HATE CRIMES: ON LINE PETITION TO SAVE CARE BLACKERTON

The recent events in Iraq show how vulnerable people are who have learning disabilities.

The treatment handed out to Steven Hoskin in Truro, and Brent Martin in Sunderland was equally as disgusting and a blot on our society. Care in the community is not the answer when it puts vulnerable people in danger. There are successful alternatives that have operated for 40 years, such as CARE village at Blackerton.

Thanks to Crimfic reader [a lady with a beautiful Welsh accent] for steering me to the Go Petition site. And what a fantastic second half comeback by the Welsh rugby team today in their first victory over England at Twickenham for twenty years.

You can sign the on line petition to save CARE village Blackerton at:

http://www.gopetition.com/online/16709.html

And read my posts on this matter at the following links:

http://camberwell-crime.blogspot.com/2008/01/hate-crimes-place-of-safety-and.html

http://camberwell-crime.blogspot.com/2008/01/hate-crimes-inconvenient-marriage.html

http://camberwell-crime.blogspot.com/2008/01/hate-crimes-and-care-in-community.html

HATE CRIMES: THE CASE AGAINST CARE IN THE COMMUNITY

Brent Martin was, according to his family and friends, a caring and trusting man.
Even when the 23-year-old - who had learning difficulties - was being subjected to an onslaught of violence, Newcastle Crown Court was told he did not lift an aggressive finger to his attackers.
The two teenagers - one aged 16, the other 17 - and a 21-year-old man who killed him have been warned they face a mandatory life sentence.

Disability Now, the magazine covering disability issues, has put together a dossier of what it believes are disability hate crimes.

Over two years it identified fifty-one cases of people with a wide range of disabilities being attacked. Detailed in this dossier are some truly horrific attacks:

In Cornwall in 2006, Steven Hoskin, who had learning disabilities, was murdered by people he thought were his friends. He was led around on a dog's lead and then made to hang from a viaduct by his fingertips. He fell to his death when they stamped on his hands.

In the Forest of Dean a few months later, Kevin Davies who had epilepsy and learning difficulties died after being tortured and kept in a shed. His tormentors were jailed for unlawful detention.

And in April of last year, Colin Greenwood who was blind, was kicked to death by two teenagers in Sheffield. He told the woman who went to help him he had stopped using his white stick because it attracted attention and he'd been attacked before.

Katharine Quarmby, news editor at Disability Now, was shocked by what she found: "I think it tells us that disabled people are targeted by a certain number of people in the population and they are seen as easy targets because of their disabilities. [From the BBC website 23/01/2008]

Why when these despicable attacks are becoming more frequent are certain charities closing down rural village communities and pushing the concept of care in the community?

These rural communities are usually situated in pleasant surroundings with beautiful views. They provide both safe accommodation and the chance to enjoy crafts such as pottery and woodwork. Yet are close enough to towns to allow residents to go to college and take part in local activities.

Why close them? Why deliberately move the residents into flats and houses in the more deprived areas of towns where they will be in danger of adding to these statistics?

Apparently the residents will be able to walk to the shops and to the pub. Of course whether they will be able to walk back home again is questionable in our broken society.

I shall be posting again on this subject in the next few weeks, and perhaps explaining what happens when there is an unholy marriage between philosophy and finance.

[to be continued]

http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/the-hate-crime-dossier

HATE CRIMES: AN INCONVENIENT MARRIAGE

Update:

This blog is now dormant but you can see all the old posts and a lot of new material at Crime Scraps Review.

http://crimescraps2.wordpress.com

An inconvenient marriage between finance and philosophy has brought doubt and turmoil into the lives of vulnerable people.

The philosophy apparently backed by the government and local authorities is that “people with learning difficulties” should live in the “community”, and be able to walk to the pub, and shops. This will apparently improve their lifestyle from the CSCI inspector’s report of EXCELLENT to what I don’t know.

How can you improve on excellent?
The fact that pottery and woodwork take second place to shopping and drinking in pubs under this scheme is perhaps typical of this government, and their warped notions.
Is the community ready for our vulnerable relatives, who are for the most part more trusting than your average person?

Will our relatives’ new homes be placed in those deprived areas of small towns that already face enormous problems with their bored disaffected youth?

Follow the link below to see the possible scale of the problem.

http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/the-hate-crime-dossier

I don’t claim to know the details of the funding problem with “care in the community” funded from a different source than “intentional communities”. One is funded by central funding and the other from local authority funding.

I do know that this financial anomaly and this philosophical theory have come together at a very convenient time for some, because the rural sites bequeathed for the use of the charity’s beneficiaries have become incredibly valuable.

One of my sources informed me a parent was told by an official “I can’t afford to live on Exmoor and it may be that your son won’t be able to live there either.”

The charity trustees sold in December 2005 a site near Sevenoaks in Kent, and came away with £3.9 million. The developers then built about £40 million of property on the site.

