FOI Friday: Shoplifted goods, secret council reports, GP police call outs and NHS money in private hospitals

What gets stolen by shoplifters? < Sheffield Star Shoplifting is having a ‘devastating impact’ on Sheffield businesses – with daily thefts ranging in value from just 10p to £15,000. As police today released a rogues gallery of 16 wanted shoplifters, The Star can reveal 11 thefts a day are reported from city shops. The toll

FOI Friday: Babies missing from care homes, absent pupil fines, stalking laws and sexting complaints

Schools starting to make use of fines for absent pupils < Harrogate Advertiser An investigation by the Advertiser series has found that nearly eight times more fines were issued in North Yorkshire, year on year, in the first quarter of the new rules. Countywide, there were 95 fines issued from September to December, compared to

FOI Friday: Prostitutes wanting to work in schools, hunger on the rise, counselling on the underground and 11-year-old drug runners

Prostitutes applying for jobs in schools (or reasons criminal checks failed) < Nottingham Post PROSTITUTES, shoplifters and even someone who assaulted a child have applied for jobs in schools in Nottinghamshire over the past three years. Other crimes committed by those wanting to work with children include assaulting a police officer, growing cannabis and racially

FOI FRIDAY: Booze seized, student homes, £690 a shift at the council and meals worth £150k thrown away

10 good examples of FOI in action from the local, regional and national media: 1. The rise in the number of student homes (Falmouth Packet) A startling statistic emerging from a Freedom of Information request which is then built upon to find out the impact behind said statistic – the recipe for a strong FOI-based