UK Policemen Urged To Clean Windows

British policemen urged to clean windows as part of their fitness regime.

Met's advice for blobby bobbies: Try snowball fights and window cleaning! Health guru offers tips to unfit officers ahead of upcoming fitness tests Police officers have been told to lose weight by tobogganing, having snowball fights and even walking their children to school. Overweight officers are also being urged to move furniture around, build snowmen, wash windows or jump on a trampoline in the garden.

The advice comes from Scotland Yard’s new health guru Sean Burgess in an attempt to help police pass their upcoming fitness tests. A few years ago, a survey of Metropolitan officers and staff revealed that 64 per cent of those on the force’s payroll were overweight, obese or morbidly obese. As a result, mandatory fitness tests - known as ‘bleep tests’ - were introduced in September 2014.  A total of 807 were failed - 237 by men and 570 by women – before passing them became compulsory. Any staff who repeatedly fail them face the sack.

Mr Burgess, head of occupational health, gave his fitness advice to officers in the Met’s in-house magazine The Job. He began by writing, ‘Exercise? Who has time for it?’ before listing tips to help officers lose weight. ‘Have snowball fights, build a snowman or do some tobogganing,’ he writes. ‘Household jobs involve moving, stretching, lifting and carrying. Do some cleaning by moving furniture or washing the windows.’

Mr Burgess, a former nurse, says that getting into an exercise routine is hard and suggested finding sports that officers can do with their families like swimming, running for a charity, cycling or walking. He said: ‘Walk the kids to school, or walk the dog around the local park or countryside, if you can. Have a trampoline in the garden or a basketball net.’ Mr Burgess told officers that they should not ‘fear the bleeper’ if they followed his advice. ‘Turn your preparation into a regular habit,’ he added. ‘Training sessions will become easier to manage in terms of time and motivation.

‘If you can train with a partner it will assist in motivation and help develop an exercise habit.’

Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has previously told how important it was that his officers were fit. ‘I think you’ve got a duty to your colleagues,’ he said recently. ‘If they shout for help, they want fit people to come. They don’t want somebody waddling down the road who’s never going to arrive, and when they get there they’re out of breath.’ Sir Bernard added: ‘It’s taken too long to get the annual test, but it will start to have an increasing impact. For me, the standard is too low, I think it should be higher. It’s relatively easy.’

The Met Commissioner went on to say that those who fail to make the grade should be given time to lose weight and get fitter. But he added: ‘If they don’t, then we haven’t got a job for them.’ Scotland Yard guidelines say those who fail at the first attempt should be put on a physical training programme for up to ten weeks before being told to retake the test. Officers who fail three further tests are recommended for dismissal.

There are so many overweight policemen in Britain that belts large enough for 56-inch waists are becoming hard to find. Emergency Service Supplies, a uniform supplier, had recently sold out of the XXXL version of the belt that carries heavy equipment as well as holds up trousers. The next size down was in short supply. Utility belts are an essential item for all officers because they are used to carry their handcuffs, baton and other tools. The company also offers outsized clothing for bulkier community support officers, supplying an XXXL high visibility vest alongside other duty wear in sizes up to a 56-inch chest.

Net Closes On UK Benefit Window Cleaners Home & Abroad

An “unemployed” benefit cheat caught carrying a ladder and bucket for his window cleaning round claimed it was therapy for his bad back. His silly excuse tops a list of ridiculous fabrications used by fraudsters as they were caught red handed. Investigators are lifting the lid on a litany of hopeless claims today after Welfare Reform Minister Lord Freud warned the net is closing on Britain’s benefits cheats.

A common excuse tried by con artists is the old “not me guv” defence. One man who was caught working while claiming disability benefit insisted investigators had seen his “identical twin”. Another man said his wallet had been stolen and someone else was using his identity. Lord Freud said that while investigators could see the funny side, they were deadly serious about catching benefit cheats who cost the taxpayer £1.6billion every year.

Sweeping reforms being introduced by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith will replace the current complex system with a single Universal Credit. Lord Freud said: “Benefit fraud is no joke and yet our investigators are routinely dealing with ridiculous excuses for stealing money from the taxpayer. “Universal Credit will simplify and automate the benefits system. This will make it much easier to catch people who make false claims.” Cheats can now be reported anonymously online.

 

With summer fast approaching, Spain is again bracing itself for an onslaught of Brits looking for their annual fix of sun, sea and sangria. The Costas traditionally attract a significant amount of holidaymakers from the UK and across Europe, while a sizeable and largely law-abiding expat community now call the region home. But beneath the sun-soaked exterior of the Costas lies an unwanted element that continues to tarnish a stretch of coastline keen to shake off its ‘Costa del Crime’ tag.

The issue of benefit fraud is one that authorities are particularly keen to stamp out, as demonstrated by the establishment of a dedicated fraud hotline for expats in Spain. But so called ‘abroad fraud’, where Britons claim benefits back home while living in Spain, is a problem that refuses to go away. Such a big problem, in fact – estimated at 80 million euros a year – that the UK authorities are launching a fresh purge on the problem, joining forces with their counterparts overseas to find new ways of addressing benefit fraud. 

Fraud investigators at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are working alongside the land registries, the Foreign Office and UK banks to identify offenders. “We are determined to clamp down on benefit fraud abroad,” a DWP spokesman told the Olive Press. “This money should be going to the people who need it most and not lining the pockets of criminals sunning themselves on taxpayers’ money,” she added. The problem, of course, is not just confined to Spain, with other European countries including Greece and long-haul destinations, such as America and Thailand, also housing numerous fraudsters looking to go unnoticed. But it is in Spain, and particular the Costas, that has the unwelcome distinction of having the highest number of offenders.

Benefit thieves going abroad, It’s not if we catch you, it’s when. The British Government takes benefit theft seriously.  There is no hiding place for anyone who thinks they can get away with stealing taxpayers’ money because they are abroad. It’s not if we catch you, it’s when

We are:

• Tracking down benefit thieves wherever they are
• Working closely with authorities abroad to identify benefit fraudsters
• Following up calls to our UK Benefit Fraud Hotline in Spain

It’s estimated that between April 2010 and March 2011, £79m was lost as a result of benefit fraud overpayments to British claimants who have not told us they are living or travelling abroad – that means British taxpayers are financing the fraudsters’ overseas lifestyle. If you know anyone who is stealing benefits, we want to hear about them. The UK Benefit Fraud Hotline in Spain now makes it easier to report benefit thieves on 900 554 440. Lines are open 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday. Your call is free and confidential. Remember – if you are in receipt of benefits, it’s an offence not to tell us if your circumstances change, for example:

• you are going or living abroad
• you get married, or if you separate, divorce or are widowed
• you start work, increase your earnings or your savings?

If you don’t tell us it could mean prosecution, imprisonment and even the confiscation of your home and possessions. For more details visit the benefit theft website.