Police boss calls for legal clampdown on "upskirting"

A police boss is calling for tough new legislation to punish the sexually intrusive practice of upskirting.

According to North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones, secretly photographing underneath a woman's clothing without her consent should be a sexual offence.

The perverts who take the pictures often make things even more distressing for the victims by uploading the images onto the internet.

An online campaign by one victim, London writer Gina Martin, 25, has already amassed more than 70,000 signatures.

The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, of which Mr Jones is a member, has also spoken out against the "invasive and appalling practice". The UK Government is being urged to criminalise the behaviour and introduce legislation in the forthcoming Courts Bill to update the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Mr Jones (pictured) said: "There should certainly be new legislation so that the law can catch up with the new problems of the here and now. As things stand there is a gap in the law.

"Upskirting appears to be a growing problem and it is something that we should act upon to make sure that it is punished appropriately.

"It is a classic example of misogyny in a public place and there is no room in society for this form of totally inappropriate behaviour.

"What makes things even worse is that the perpetrator often compounds these acts by up-loading these images onto the internet.

"Voyeurism is already classed as an offence and there is no reason in my view why upskirting should not be treated in exactly the same way.

"By creating a specific sexual offence covering the practice of 'upskirting' we will be providing the police with more of the tools they need to help bring perpetrators of these appalling acts to justice.

“Making this a specific sexual offence would mean proper recognition of the intent of the perpetrator and the real distress and sense of violation caused to the victim. In addition, it would allow for the range of sentencing and disposal options that are available in respect of sexual offences.

“Updating the law would also raise the public's awareness of this deviant behaviour, give the police more clarity about what action they can take to purse prosecutions whilst at the same time it would send a clear message that these acts are totally unacceptable.

"I am calling on the Government to act swiftly and decisively to ensure that justice is no longer denied to the victims already suffering from this disgraceful practice. The Justice Secretary should look to include measures in the forthcoming Courts Bill to tackle this appalling practice and update the law to protect victims.

"Quite simply, this is sexual offending and should be treated as such."

Christmas music at Methodist Church

Update on D Jones bus company closure

Wrexham.com has a further update on the story of the local bus company closure ...

http://www.wrexham.com/news/further-update-from-wrexham-council-after-collapse-of-d-jones-son-buses-142128.html

Churches stage annual carol service

* Members of Llangollen Youth Choir perform at the carol concert last night.

Churches of various denominations in Llangollen came together for their annual carol service at the Town Hall yesterday (Sunday) evening.

Led by the Rev Phil Poole of the Methodist Church and the Rev Andrew Sully of St Collen's Parish Church, the evening featured a selection of traditional carols, all accompanied by Llangollen Silver Band.

The band performed a number of Christmas numbers, including Tannenbaum and Stop the Cavalry popularised by Joan Lewie in the 1980s.

Also singing some seasonal songs were members of Llangollen Youth Choir conducted by Elen Mair Roberts.

Musical items were interspersed with readings for a number of people including Town Mayor, Cllr Sheena Burrell.

Refreshments were provided and a retiring collection was taken in aid of the charity Embrace the Middle East.

During the evening results were announced of the Christmas tree competition staged at the Methodist Church and voted for by members of the public.

The two winners were the trees created by the town's New Dot community cinema and Llangollen Gardening Club.  

Disruption 'inevitable" after bus company ceases trading

A council leader says disruption is inevitable after a bus company serving Llangollen ceased trading.

For the full story, see: http://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/home/2017/12/16/gallery/disruption-inevitable-after-wrexham-bus-firm-announces-it-is-to-cease-trading-102447/

Stiwt panto has everything to make it a hit

With its larger-than-life dame, frenetic comic lead and extra-nasty villain the Stiwt panto couldn’t fail to be a smash-hit.

Add in a sweet principal girl, the mother of all a fairy godmothers and a posse of super-cute oversized puppets and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs should be pulling in the crowd this festive season.

Audience participation is always a key ingredient and the huge gang of kids packing the aisles at the lovely old Rhos theatre were hooked right from the start by Dame Debbie, forcefully delivered by the towering James Humphreys, who dared them not to scream along with the action.

Standing what appeared to be about seven feet high, if there’s a taller dame in any panto in the land this season, I’d be surprised. And his comedic talent measured up to every inch of his height.

Another character who develops that essential love/hate rapport with the crowd is Michael Jenkins as the Wicked Queen’s sneering side-kick, Henchman. A Stiwt panto stalwart, he steps out of his jackboots to direct the whole show and it’s largely down to him that the whole thing is so zingy and tight.

