistently providing either the quality of service or a good enough response”.

The report said in some cases “highly vulnerable” children went missing from children’s homes, but officers would record those incidents as “cause for concern” rather than missing — which meant officers did not look for them.

Inspectors, who conducted the assessment from November 1 to 12 last year, examined 73 cases where children had been at risk. The report said:

“We assessed the force’s child protection practice as good in 13 cases, requiring improvement in 34 cases, and as inadequate in 26 cases. This shows the force needs to do more to give a consistently good service for all children.”

‘No specialist training’ for most staff

The report added that staff training and awareness measures had relied on the use of email and online training packages. The report said:

“A large proportion of the officers dealing with child abuse investigations have had no specialist child abuse investigation training. The force has recognised this, and it has booked specialist courses for officers in early 2022.”

Another criticism was that the force doesn’t share information with safeguarding partners early enough.

HMIC made a number of recommendations to the force, which included:

Andy Cooke, Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, said:

“North Yorkshire Police’s senior leaders want to protect children and give them better outcomes, and we found some good examples of the force protecting children in need of help.

“But in too many cases, practice is inconsistent. Officers don’t always share information quickly enough with safeguarding partners. We also found that supervisors don’t oversee investigations well enough, mainly because they lack the training, skills and experience.

“The force knows it needs to do more to help its officers better understand how to safeguard children. We have made a series of recommendations which, if acted on, will help improve outcomes for children in North Yorkshire.”

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Police commissioner calls report findings ‘unacceptable’

North Yorkshire Police has 1,562 police officers, 1,214 police staff, 212 police and community support officers and 113 special constables.

Its work is scrutinised by the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. Conservative Zoe Metcalfe was elected to the role in November after fellow Tory Philip Allott resigned.

The Police and Crime Plan 2017–2021, set by previous commissioners and the current chief constable has four priorities, the first of which relates to safeguarding vulnerable people, including children.

This document is now due to be revised.

Ms Metcalfe said in a statement today that all children deserved to grow up in a safe environment

She added:

“We need to be candid in acknowledging that what this report has found is unacceptable.

“It is clear that sometimes not enough has been done to ensure that North Yorkshire Police can show that vulnerable children are as protected as they should be in North Yorkshire and York, and all too often the failings come despite the best efforts of those who have a policing role to safeguard them.

“As a new commissioner, now responsible for scrutinising the work of the North Yorkshire Police, that is a serious concern. I know that is a view shared by the force’s leadership, and I am sure it will be a concern across the organisation and beyond.

“It is important to note that the report does say there is evidence that improvements were underway in November 2021 when the inspection took place, and I have been assured those have continued at pace, so many of the issues identified are now in the process of being addressed. Measures are in place to ensure there is a robust framework in place to track and review this progress. I and my team will closely monitor and review what happens next.

“I have also met with local authority partners who have offered their full support to North Yorkshire Police in addressing the report’s findings and ensuring that children are kept safe in the city and the county. North Yorkshire Police have also set out their commitment to me to ensure officers and staff are provided with the skills, capability and capacity to do their job well.”

Ex-chairman of Starbeck Bowling Club admits stealing £3,334

The former chairman of Starbeck Bowling Club has pleaded guilty to stealing more than £3,000 from the organisation.

Donald Palmer, 70, of Eleanor Drive, Harrogate, volunteered to carry out work on footpaths at the club in 2019.

He was given multiple signed, blank cheques to buy materials but used them for his own benefit.

At Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday, Palmer admitted stealing £3,334 between November 15 and December 13, 2019.

He was ordered to pay back the sum at a rate of £140 a month and escaped further punishment.

Solicitor David Dedman, representing Palmer, said his client had taken “advantage” of the club’s trust and was sorry for his actions. He said:

“This is a tricky case for a number of reasons. Mr Palmer voluntarily did the works at the club. He agrees he took the money, he was given blank, signed cheques and took advantage of this. The club benefitted and lost as a result of his actions.