It was too isolated for people with learning difficulties, but the location was ideal for the very rich who paid £3.2 million and upwards for the luxury houses on the development. [There were some more affordable apartments and mews cottages from about £500,000-£750,000; I think my eyes became a bit blurry when I read all of this.]

You might agree with me that it is strangely ironic that while vulnerable people are being thrust into society, the rich are seizing the opportunity to isolate themselves on the very same rural site away from that society.

I am pretty certain that in years to come we will want to go back to the village concept started by Peter Forbes, because the care in the community option:

1) Will be more expensive to monitor smaller more scattered units.
2) It will not be possible to obtain sufficient suitable staff.
3) There will be scandals such as the tragic death of Steven Hoskin in Truro. [See link]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/6748647.stm

And you might find this article interesting and quite disturbing:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/features/article2804949.ece

What can you do to help stop the closure of Blackerton village?

Firstly comment on the blog, and if you feel care in the community is the way to go put your point of view.
Secondly if you agree with me that it is a disaster waiting to happen email my MP Ben Bradshaw at bradshawb@parliament.uk

Or the local MP for Blackerton, Nick Harvey at harveyn@parliament.uk
The last time I was in contact with Nick he was very much against the closure, and supports the campaign to keep Blackerton open.

Or you could contact the management at:
http://www.care-ltd.co.uk/contact/fullcontact.htm

Chief Executive Officer: Patrick Wallace 9 Weir Road, Kibworth, Leicester LE8 0QL

What I have learned from all this is that charities and housing associations are really just like any other business, with some CEO’s earning six figure salaries.

How many of the general public realize this when they so generously put their hands in their pockets?

How many people have bequeathed legacies to CARE over the years simply because they believed in the ethos of the village community?

Apparently the trustees can ignore the ethos of the charity and go ahead with the closure. I believe this is wrong and I think Blackerton and the other villages should be left to continue their excellent work.

"It's home, I love it here.... we must save Care village"

Kylie Jarvis, aged 22, a resident of CARE Shangton who has Down's Syndrome

FIFTY SIGNATURES

Many thanks to everyone who has signed the petition. We have reached fifty signatures so far and in the circumstances I think that is a pretty good start, but we do need a lot more people to sign.

You can sign the on line petition to save CARE village Blackerton at: http://www.gopetition.com/online/16709.html

You can also link to my other posts putting the case to keep Blackerton at:

http://camberwell-crime.blogspot.com/2008/02/hate-crimes-on-line-petition-to-save.html

And a special vote of thanks to author Declan Burke, and fellow blogger crimficreader who kindly posted about the petition on their blogs.

You can follow the links below to their excellent and informative comments.

Declan here:
http://crimealwayspays.blogspot.com/2008/02/not-all-crimes-are-actually-illegal.html

and crimficreader, who must take the credit for the idea of a petition, here:
http://itsacrime.typepad.com/its_a_crime_or_a_mystery/2008/02/the-care-of-and.html

PETITION WATCH:SAVE CARE BLACKERTON

This morning the total was at 108 signatures! Thanks to everyone who has signed and please tell your friends.

A country that plans to spend billions on the Olympics should be ashamed that villages like Blackerton and day services for those with learning disabilities are being closed.

You can sign the on line petition to save CARE village Blackerton at: http://www.gopetition.com/online/16709.html

You can also link to my other posts putting the case to keep Blackerton at:
http://camberwell-crime.blogspot.com/2008/02/hate-crimes-on-line-petition-to-save.html

And you can read what people in Leicestershire think about the closure of their village at Shangton at: http://www.harboroughmail.co.uk/results.aspx?SearchType=Normal&PageId=1&SearchText=shangton

The Honeytones are CARE Blackerton's rock group, one of the many activities that would probably be lost if the Blackerton community is dispersed.

IT'S A CRIME (OR A MYSTERY....) ADDS SUPPORT

Many thanks to crimeficreader, who adds her support to the campaign to save CARE Blackerton at the link below:

http://itsacrime.typepad.com/its_a_crime_or_a_mystery/2008/02/the-care-of-and.html

If you would like to support the campaign please post, comment and sign the petition, you can follow the links from:

http://camberwell-crime.blogspot.com/2008/02/hate-crimes-on-line-petition-to-save.html

Frankly it's a crime or at least a mystery why the trustees are closing down, breaking up and relocating the village.

Many thanks. The photos show the Honeytones rock band formed by the residents at Blackerton.

HATE CRIMES: A PLACE OF SAFETY AND STIMULATION

The care of people with learning difficulties used to leave a lot to be desired, and many ended up in large institutions where their abilities were not recognised or given a chance to flourish. Others were kept at home with elderly parents, stagnating as the parents became too old to provide the stimulation they needed. But some people had the vision to see there was a better option that promised a good life for them without being in anyway patronising.

The innovative charity Cottage And Rural Enterprises Ltd [CARE] was set up over 40 years ago by Peter Forbes to provide “a semblance of normal life without its hazards” in beautiful rural village communities. He believed the residents could fulfil their potential “within a compact secure background that would remain unchanged through their lifetimes.”

