Technology being used to catch paedophiles

In a story put out today by Police Information, it seems as some IT boffins are working on ways to determine the age and gender of someone merely by the way they type:

Paedophiles who use the internet to groom vulnerable youngsters could be identified by the way they type on a keyboard. Computer tracking experts at a Brit university have been looking at ways to determine a typists age, sex and culture in just ten keystrokes. This would enable computer companies to identify whether an adult is intruding on a child's conversation.

Full story can be found here

Some clever stuff which I assume began with someone just having an idea. 

Local Innovation Awards Scheme winners

Lots of good ideas here - of where local innovation is making a difference to the lives of local people:

• Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council - Building economic resilience
• Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council - Taking control of care
• Sunderland City Council - Policing our communities together
• Northumberland Council - Keeping children and young people safe in the community
• Northumberland Council - Achieving more through partnerships
• Halton Borough Council - Bright Ideas: Priory Brewery and Refectory
• Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service - Bright Ideas: promoting healthy eating
• Northumberland Council - Bright Ideas: carers as expert care partners
• Northumberland Council - Bright Ideas: strengthening families

The links to all the projects and more information - can be found here

But here is a challenge for next year:

Tackling challenging community issues using talents across the generations: The evaluators did not shortlist any of the applications in this theme.

Buying with confidence in Tameside

Neat idea from Tameside Council to support local traders & the economy whilst simultaneously protecting local consumers:

Tameside Trading Standards has launched their Buy With Confidence approved trader scheme to support legitimate businesses and to protect the residents of Tameside from the rogue trader. The scheme has 100 businesses/traders on the list but is expected to increase very quickly to become a comprehensive directory of reliable, trusted traders. All members are independently checked by staff from Trading Standards for compliance with the letter and spirit of the law and will benefit from positive publicity... More here

Should all local councils be doing this?