staffordshire

Figures presented to Staffordshire Police Authority today, (20 July) show that more than 1,400 fewer crimes were recorded in Staffordshire between April and June 2010, compared to the same period last year. The total number of offences dropped by almost seven per cent to 19,034. 
During the same three-month period in 2009 the total number of offences was 20,451. Business-related crime has also fallen to 2,176 from 2,523, a drop of almost 14 per cent.

Newly-elected Stoke-on-Trent MP Tristram Hunt explains why continued government investment in education and skills is so vital for 'cities in transition' [quote]Struggling cities‚ challenging cities‚ cities in transition‚ these are today's buzz words for the public policy of managing change in industrial cities.

Wartime evacuees to Staffordshire and local people with memories of evacuees during World War Two are being invited to attend a reminiscence event at Kidsgrove Library this Thursday (July 8). The project team will be on hand between 3pm & 5pm to listen to local people’s stories, and their contributions will help to form part of a growing archive of evacuation in the county, helping museum and archive staff to create a lasting record of this important episode in our past.

A new survey today gave hope for thousands of Staffordshire residents hit hard by the recession. Three in every four Staffordshire bosses expect to see turnover increase over the next couple of years and a third are looking to hire new staff according to wide reaching research by survey specialists Step Beyond.

On Sunday (June 13th) there is an opportunity for adults of all ages to find out about changing to a more rewarding career. If you study to be an osteopath at Keele University then you don’t have to give up your current job and income whilst you are re-training. The BSc (Hons) Osteopathy is a part-time programme specifically designed for people with work and family commitments. It is the only fully part-time pathway into the osteopathic profession in the UK.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is recruiting 10 volunteers to help support the delivery of community fire safety in the Newcastle area. A recruitment event will take place at Newcastle Fire Station on Friday 4th June from 10.00 am for interested parties to come along and find out more about the project, which will involve successful recruits helping with Home Fire Risk Checks and community events.

It sounds like something out of an action film but residents of Stoke are to be given special ultra sonic hearing powers as they hunt for some of Stoke-on-Trent’s most elusive and fascinating beasts next week. As part of a bat walk taking place at Westport Lake on the evening of Friday 28th May visitors will be given special devices to hear the ultra sonic sounds that bats make as they hunt for insects.

On Wednesday night PitsnPots were in attendance for the First Sitting of Full Council at Newcastle-Under-Lyme for the new Municipal year. Proceedings were started with a great show of tradition as observed by the council members in Newcastle for hundreds of years.

As the summer holiday season draws near thoughts turn to what to do and where to go with the children. While many families’ finances are still tight, the trick will be finding fun and inspiring activities that won’t break the bank. British Waterways is this week launching a campaign to inspire more people to discover the varied delights of Staffordshire’s canals and rivers.

A Staffordshire couple who have fostered more than one hundred children are appealing for other potential foster carers to come forward. Maureen and Peter Worman, from Bradwell, are finally taking a break from fostering after thirty three years, during which time they’ve looked after children up to nine years old, mainly caring for newborn babies or children up to two years old. Maureen said: