Authorities apologise over missed warnings of incest as report reveals culture of 'quiet word' rather than action

A series of failures by child protection professionals were detailed today in a withering report that described how a father was allowed to continually rape and abuse two of his daughters over a 35-year period.

The executive summary into the case described how the family had been in contact with 28 different agencies between 1973 and 2008, and that they had been seen by more than 100 professionals including social workers, police and housing officials.

Sixteen case conferences were held and ambulance workers, a headteacher and hospital staff had all expressed concern about non-accidental injuries and the children's poor hygiene. Yet nothing was done.

Seven allegations of sexual abuse were made by family members – but they were not followed up.

Instead of swift intervention, a culture of having "a quiet word" was found to exist among professionals.

Today Sheffield and Lincolnshire safeguarding children boards apologised for their failings. Chris Cook, independent chair of Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Board, said: "We are genuinely sorry. We should have protected you. People's lives were devastated both by a controlling, power-obsessed and deviant father and our failure to act."

Sue Fiennes, independent chair of Sheffield Safeguarding Children Board, admitted they had failed the family and "nothing should shield us from that fact".

The nature of the failures were disclosed today, 18 months after the father was sentenced to 25 life sentences for raping his daughters in one of the worst cases of incest ever put before a British court.

The women had finally come forward in June 2008 when their father was arrested. The judge in the case, Alan Goldack QC, demanded to know what professionals "had been doing for the last 20 years."

Today's report was an attempt to answer the question.

It described how the man abused and intimidated his family, and how he moved them 67 times to avoid being detected by the authorities. During that time, two of his daughters, referred to as M and N, had become pregnant 18 times after being raped by him.

Yet despite increasing suspicion that sexual abuse was taking place, none of the episodes was investigated effectively. On 23 separate occasions the women were specifically asked by the authorities about paternity of their children. They refused genetic counselling and there was concern that the father had become violent and aggressive towards them.

Yet because professionals believed "there was no evidence" to prove incest, they took no action. They were also fearful of potential litigation, the report noted.

The girls and a brother, who suffered physical abuse, were on the child protection register for a decade.

Speaking at a press conference, Professor Pat Cantrill, author of the report, said the abuse could have been stopped. "It only really needed one person with tenacity to keep pushing this and pushing this and we might have had a much earlier recognition and action being taken.

"There were people in the community that came forward and attempted to get the agencies to react in relation to this family and they were not listened to the way that they should."

She said a culture of "having a quiet word" had developed, and some professionals simply did not know how to handle the situation.

She said opportunities were missed individually and collectively. "The inquiries that were identified should have resulted in the children being taken to a place of safety – but that did not occur."

Some professionals got "quite stuck" around the situation of incest. "You are aware, as I am aware, that there are a number of these serious case reviews that happen and we always don't seem to learn from them."

The report found the father intimidated and frightened his wife and children using physical violence and bullying.

His wife left in 1992, leaving the children with him. "Professionals failed to listen and consider the situation from the child's perspective," the summary concluded. "They did not see the children and, where possible, talk to them and find out what they thought and felt about the issues. Too often the professionals took the word of parents at face value without considering the effects on the child."

It found professionals were often on the back foot because some were afraid of the father. "There is also an issue of professionals stereotyping and being judgmental of adults M and N and failing to see the growing pressure on the women of the frequent pregnancies." It found agencies were waiting for M and N to disclose abuse, yet research finds that 40% of victims of serious sexual assault don't tell.

"There was evidence of practitioners working in narrow silos," the report found. "There is an individual and collective community responsibility on us as members of society to protect children. Members of the family and community tried to play their part in safeguarding the children ... with a frustrating outcome."

Cantrill said by 1997 there was a substantial picture in place that should have reflected in action being taken. "Even though some professionals were afraid of the father they left the children with him," she added.