“He is 70, has never been in trouble and lives off his state pension. I would ask we deal with this here rather than going to crown court.”

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Magistrate Christopher Harrison agreed it was difficult to reach a verdict. He told Pamler:

“We’ve taken into account your guilty plea, good character and that you have no criminal history and the probability of you troubling a court again is unlikely. We are going to give you a compensation order to pay the £3,334.51 back to the club.”

‘A shame it came to this’

Club secretary Steve Day told the Stray Ferret after the hearing he noticed funds had “dwindled” when he received a bank statement.

He said when the money wasn’t reimbursed, the club decided to take action.

Mr Day added:

“We are pleased it has been resolved, it was just a shame it had to come to this. Mr Palmer was chairman and first team captain and was always very supportive of the club.”

The club, situated next to Starbeck Baths, dates back to 1920 and has eight league teams.

Two men face charges after fight outside Harrogate McDonald’s

Two men have appeared in court to face charges after a fight outside McDonald’s in Harrogate town centre.

Joshua Archer, 18, of Kingsley Close, Harrogate, and Tyler Rushton, 19, of Century Walk, Harrogate, are charged with affray and inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent against a man.

The alleged offences occurred outside the McDonald’s on Cambridge Road, on September 18 last year.

The two men appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday to confirm their names and ages.

Neither man indicated a plea before the magistrates.

Mr Archer and Mr Rushton will appear before York Crown Court on April 19 where the case will continue.

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Knaresborough man denies sexual assault and child exploitation charges

A Knaresborough man has denied a string of sexual assault charges and inciting the exploitation of children.

Anthony Medri, 63, of Forest Moor Road, is charged with intentionally causing a child to look at an image of a person engaging in sexual activity for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification.

He is also charged with three counts of sexual assault on a female and three counts of causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child he did not reasonably believe was aged 18 or over to become a prostitute to be involved in pornography.

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Mr Medri, who stood unsuccessfully for the Liberal Democrats in the 2015 local elections when he contested the Stray ward. appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court this morning to confirm his name and age.

He entered a plea of not guilty to all seven charges.

He was granted bail and will appear at York Crown Court for trial on April 19, 2022.

 

Harrogate drug dealers sentenced after being caught with £2,500 worth of cocaine

Two drug dealers have been sentenced after being caught in Harrogate with cocaine worth £2,500.

Darren Walker, 44, and Hannah Sharrett, 32, admitted to possessing the drugs and a small amount of cannabis.

The pair were stopped by police in a car on Leeds Road on April 16, 2020, heading into Harrogate.

A search located two bags of cocaine in the glove box and a further bag under the passenger seat – with a street value of more than £2,500. 

A further small amount of cocaine was found in Sharratt’s possession, and a small amount of cannabis in a car door pocket.

Police seized and examined Walker’s phone, which showed him arranging the sale and transportation of drugs for street-level distribution.

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Walker, of Darley, Harrogate, was sentenced to 44 months in jail for possession with intent to supply cocaine. 

He was also disqualified from driving after being found to be under the influence of cocaine.

Sharratt, of Fairfax Avenue, Harrogate, was given a suspended sentence totalling 24 months for being concerned in the supply of cocaine, and possession of cocaine and cannabis.

PC George Frost, from North Yorkshire Police’s Operation Expedite Team in Harrogate, said: 

“We are working tirelessly to combat criminal exploitation and drug supply in the area, and will continue to proactively target those who would seek to gain from the sale of harmful illegal drugs in our communities.

“This court result sends a clear and robust message that the sale of Class A drugs on the streets of North Yorkshire will not be tolerated.”

Harrogate district care worker jailed after sexually abusing vulnerable resident

A former Harrogate district carer once hailed a “health-care hero” has been jailed for over six years for sexually abusing a mentally disordered woman.

