tom.archer

The BBC reports that two teenage girls were handcuffed by Operation Vanguard security guards in Colchester on 17 September, three days after the patrols began. The patrols are run by My Local Bobby under a no-tender contract from Reform-led Essex County Council. My Local Bobby's boss, David McKelvey, has described it in a sworn statement as a "sister company" of TM Eye, the private prosecution firm that has had Reform as a client. Essex Police have confirmed that two offences of assault without injury were recorded, neither girl was hurt, and the matter was closed with "learning requirements" passed to the guards' employers. Nobody has been reported charged. The council says "no crime was committed". The firm says there was "no allegation or complaint". A Labour councillor told Colchester's crime and disorder committee that the guards "abused" their power. The council says the patrols were launched over concerns about migrants bussed from Wethersfield. In the first month the guards responded to 172 incidents. The BBC says it's unclear how many involved asylum seekers because that data wasn't collected. Private guards can carry handcuffs, but have no special powers to use them. They have the same citizen's arrest rights as anyone else, and any force has to be justified as reasonable. I have FOIs in with Essex County Council and Essex Police on the scheme. I'll post what comes back. Source: BBC Essex, 22 October.