A rather sad story from Watford tells of a 52-year old woman who is due to be sentenced in court for breach of two Asbos and one count of theft. As the accused is currently in hospital, her sentence will not be delivered until late December. The slightly odd twist in the tail? One of the Asbos served by Watford County Council - and one which the lady is accused of breaking - carried the......

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a man in possession of a hooded garment must be engaged in criminal activity. This is the precedent set by a judge who banned an Asbo youth from wearing a hoodie, a ruling which has been upheld by the High Court. Lawyers for Greenwich's Jerome Barnes argued that the judge could not order him to refrain from wearing a hoodie, on the grounds that such a move......

Harrow's booze-hounds aren't having a good time of it. WIth Boris decreeing that it's no longer lawful to sup a Pale Ale while rattling up northwest-wards on the Metropolitan Line, the borough is now mulling a total ban on drinking in public. Killjoy councillors are debating whether to extend a public booze ban, which already exists in parts of Wealdstone and South Harrow, to cover the entire borough. But fear not, Pimms quaffers! The......

We've heard plenty about youth crime lately and some of the "in your face" tactics that are being taken to reduce it, but a panel of criminal justice experts are proposing a new approach to help sort out young'uns who have already got a record. The idea has been put forth for "academies" for young offenders to help them sort themselves out and hopefully reduce the number of repeat offenders. The government backed academies......

In an attempt to wheeze a bit of life into his flagging mayoral campaign, Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick has called for bus drivers to become 'have-a-go heroes' and tackle crime and anti-social tomfoolery on their double-deckers. The former cop inveigled bus drivers to take action against criminal activities on their rides. He cautioned that they should pick their fights carefully, and "choose which crowd to take on", before (rather like the playground bully)......

Londonist always gets a warm fuzzy feeling when someone proves to us that there's still hope for humanity. Ernie Dingo, famous for his role in Crocodile Dundee II, became a real life hero when he came to the rescue of a young boy getting bullied. Dingo was on Carnaby Street filming for his Channel 7 series The Great Outdoors when his attention was drawn to a boy following a group of bullies who had......

From the government department for investigating blatantly obvious things - a public consultation into whether learning English helps immigrants feel more at home. Spend the money on the courses, you twonks. BBC names rising music stars for 2008. Don't get too excited. Watch out for our Listen Up! posts instead. Market "intelligence" firms gathering data on public health predict that residents of deprived boroughs, Tower Hamlets, Southwark and City & Hackney are likely to......