• Crime
• Child protection

Helen Carterguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Dante's Inferno (Video Game)
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Buy new: $36.99
22 used and new from $34.98
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First tagged "video games" by Natacon "Natacon"
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Uh, whoa. When we heard Google's threatened pullout of China had prompted Motorola to seek out an alternative search provider for its China-bound handsets, we can't say we were expecting a partnership with Microsoft and Bing to result. But here we are, staring at a press release announcing the Bing search and Maps will be the default on Moto's Chinese Android phones starting in Q1 -- and the partnership is described as "global," so there's a chance it could spread.. That's just one more slap in Google's face from Moto, following the release of the Yahoo-powered AT&T Backflip -- and another step away from the tight relationship with Google that produced the Droid. And does this mean Motorola might yet build a Windows Phone 7 Series device, despite a very public commitment to Android? We'd say Eric and Sanjay have some unresolved differences to work through.Motorola partners with Microsoft, will use Bing search and maps on Chinese Android phones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


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Unreal Engine 3 on the iPhone ... it looked better in person!
While we've yet to see Unreal Engine 3 ported to Nintendo's Wii or Sony's PSP, Epic did undertake the considerable task of squeezing its seemingly ubiquitous middleware platform onto Apple's similarly ubiquitous iPhone. According to Epic's Josh Adams - Epic Games' senior console programmer - that could be due to fundamental hardware limitations in the other platforms. You see, the iPhone 3GS has a PowerVR SGX graphics processor which supports programmable shaders. According to Adams, "Programmable shaders are something UE3 is pretty much dependent on."

Though you're probably most familiar with Unreal Engine on Windows, Xbox 360, and PS3, Adams says the engine also runs on Nvidia's Tegra 2 platform, on Linux, and on Mac, though (Adams notes) "we haven't shipped any games on those platforms yet." Adams says the iPhone port was "a fun 'Can we get UE3 onto the iPhone?' kind of project." Though Adams' presentation was exceptionally technical - this is the Game Developers Conference, after all! - it's fascinating to hear about the technical underpinnings and workflows that result in this type of outcome.

Continue reading GDC: This is what Unreal Engine 3 on iPhone looks like

GDC: This is what Unreal Engine 3 on iPhone looks like originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chilean tycoon Sebastian Pinera will be sworn in as president, with a major post-earthquake rebuilding effort ahead of him.

Chilean tycoon Sebastian Pinera will be sworn in as president, with a major post-earthquake rebuilding effort ahead of him.

Nomar Garciaparra is going back to play with the Red Sox, but also announces his retirement from baseball.

Plans for a new high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham are to be published by the government later.

Plans for a new high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham are to be published by the government later.

Uh, whoa. When we heard Google's threatened pullout of China had prompted Motorola to seek out an alternative search provider for its China-bound handsets, we can't say we were expecting a partnership with Microsoft and Bing to result. But here we are, staring at a press release announcing the Bing search and Maps will be the default on Moto's Chinese Android phones starting in Q1 -- and the partnership is described as "global," so there's a chance it could spread. That's just one more slap in Google's face from Moto, following the release of the Yahoo-powered AT&T Backflip -- and another step away from the tight relationship that produced the Droid. And does this mean Motorola might yet build a Windows Phone 7 Series device, despite a very public commitment to Android? We'd say Eric and Sanjay have some unresolved differences to work through.

Motorola partners with Microsoft, will use Bing search and maps on Chinese Android phones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ben Greenman invents the 3*TYPE 3*TYPE process, saves text-based media from ignominious death death....

China’s lending fell in February after the government told banks to limit credit growth and raised reserve requirements.

Credit to Ring of Honor, the professional wrestling promotion, for embracing the Internet era. The promotion has launched a new download store that makes its extensive video library only a $10 download away. A legal download, mind you. It’s all a fan could ever ask for.

The process is pretty easy. You visit the Web site, add the video of your choice—I selected Joe vs. Punk II, from October, 2004 (which received a 5-star rating from The Wrestling Observer newsletter)—then buy via PayPal. A link then appears in the Account area of the Web site. In there is a link to a plain ol’ ISO that you then download at your leisure. The servers don’t seem to be too beefy since the download is running only at around 300 KB/s right now (6:30pm). Still, it’s quite a bit faster than waiting for a plastic disc to arrive in the mail.