Carl McQuilliam-Jenkins, 49, groomed and sexually assaulted the woman at a care home in the Harrogate district over a seven-month period, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Catherine Silverton said the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had reluctantly consented to sex but did not have the mental capacity to do so.

McQuilliam-Jenkins, a father-of-two who won a ‘Local Health Care Hero’ award in 2016 in a separate part of the country, had sex with her on several occasions and told her to make it their secret.

Ms Silverton said the victim had a personality disorder which meant she was “easily led”, over-eager to please people and easy prey. Her condition was so acute that she found it difficult to make decisions for herself, forcing her family to place her in residential care.

McQuilliam-Jenkins, who was an agency worker, had duties which included working at the named care home four or five times a week.

He was “aware of (the victim’s) vulnerabilities”, having raised concerns with his work supervisor in April 2019 about “internet contact” she had had with a male resident of the home.

Exploited her mental disorder

McQuilliam-Jenkins warned staff she was vulnerable – but then began exploiting her mental disorder to sexually abuse her.

In January 2020, the victim told staff she had had sex with McQuilliam-Jenkins. Miss Silverton said:

“She said she had a sexual relationship with the defendant.”

Before the abuse began, the victim told McQuilliam-Jenkins that she liked him and asked for his telephone number. Miss Silverton added:

“He gave it to her but said it would have to be a secret, otherwise he would lose his job. She said they exchanged ‘sex texts and dirty messages’ and communicated via Facebook.”

McQuilliam-Jenkins sent her pictures of an intimate part of his body and a video in which he performed a lewd act. She in turn sent him photos of intimate parts of her body.

The victim said that McQuilliam-Jenkins “wanted to do sex and I said yes”. Miss SIlverton said:

“She said at first she liked him, but she said it was ‘getting too much with the sex things and stuff’. She said she didn’t want the sex to happen but she consented because she wanted to make him happy.

“She said she went along with it because he wanted it to happen. She said it was always him who instigated it.”

Arrested after a complaint

The victim, who also suffers from anxiety, said McQuilliam-Jenkins never used contraception and “continued to tell her to keep their sex a secret to prevent him losing his job”.

The victim, who needed 24-hour care, had to have treatment at a clinic after suffering a genital condition due to having unprotected sex with her abuser.

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McQuilliam-Jenkins, from Durham, was ultimately arrested after a complaint was made to police and was initially charged with six counts of sexual activity with a mentally disordered female while working as a care worker. The charges alleged that he knew or ought to have known that the woman had a mental disorder.

He initially denied all allegations but ultimately admitted three of the six charges. The offences occurred between July 2019 and January 2020. He appeared for sentence today

In a statement read out in court, the victim said she had felt “anxious and upset” and thought it was “okay to be with (McQuilliam-Jenkins) because he told her it would be okay”.

She had since not been sleeping and was worried that “people would call her a liar”.

McQuilliam’s wife had left him since his offences came to light, adding his offending had had a big impact on her family.

Care worker for 15 years

Syam Soni, mitigating, said McQuilliam-Jenkins realised his actions were “patently inappropriate”.

He said McQuilliam-Jenkins was himself suffering from mental health problems at the time due to work pressures and being the sole breadwinner for his family..

McQuilliam-Jenkins, of Howarth Terrace, Haswell, had worked in the care industry for 15 years with a “hitherto-unblemished record”.

Judge Simon Hickey said the victim was “clearly vulnerable and this was known by (McQuilliam-Jenkins)”. He told the defendant:

“You were aware of her vulnerability. She simply consented (to sex) to make you happy.”

Jailing McQuilliam-Jenkins for six years and four months, the judge told him he would have to serve half of that sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence.

McQuilliam-Jenkins was also placed on the sex-offenders’ register for life and made subject to a sexual-harm prevention order for an indefinite period. He was barred for life from working with vulnerable adults.

The prosecution said they accepted McQuilliam-Jenkins’s denials to the other charges on a “pragmatic basis” and would be offering no further evidence on those allegations.