18/07/2013 BBC Channel Islands News

Channel Islands news: An independent body to oversee

Jersey's police is given the final nod of approval by the States.

delighted, actually, now the states have got grips with this and have,

at last, passed the necessary laws to allow the police authority to get

going in Jersey. Also:

ducks in danger - why a rise in ducklings is leading to some dicing

with death An independent body to oversee

Jersey's police has been given the final nod of approval by the states.

Just why is it winning at some sports is just a numbers game? I'll

explain and introduce you to my new little friend at the island games in

An independent body to oversee Jersey's police has been given the

final nod of approval by the states. Politicians have passed the law to

create an independent buffer between politicians and the force, taking

over from the Home Affairs Minister to ensure the police carry out their

work efficiently. The way the island's police force is

run will change. After long delays, the police authority has been given

the final go-ahead by the states. It aims to create an independent buffer

between politicians and the force, taking over from the Home Affairs

Minister to ensure the police carry out their work efficiently. This man

tried to set up a similar body more than a decade ago, but the idea

eventually failed. Unfortunately, the states didn't give us the

resources, the money or the manpower to get it off the ground, and after

awhile, that rather fizzled out, but I'm delighted, actually, now the

states have got to grips with this and have at last passed the

necessary laws to allow the police authority to get going in jersey.

It will be made up of a chairperson, up to two states members and, for

the first time, up to four lay people. In setting up this system,

the Home Affairs Minister says today's Government has learned from

the past. They make the mistake of trying to give that authority also

over the honourary police as well as the states of Jersey police. That

arrangement never worked. We haven't made that mistake this time. The

people who must exercise authority over the local police forces are the

conita bes. The UK has moved away from the idea and now has police and

crime commissioners elected by the public to make the police more

accountable. In Jersey, though, the Governor says this wouldn't work.

Will Jersey, do you think be seen as perhaps being a little bit behind

the times? No, the UK made an incredible blunder. The system is a

complete mess. And they're going to have to unravel it, so we've got it

right. They've got it wrong. Policy will still be set by the Minister,

but ensuring it's carried out efficiently will be down to the

police authority. It's expected to be in force by early October.

Child protection is to be improved in Jersey as organisations look to

share more information on the island's most dangerous criminals.

Two years ago a body called JMAPPA was set up to improve communication

between the agencies that manage offenders. Its report - out today -

suggests nearly 90% of all those criminals didn't re-offend last

year. The group says it's also keeping tabs on people who are

potentially dangerous to the public. Guernsey's secondary school children

are to be offered a meningitis C booster vaccine for the first time.

The Health Department says it'll help protect against the peak of

meningitis C infections, which comes in the 15-19 age range. From the end

of this month a Rotavirus vaccine for babies is also being introduced,

to protect them against gastroenteritis.

The Jersey politician Jeremy Macon will lead the Government committee

in charge of members' conduct and Government reform. He will take over

from Constable Simon Crowcroft, the previous Chairman of the Privileges

and Procedures Committee, who stood down after politicians rejected the

result of April's referendum on reforming the States. Deputy Macon

says he's determined to find a way forward. Electoral reform is us a

going to be a very difficult subject. I hope that with my

committee perhaps we can bring a more consensus base to it. However,

I know that with the power interests that are always going to be present,

it's not going to be an easy task. Islanders are being asked to keep a

look-out for ducklings that may be in danger. Thousands of ducks are

breeding at this time of the year, and that means thousands of

ducklings. Many are dicing with death as their mothers leave them to

fend for themselves. They look pretty happy, don't they?

These rescue ducks are taking it easy at the GPSA shelter, but it's

the younger ones who are going through the mill at the moment. The

mother duck will lead her brood to water, sometimes waddling a mile or

more along the island's lanes, but the ducklings can't fly at this

stage, and if they have managed to survive being hit by a car, they

then have to contend with predators looking for an easy meal. The mother

often struggles to protect them and usually leaves the ducklings to

their fate. If they survive the attack, they're often separated from

their mother, and many are found and brought here. This little duckling

is called Lonesome, and she came into the GPSA without her mother and

is being looked after. Like Lonesome, there is many of them here

at the shelter. Even in the relative safety of the GPSA, these little

ones still get picked off by cats, crows and seagulls. The best thing

you can do if you do see mum ducklings is as safely as you can,

try to usher them to a safe place. By all means contact the shelter for

advice on what to do, but you have to be careful you don't scare the

mother off because if you scare mum off, she will fly away. Hopefully,

she'll come back, but obviously, that does put the ducklings at risk.