It should also be noted that Ring of Honor regularly hosts Internet pay-per-view events, including one on April 3. So, “figures out the Internet” may be a bit harsh.

Companies like Ring of Honor have been fighting piracy for quite some time. There’s a couple fairly high profile BitTorrent sites that specialize in professional wrestling, and their DVDs are often ripped and posted and as soon as they’re released. It’s one thing to download a WWE DVD rip, where the company makes millions of dollars every year, but smaller guys like Ring of Honor truly do get hurt every time you fire up uTorrent. (Not to justify downloading WWE DVDs, of course.) But giving people an easy-to-use, inexpensive, and legal method to access their video library is to be commend, and it probably should have happened sooner.

I’d much rather be given the option of paying $10 for an ISO than having to sift my way through this or that torrent site, worrying about whether or not there’s a seeder in the swarm.

Carlos Slim Helu takes No. 1 spot on Forbes World's Billionaires list as a record 164 10-figure titans return to the ranking amid the global economic recovery.

Food is sustenance; it provides necessary nutrients to sustain life and, when done right, it can be a gratifying gustatory experience. Unfortunately, far too often, food can also just make you sick -- or worse. More than four in 10 Americans say they've become ill during the past two years because of something they've eaten.

After slamming South Park in defense of his carrot-topped brethren on YouTube to the tune of nearly four million views, the famous "Gingers do have souls" kid has now been immortalized by the very show he claims to hate in this preview clip from South Park's upcoming 14th season.

Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan’s biggest brokerage, hired David Puritz, head of U.S. convertible bond trading at Deutsche Bank AG, to run the business in New York, two people familiar with the situation said.

China’s inflation reached a 16- month high, industrial output climbed and new loans exceeded forecasts, adding to the case for the government to pare back stimulus measures.

The Secret Origin of Windows, recollections of the development and release of Windows 1.0 and 2.0 by its project manager Tandy Trower (via)

Shinsei Bank Ltd., the Japanese lender backed by U.S. investor Christopher Flowers, may abandon its merger with Aozora Bank Ltd. and instead raise 75 billion yen ($830 million) selling shares, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Among the titles for the PS3's Move motion controller being shown off at the Game Developers Conference today is Sports Champions, a very familiar sounding casual sports title. More »
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While Ngmoco has emerged as one of the iPhone's top original developers, they've also lost a lot of fans by sticking with a model they call "freemium," even to the detriment of some of their most popular games.

Looking on the bright side about a dead-end job can kill your drive to find a new one.

A Georgian woman is claiming to be the oldest person in the world. Her birth documents show that she was born on July 8 1880 and will turn 130 this summer.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Motorola Inc has reached a deal with Microsoft Corp that will put Bing search and mapping services on its phones that use Google's Android operating system.

Inside you will find a nice three image gallary showcasing the Playstation Move as well as the Playstation Move sub controller. They look like nice pieces of durable hardware as you would expect!

A new study from security firm Barracuda Labs provides some interesting insights into the state of the Twitterverse. Unfortunately for the microblogging startup, the stats say that most of its users aren’t very active.

The study looked at around 19 million Twitter accounts (PDF) in order to figure out how people are using Twitter. It started with one assumption: an active or “True” Twitter user has at least 10 followers, follows at least 10 people, and had tweeted at least 10 times. By that definition though, only 21% of Twitter users are active users.

There’s a great deal of interesting data in the breakdown. Only 26% of Twitter users had 10 followers or more by December 2009, while only 40% were following 10 people or more (in fact, a majority of Twitter users, 51%, were following less than five people).

In terms of tweets, the report estimates that 34% of Twitter users hadn’t tweeted even once, while a whopping 73% of Twitter’s users tweeted less than 10 times. That means nearly all of the tweets on the social network were coming from about 1/4 of the userbase. Power users dominate.

Barracuda Labs also analyzed Twitter’s growth over time, and the numbers are consistent with previous reports that show while Twitter grew like wildfire in early 2009, it has dramatically slowed down in recent months. Going back further to early 2008, the report estimates that the microblogging tool grew by just 0.31%. However, with the quick rise of media coverage and the influx of celebrities such as Oprah and Shaq, Twitter use grew by 20% in April 2009 before dropping off to 0.34% growth in December 2009.