Peter Forbes was ahead of his time when he began the charity on a farm in Devon with rural crafts, gardening, catering and growing things organically. It’s always been part and parcel of CARE’s ethos. The charity grew with parents, relatives and donors impressed by the concept, and eventually consisted of eight rural villages.

The first of these villages at Blackerton is only 15-20 minutes by car from South Molton or Tiverton, which enables the villagers to participate in local events such as the South Molton Carnival. They can also attend East Devon College in Tiverton for various courses in living skills such as cookery, and IT.
On the site itself they could participate in music, cookery, pottery, woodwork, textiles and gardening. An away team of gardeners worked for local people, and a lively rock group the Honeytones was good enough to get a lottery grant.
The Commission for Social Care Inspection [CSCI] rated the lifestyle at Blackerton as EXCELLENT.

The resident villagers, some of whom have lived at Blackerton for over 30 years were happy and contented, and the “hands on” carers were a skilled highly dedicated group.
My own son Jacob could hardly wait to get back to his mates after his visits to his old parents.

What has gone wrong with this rural idyll that has operated so successfully for over 40 years?

Why do the trustees intend to close Blackerton and another village at Shangton, in Leicestershire?

Why will they will probably eventually close all the villages, and cause Peter Forbes to spin in his grave at their actions.

[To be continued]

THE LEOPARD: JO NESBO

'My name is Kaja Solness. I have been tasked with finding you. By Gunnar Hagen.'

No reaction to the name of his Crime Squad boss. Had he gone?

Detective Harry Hole deeply traumatised by the events of The Snowman investigation is hiding out in the opium dens of Hong Kong. When the beautiful Kaja Solness tells Harry his father Olav is dying, he agrees to return to Oslo and investigate the murders of two women, found with twenty four inexplicable puncture wounds, both drowned in their own blood.

There are more murders and as the body count rises Harry, with the aid of the 'safely sectioned' Katrine Bratt's internet search skills, finds a connection between the victims. [Police colleague Katrine Bratt featured in The Snowman]

They all spent one night at the Havass mountain cabin, and so the story becomes an updated version of the old English country house mystery so popular in the Golden Age.

While trying to find the other occupants of the cabin, potential victims or perpetrators, Harry becomes involved in the political battle between Crime Squad, and Kripos lead by the charismatically handsome Mikael Bellman, a man with few scruples and boundless ambition.

'So if you can use this to outsmart the smart-arse and it leads to Bellman's plans for the evil empire being shelved, accept it with my blessing.'

This is a book about human relationships and what can develop from them; love, hate, vengeance, greed, ambition, humiliation, fear, and loneliness. The whole panoply of emotions felt from youth to old age and I should warn that is also a rather violent book, and contains just a few passages involving torture. The action takes place briefly in Hong Kong, mostly in Norway and then partly in the Congo, with a large cast of sharply drawn, but mostly unsympathetic characters.

The Leopard is a very long book [611 pages] that proved to be a very fast read because I was so completely engrossed in the characters, complexity of the plot and the various subplots. Definitely a page turner!

Jo Nesbo, aided by an excellent translation from Don Bartlett, teases the reader with plot twists and turns, providing a different solution to the crimes, and then taking the story back to change this again, and again, until the reader is left almost giddy. In what has become almost a trademark style he seemingly finishes the story, and then restarts it again to reach a slightly different ending.

Harry Hole, his character and his internal struggle, is the glue that holds this series together. Harry is tied up in a battle of intellects with both the perpetrator and with Bellman. The conflict is exacerbated because it seems Bellman has everything Harry lacks, position, power, wife, family, children, henchmen, and mistress. But Harry cares about people, Olav his father, Sis his sister with her 'little touch of Down's syndrome', his lost love Rakel and her son Oleg, his friend Oystein and his colleagues and this makes him vulnerable.

Will Harry find the perpetrator before Mikael Bellman, who seems to know the Crime Squad's moves before they happen? Why are the occupants of the Havass cabin being murdered one by one? What is the terrible connection with the Congo?

Right from the dismantling of colonialist governments in the sixties, they have used white people's feelings of guilt to acquire power, so that the real exploitation of the population could begin.

I can highly recommend The Leopard, despite the torture passages, and also the entire Harry Hole series as one of the best in modern crime fiction. Ignore the Next Stieg Larsson blurb Jo Nesbo is a unique talent, and Harry Hole one of my favourite detectives.

'You know me,' Harry said as Oystein stopped on red outside the Radisson SAS Hotel.

'I bloody do not,' Oystein said, sprinkling tobacco into his roll-up.

'How would I?'

'Well, we grew up together. Do you remember?'

'So? You were already a sodding enigma then, Harry.'

The Harry Hole series [books one and two are yet to be translated into English]

Keeping Harry in order

The Redbreast

Nemesis

The Devil's Star

The Redeemer

The Snowman