Lonesome may be all on her own, but considering almost 90% of ducklings

get killed by predators or hit by cars, she's lucky to have made it

this far. Guernsey's chasing Team Jersey in the medal table at the

Island Games in Bermuda. There's been more success in the pool and on

the shooting range too. The Isle of Man is still leading the way with

the Channel Island shot on their heels. Live now to Bermuda and Clare

Burton, Clare. Yes, another day, another beach,

another haul of medals and another controversy - the shooting - we told

you earlier this week how several of the events here won't qualify for

the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Yesterday, due to a last-minute rule

change, Jersey was stripped of a gold medal in one of the men's team

shooting events, so we began yesterday with 14 gold medals. We

won two, and then we had 15, so sport - it really is just a numbers

game, as several of last night's events proved. One beautiful

Bermudan mountain bike trail, five Guernseymen on two wheel wheels.

None of them get first, second or third place. In fact, they come

fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth. But they still get team gold

- no wonder they're smiling. A bit disappointed not to get the third

spot, but he was quite a long way away. To be honest I am almost more

happy to get the team gold because that's what we have been training

for all winter. Next up, just three runners in the men's 110 metres

hurdle final. That means a medal each guaranteed. The second place

just isn't good enough to reigning champ Glenn. I really, really wanted

to get a gold medal for Guernsey, nots just for myself. We're here as

team. I wanted to do Guernsey proud. Hopefully, I have done that with the

silver, but I really wanted it tonight. We did hear it for Sarah

Mercia. She breezed through the 5K without so much as a swig of water

to score gold in her first island games. It feels brilliant - just

amazing to be able to win a gold medal for Guernsey. More medals for

Jersey in the pool, including a win for the women's 4 X 100 metres

freestyle, taking their tally in the water up to nine. Six should have

been the magic number for Guernsey's men's volleyball team. With just

seven squads in the competition, everyone just plays everyone else,

with no pesky finals, but Guernsey lost six games out of six, so

they're out. Still, if they want ideas of how to spend their now

inevitable downtime, check out how Gibraltar's triathlon team have kept

themselves busy since finishing Sunday.

# Do the Harlem shake # Nothing like taking on a trend

that's about six months out of date - the nice Harlem Shake, Gibraltar.

On to something completely different. You may have noticed a

lot of this little chap in our coverage of the games so far. He's

far more than just a mascot, though. He's the sight and sound of a whole

island, as Penny now reports. As well as hopefully taking home a

lot of these this week, everyone from the Channel Islands that gets a

medal also gets one of these, and you only have to spend the night

here to realise why, because as the night draws in and the aths Letts

starts off, particularly in the early evening and goes through the

early night and it's the Bermuda tree frog. They're about the size of

a fingernail and yet the noise they make is totally disproportionate to

their size. Obviously, we try to do something unique when we do these

things. I think for us - and to be fair, the people who made the mascot

have made a cute little mascot. It's becoming the thing everybody wants.

Everybody wants the medal, but I think to get the mascot as well has

been a great coup for people. Because they're so small I have been

told tree frogs are notoriously hard to find but I had some expert advice

today. Apparently, if you look around pots like this, you have some

quite the real thing, but the athletes seem happy enough with

them. Delighted with the frog! it's been the mascot of the games,

so at least it reminds me of it, doesn't it, rather than a bouquet of

flowers that'll die sooner or later. I just handed mine to the bailiff.

think these are - a little mascot, better than a bunch of flowers. I

get to take this home. He has a little gold medal around his neck,

when you get your medal, so a little bit extra special. My team-mate

keeps hiding him around the room and stealing our frogs as well. There is

a competition on face face where she keeps putting him in different

locations. So a mascot, a souvenir and, ultimately, a reminder of the

unusual nature that made our medals - have our teams got? The

Isle of Man is leading still with 21 gold medals. Jersey has 15 golds and

Guernsey just behind them on 14 golds, but a lot to play for

golds, but a lot to play for tonight. Both are expected to do

well in the cycling, the swimming pool and the track. Who knows -

addny may have made a mark on the medals table tonight. From me and

him in Bermuda, it's back to you. very warm day today with plenty of

sunshine, and tomorrow too, another hot, sunny day once again. High

pressure is still very much in charge of our weather, but what we

will notice over the next few days is that centre of the area of high

pressure will continue to make its way northwards, so for tomorrow

we'll introduce more in the way of north-easterly winds along the

English Channel, making it feel fresher, especially along the

coasts. By the weekend as the area of high pressure continues to drift

northwards, we'll introduce more in the way of warm, humid air being

drawn in from the near continent from the south increasing the chance

of some showers for Sunday and to the start of next week as well. But

for tonight, we're looking at largely clear skies and light winds

as well, but we're looking at another warm, humid night as

temperatures dip no lower than 15, maybe 16 Celsius as the minimum

temperature. And then for tomorrow, plenty of sunshine from the word go,

feeling hot once again as temperatures continue to climb

throughout the course of the day, temperatures reaching perhaps the

mid to high 20s once again, 28 Celsius potentially for Jersey as

looking at 16. 11.00 in the for the Jersey shore, a foot or two

of clean surf compared to the conditions we have been see. We are

staying with settled conditions not just for tomorrow but into the

weekend as well. The area of high pressure continues to move north,

increasing more north-easterly winds as we head into the weekend, plenty