While the news isn’t stellar, it isn’t all bad for Twitter — these metrics are moving in the right direction. A full 79% of users had less than ten tweets in June 2009, but that number dropped to 73% by December. 80% of users had less than 10 followers in June 2009, but that percentage dropped to 74% by December. If that trend continues, you’ll hopefully see a more diverse and active Twitterverse going forward.

[via MediaMemo]

Tags: Barracuda Labs, followers, stats, twitter

My friend Eric Hoberman helped develop a new game show that will premiere on NBC on Sunday March 14 from 7-9 p.m. ET/PT. It's called Minute To Win It, and the object is to win a series of 10 easy-to-understand but increasingly-hard-to-win challenges. As the title suggests, the players must successfully complete each of the games in a minute. The award structure is like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire -- the cash amount increases with each game up to a million dollars, you can walk away with what you've won at any point, and you can lose it all if you blow a challenge. Eric gave me a box of props so I could try out the games myself. The show's contestants are also given props and rules for the games before they come on the show so they can practice. The props are household items -- golf balls, cookies, a deck of cards. Here are a few of the challenges contestants will have 60 seconds to complete: · Move two Oreo cookies from your forehead to your mouth using your facial muscles only. (I failed!) · Stack three golf balls vertically. (I failed!) · Balance a deck of playing cards on a soda bottle and blow all the cards off but the bottom one, the joker. (I failed!) · A dollar bill is sandwiched between two bottles, one upright, the other inverted and placed on top of the upright bottle. You have four tries to remove the bill without touching or toppling the bottles. (Success!) I'm interested to know if anyone can successfully complete the tasks I failed at. If you make a YouTube of it, please provide the link so we can watch it! Minute to Win it site on NBC...

Over the last six months, doubleTwist, the iTunes alternative that lets you manage your music, videos, and photos, has really been stepping up its game. In October the company integrated an Amazon-powered MP3 store, allowing users to download and sync their music directly with any of hundreds of compatible devices, much as they would with the iTunes/iPod combo. And today it’s adding a new feature that makes it an even more viable iTunes competitor: support for podcasts.

Co-founder Monique Farantzos says that doubleTwist has built and integrated a podcast search engine with 20 times as many podcasts as iTunes offers. Rankings are based on popularity (as opposed to a simple listing that would grow unmanageable with that much content). The new feature is launching on Windows now, with Mac support for podcasts coming next month.  Later this year, doubleTwist will offer an API allowing other applications to tap into the podcast search engine.  The company is also planning to launch a client for Android (which would presumably allow users to stream content) over the summer.

Farantzos says that doubleTwist is also going to start offering more cloud-based services. In May, users will be able to store the podcasts they’re subscribed to server-side, so they’d be able to use the same subscriptions on their desktop and mobile clients without having to dock them together.

While it supports many devices, doubleTwist is becoming increasingly popular as an ‘iTunes for Android’. In January, it forged a partnership with T-Mobile, which promotes doubleTwist and has pre-installed it on some devices. Now, 53% of doubleTwist users are using it to sync with Android phones. The application also supports syncing with many other devices, including WebOS, BlackBerry, Sony PSP, and digital cameras.

doubleTwist is still missing some of the functionality that iTunes has, like the ability to download TV shows and movies. But the podcast functionality will add some video content, and 1 in 5 users are using it to manage video content they already have.  And some people may even appreciate the added simplicity if they’re just interested in music. In any case, it probably isn’t worth holding your breath for doubleTwist to add movies and TV downloads any time soon — content owners are still set on wrapping them in DRM.

Also see Songbird, another iTunes alternative (you can see our past coverage here).

CrunchBase InformationdoubleTwistInformation provided by CrunchBase

Originally designed for an Experimental Gameplay Project challenge themed around offering the “bare minimum,” Canabalt was a breakout hit in the 99 cents, top ten-orientated iPhone games space despite being priced controversially at $2.99 and never getting higher than 36 in the charts.

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