MET POLICE 'CBA WITH INVESTIGATING ASSAULT, SHOPLIFTING, GTA & BURGLARIES & MORE'

2017 has been truly loopy and you are 100% forgiven for not being to keep track with all the madness. Today, however, the Met police have made some pretty big changes that I feel we should all be aware of.

"On Monday, it was reported that the UK’s largest force would no longer look into many reports of crimes, including burglaries, thefts and assaults, where there was judged to be little prospect of identifying a suspect."

London's Metropolitan Police announced earlier today that they would be looking to save around £400m on their budget in the next four years as a result of over-spending and immense pressures caused by the current terror threat. Firstly, that's a huge sum. The fact that we're ready to reduce funding for our national/domestic security but happily increase our military budget is beyond crazy.

As a result of these cuts, police will now be investigating far fewer crimes, essentially giving free-reign to some criminals, some think. Nothing's been decriminalised so every crime is still worth it's weight in jail time.. What has changed are attitudes towards certains crimes, with less time being spent on the investigations of them.

Police will now be looking into the following a lot less;

- shoplifting

- burglaries and thefts

- assault (where the attacker isn't instantly idenitfied)

- car crimes

- criminal damage

The deputy commisioner of the Met Police, Mark Simmons said;

“With the pressure on our resources, it is not practical for our officers to spend a considerable amount of time looking into something where, for example, the value of damage or the item stolen is under £50, or the victim is not willing to support a prosecution.

The 'pressure' on their resources that Mr. Simmons is referring to is the supposedly ominous and looming 'terror threat'. 

“We need our officers to be focused on serious crime and cases where there is a realistic chance that we will be able to solve it. We also want them to be available to respond to emergencies and go to those members of the public that need our help the most.” 

He also added;

“Of course, we are not talking about things like homicide, kidnap, sexual offences, hate crime or domestic violence, but the lower level, higher volume offences such as shoplifting, car crime and criminal damage. 

Obviously, he's obliged to say everything he's said above, he has to do a job. However, I'd say that the Met Police are playing a risky game. They are fully aware of the mentalities the 'criminals' they have to deal with on a day-to-day and must surely know that the opportunist mindset of a potential wrong-doer is only going to see this as an opportunity?

This supposed 'let-off' is weirdly coupled with an announcement earlier in the week that the Police would now be looking to clamp down on people for the possession of corrosive acids/liquids in the wake of a recent rise in acid attacks, the most being one in Stratford's old shopping mall. All smells a bit contradictory to me.. 

The police are basically saying they're going to be harder on assault because that's what an acid attack is... at the same time as investigating it less?? I can only think that this will result in more people trying to get away with acid attacks and other assaults if they believe they can remain faceless, resulting in more people from that demographic being jailed. 

The Met are hoping to save this huge some of money over 2020, which is the tiniest bit more encouraging. Imagine if they forecasted themselves a year to save £400m we could be looking at a completely different story. Personally, I hope that these cuts of this nature don't continue. After all we fund the police through tax. If they do continue, we could be looking at a lot more 'leniency' on more severe crimes and that definitely wouldn't be good!

COOL PLACES; HIIT KITCHEN, St. Alban's (x Zachary Ekpe Photography)

All photos are by moi.

Rob (left) & Kris (right)

5/6 weeks ago I was introduced to a new business in Hertfordshire's St. Alban's (25 mins by train from London - St Pancreas International). A funky, fitness bar/cafe called 'HIIT Kitchen' started by Rob Ashman and Kris Tyrell, specialising in healthy, snacks and juices for fitness fans and everyone else.

The lads are about the same age as myself which I love to see and they've succeeded in creating a cool looking place that appeals to everyone at the same time as a specific demographic.

They've since opened and have enjoyed a great start to business! They had me in again yesterday and here are some of the photos I took to help boost their online presence.

Like other locals businesses I've seen birthed in trendy parts of London and it's trendy suburbs this one has bags of potential and you should 100% pop in to try some of their amaaaazing products - you'll be welcomed by an awesome staff and vibe!

Contact

HIIT Kitchen Facebook Page

www.hiitkitchen.co.uk (coming soon)

HIIT Kitchen Insta (soon to be featuring a number of my shots)

Contacte-moi - Facebook - Zachary Ekpe - @zachekpe (Instagram) - zacharyekpe@gmail.com - for bookings & enquiries.

COOL PEOPLE; ELIJAH MUSIC

"My goal in life is to be creative - with absolutely no limits."

The past few weeks have been hectic. I've taken on a number of projects (some of which I will be blogging about) and uni has resumed for the year. I am well and truly up to my neck in work but I've still managed to meet with and get to know some intriguing characters...

The second person I have for you is someone I met in London a few weeks ago now. His name is Elijah and he's a proud north Londoner. He actually approached me in need of a lighter but we soon began exchanging life stories. Elijah (Eli for short) is a second year Fine Art student who aspires to one day live off money made from his art as well as is other passion - music. After meeting we exchanged numbers and plan to stay in touch.