If the dame is extra tall, then Muddles the comic lead is the exact opposite. But what Kyle Corrin may lack in stature he certainly makes up for in sheer exuberance.

A ball of explosive energy, he fires off jokes machine-gun style and never gives the kids out front a minute’s peace. They love him for it as you can hear from the crescendo of cheers which greets his many appearances on stage.

As has become the practice with the LHK Productions-created pantos here, there has to be high-profile addition to the cast. This time there’s two – Eastenders’ Tony Discipline as the dashing hero Prince Valiant and Big Brother’s Mark Byron as the very camp Fairy Godmother.  Both are perfect in their roles.

The programme biogs don’t mention if Megan Ashley has played in any previous pantos, so this may be her first. But so competently did she handle the part of Snow White, with just the right level of sweetness, that it certainly won’t be her last.

The other lady involved is Cerys Buck. On stage she turned in a very neat Wicked Queen and off-stage she was the choreographer behind some fast-moving dance routines involving a host of talented local youngsters.

Two teams of kids take it in turn to don the clever costumes of the Seven Dwarfs. They look adorable and are yet another crowd pleaser.

There’s recently been some media fuss about at least one professional panto using a script that’s a little near the knuckle for an audience largely comprising kids.

Innuendo has long been a tradition with this type of show but the trick is to make sure things don’t tumble too far over the watershed.

This one has a bit of naughtiness, especially from Dame Debbie, but there’s definitely nothing too strong or offensive and it's all delivered in the best possible taste.

This spectacular show, packed with humour, music and an abundance of colour, is sure to delight the whole family and is on at the Stiwt until New Year’s Eve. Box office: 01978 841300.      

AM calls for more domestic abuse support

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called for more support for both male and female victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence.  

Speaking in a debate on the ‘The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Annual Review 2016-2017’, Mr Isherwood (pictured) emphasised the shortage of refuges for male victims in Wales, referring to the fact that Flintshire men’s refuge is struggling to meet demand, and the need for more perpetrator programmes.  

He said: “Working alongside Plaid Cymru’s Jocelyn Davies and Liberal Democrat Peter Black, I was one of the three AMs in the last Assembly who took the Welsh Government to the line over passage of the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Act (Wales) 2015.

“We will therefore be supporting amendment 1 (‘Regrets that the Equality and Human Right’s Commission’s aim of eliminating violence in the community is hampered by the lack of progress in implementation of the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Act (Wales) 2015’), and, in this context, I also move amendment 2, noting that the Commission’s aim of eliminating violence in the community requires implementation of the wider Welsh Government pledges made during the passage of the Act. Welsh Women's Aid are now concerned about the lack of Health Budget being invested in specialist Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence providers.

“I moved amendments then calling for national and local strategies to meet the gender-specific needs of women and men. The Stage 1 committee report recommended that Welsh Ministers should ensure that services are tailored to the specific needs of men and women respectively. The Minister then opposed these amendments, stating that this will already be taken into consideration by authorities in the preparation and implementation of national and local strategies.

“In emphasising that women and girls are disproportionately impacted by violence, the Domestic Abuse Safety Unit in Shotton also provides a gender-neutral service, because they say that domestic abuse and sexual violence affect both genders.

“When I visited them recently, they told me that their male refuge received five referrals for just two spaces on its first day, that it had been full ever since and that they are currently operating waiting lists. I understand it's the only male refuge in North Wales, currently funded by the Council, supporting victims until next March, with funding for female victims supported only one year more. A written Welsh Government response to me last month stated that a 2015 survey showed 274 refuge spaces across Wales, of which four in Montgomery were provided for males.”

He added: “I moved then amendments calling for the National Strategy to include provision of at least one perpetrator programme. As Relate Cymru had told Committee, ‘90 per cent of the partners they questioned some time after the end of their programme said 'that there had been a complete stop in violence and intimidation by their partner’. The Minister responded that he did not consider my amendments appropriate, but had jointly funded research to help inform future responses to perpetrators. Well, as reiterated at the last meeting of the Cross Party Group on Violence against Women and Children, Relate's programme ‘Choose 2 Change’ is the only current Respect-accredited programme in Wales.”

Mr Isherwood also moved Amendment 3, “noting the increase in reported hate crime in Wales” and Amendment 4, noting that the EHRC’s efforts to ensure that equality and human rights are embedded in work taken forward under the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act, detailed in their Annual Review, will require the “real and meaningful dialogue between communities, individuals and their public services” called for by the Future Generations Commissioner in her Draft Strategic Plan.