The [Crown Prosecution Service] will this month pilot its new approach in four "hotspot" areas. A team of 20 prosecutors are to be based in London, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire and Lancashire. Each one will be trained by a number of different agencies including the police, the government's forced marriage unit and the independent victims group, the Southall Black Sisters.The complex investigation and three-month trial for Ms Mahmod's murder relied on initiatives more often used to tackle organised crime, such as the use of covert investigative techniques and special measures for key witnesses, two of whom needed police protection. Such techniques are increasingly used to deal with honour crimes.
The CPS will also introduce a "flag" for any forced marriage or honour crime cases, so they can be logged and monitored.
Nazir Afzal, the CPS lead on honour-based violence, said that such crimes are often elaborate, pre-planned and can involve many suspects.
One in nine honour killings in the UK is carried out by hit men, he said. It is also common for the youngest member of the family to carry out the murder, with the others playing a lesser role.
Telegraph;
A Sunday Telegraph investigation has established that honour killings are increasing rapidly in Britain.Home Office statistics suggest that there are 12 such murders each year. However, according to research, the true figure is much higher. At a conference in Southampton last week, police chiefs revealed that they are re-examining 2,000 deaths and-murders between 1996 and 2006 to establish whether they involve honour killings. So far, 19 have now been found to be honour killings. A further 20 involved some element of "honour violence".
The string of deaths is likely to include some that were previously deemed suicides but have been found to be forced suicides and murder disguised as suicide.
[...]
A special unit has been created by the Foreign Office to travel around the world seeking British-born Asian women who have been forced into marriage. It operates mainly in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Kenya and Yemen. Officials from the local British embassy or consulate co-operate with police to identify these women and, if they are clearly being held against their will, bring them home to Britain.
h/t to Tim Blair.
test
Honor killings and arranged marriages in Britain?
Somebody remind me what century we're living in.
This is very good news. I've been a long-time advocate of monitoring the mosques which increasingly are not really religious places in the western sense.
However, two thoughts:
1. Any chance of having the Muslim Council of Britain kick in to help with the funding of this extra law-enforcement burden?
2. Note: the victims are Muslims.
Canadians, help me out.
I haven't been keeping up but sometime ago
there were stories about some parts of Canada
having Sharia law...with Canadian law being
the ultimate legal entity.
Has this offensive measure been removed?
If it is still in effect, could it mean
more honor killings in Canada?
This is a wonderful site to find out what's
going on in Canada.
Kestrel
Sandpoint, Idaho
Kestrel, that was an Ontario family court fiasco which ended up with ALL religious organizations being barred from family court. With loud support from Muslim women's groups, I might add. They did NOT want Sharia in Ontario, most of 'em are here to get away from it.
I see that as honor killing is gaining cachet in Britain, authorities are getting on with the important issues in law enforcement: CCTV to catch garbage can cheaters.
islam disgusts me i find it impossible to discuss any aspect of. destroy it before it destroys us.
They kill each other in Pakistan and I don't care. Why would I care if they move here and continue to kill each other? As long as I don't get caught in the crossfire not my problem. The government wants multiculturalism, thats what they got.
"Officials from the local British embassy or consulate co-operate with police to identify these women and, if they are clearly being held against their will, bring them home to Britain."
Then put them up in an apartment, feed them and guard them 24/7 for the rest of their lives ... at taxpayer expense? Or what I am missing here?
Seize their assets, (to cover court costs), strip them of their citizenship, then shovel them back to where they came from?