Using the crowd to hold those in power to account

My first experience of life as a daily newspaper reporter was in Accrington, the town best-known for being referenced by the very Scouse lads in the milk advert of the 1980s. That was in 2000. Back then, one of the big issues facing the town was the decline of retail in the town centre. From the Accrington

FOI Friday: What gets stolen from shops, dangerous animals in Chester, zero hour council contracts and finds by police diving teams

What is being stolen in shoplifting incidents? < Exeter Express and Echo A £22,500 shotgun has been stolen from an Exeter store and was never returned, it has been revealed today. The vintage weapon was stolen in March this year according to new information about shoplifting in the region from Devon and Cornwall Police. The

Dear Nick Clegg, if you think you’ve got it bad, then please read on

Poor old Nick Clegg. Damned for apparently abandoning his principles when the hooked the Lib Dems into the coalition and now damned for sticking to his guns in the European elections by (whisper it) saying being in Europe might not be a bad thing. He’s got Vince Cable saying one thing in support but apparently

FOI FRIDAY: Ambulance delays, lack of dentists, data-snooping coppers and dodging conviction for assault

How to dodge a conviction if you assault someone < Brighton Argus Thousands of criminals including sex offenders, arsonists and violent offenders have avoided conviction. Sussex Police introduced community resolution in 2011 to deal with low-level crimes. But The Argus can reveal that the policy has been used more than 11,000 times in the past

2 stories, 126 years apart: Why data should be at the heart of every newsroom

Last year, the Accrington Observer, a weekly newspaper in the town which has long since tired of hearing the old milk advert references, marked it’s 125th anniversary by republishing it’s very first newspaper: It makes for a fascinating read – both in terms of what the founders of the paper thought would interest their readers,

As mugshots go, sexy is probably the last word you’d expect to see on his Santa hat…

Mugshots next to court cases come in many shapes and sizes. I’m a particular fan of police ‘most wanted’ mugshots at the moment, not least because of the huge number of page impressions they drive. This one from the Birmingham Mail went mental last week. Of course, such mug shots don’t always come from the

FOI Friday: Overdue books, bedding plants, baby scans and trading standards

1. The most overdue books in town The devil, they say, is in the detail. And the Accrington Observer got plenty of detail back from its FOI request into overdue books at Accrington Library. Not only did they find out the number of books which are overdue, and the total amount owing in fines, but

The council where they like to say ‘I sue’

Councils have long complained about the impact of litigation, but normally it involves members of the public suing them. But one Lancashire council has pleaded with its members to stop suing each other for comments made in the council chamber. Really. The Accrington Observer reports that one in five councillors on Hyndburn Council have been