Oh yeah.. he also raps and has dreams of making it in the music industry.. Click here to find Eli's soundcloud and stay tuned he will be uploading some of his new music this week! I've been in a studio session or two with him and boy do I have the utmost confidence in his ability to do well.

I decided to include Elijah in this because he is doing a lot creatively and is letting absolutely nothing and no one tell him otherwise. This is the attitude that everyone should have, whatever you want to do, however it may look to friends, peers & contemporaries.

Your free time is YOURS and though you may not have as much 'leisure time' as a student you still have some so make the most of it.

Age - 19

Full Name - Elijah Brown

A.K.A - Eli

Favourite Colour - Gold.

Favourite Drink - Hennessy & Coke, Pineapple Fanta

Inspiration - His family, especially his dad. Rich The Kid (Eli recommends watching Rich The Kid's semi-recent 'Noisey' documentary - 'Rich The Kid is Rich Forever' for an insight into the rapper and his main inspiration.

Background - Part Brazillian, Part British

Occupation/Hobbies- Student, Model, Rapper, Photopraghy

Dream Job - Rapper, Artist & Model

Location - London

Instagam- @ej.brxwn

Cool Person - #1

Hey, if you didn't read my last post on my upcoming blog series (I forgive you).. and here it is!

Although constant updates on celebs and their lives is entertaining, it really isn't as beneficial as ordinary people connecting with ordinary people. If you know me well then you know I use the term 'cool' broadly - in my world it means 'interesting'. It certainly isn't defined or measured by someone's online presence, although that could be a genuine reflection of someone's 'coolness', I guess? Anyhow, these posts should ideally feature people who:

- have interesting things going on in their lives (could be anything..)

- have had unique, intriuging and thought-provoking life experiences.

As I say, it's important to for ordinary people to connect so that ideas can be shared, relations can be built and prejudice/stereotypes - broken down. Prejudice can be defined as "a preconceived opinion that is not based on actual personal experiences." - learning about others leads to a less judgmental world! Hopefully these posts can inspire different people in multiple ways (fashion, ambitions, work, lifestyle).

The first cool person I'd like to introduce you all too is someone that I've now met on a couple of occasions - both times at fashion-related events and boy does she have style!

 Her name is Emily, she moved to London from Italy and she's determined to make it in the fashion industry as a 'streetwear influencer' (which is pretty self-explanatory), not saying "no" to any modelling opportunities on the way. She strikes a mean pose on her Instagram but in actual fact she is really soft spoken and has an cool Italian twang to her voice. She currently works in and studies fashion in London.

Age - 19

Full Name - Emily O'Donnell

A.K.A - Queen Skally

Favourite Colour - 'Plant Green'

Inspiration - I.D Magazine

Background - Part Italiana, Part Irish

Occupation- Student, Model
Dream Job - Streetwear Influencer

Location - London

Instagam - @emily.j.odonnell

A lot of people like the idea of getting into fashion but it can seem intimidating and opportunities sometimes look out of their reach, but there are loads of routes into the fashion world. Start looking at courses and the requirements of your local college, speak to a teacher or someone you know in the industry. Also.. Check out the ever popular 'Fashion Retail Academy(FRA)' -- who offer LOADS in the way of courses and fashion qualifications.

Thanks for reading  - look out for the next cool person!

COOL PEOPLE

You may have read in my prior post that I am launching a blog series that I hope I stick with forever.. here it is!! After spending an eternity in the brainstorming process I have gone for the name 'cool people' (lol, I know it's rubbish). Cool People will feature a few standard photos of a random individual, some information on them and what they are doing, how I met them and my positive opinion on them and finally.. how to connect with them!

I decided to do this for a number of reasons, I managed to come up with 8 exactly - here they are;

1 - Cool People - I meet so many cool, inspiring people everyday (cool and inspiring in a number of ways..) and I am tired of keeping them a secret. A person doesn't gaq

2 - Consistency - I want to be blogging on a much more regular basis and have been saying so for a long time and have decided that there is no better way of kick-starting this by completely chucking myself in the deep end.

3 - Bye bye poor traits, hellooo portraits - I have formally divorced myself from my old friend 'Laziness' especially in my photography life. I want to be taking a wide range of shots from no onwards, especially portraits!

4 - Life is confusing. - So confusing that it would be good to get some inspiration or reassurance (whatever you need!) from a total stranger.

5 - Similar to '4' - See what people are doing with their lives, how they got to where they are and where they want to end up.

6 - Improved connectivity - I think that something like this on a big scale will improve connectivity and the sharing of ideas among our generation, people who may have never bumped into each other could get in touch with one an other as a result of seeing them on 'cool people' - this isn't a new thing though at all, social networks are kind of already supposed to do this.

7 - Meeting New People - A lot of people worriy about this, maybe learning more about people and realising that they're all fab will help you ease those fears.

8 - Difference - Difference is good, learn about people's difference, understand and love them for their differences (a bit soppy but it's true).

The first of my series will be posted tomorrow at 8pm. Thanks for reading!

COOL EVENTS; LFW - SS'17 (Street Style)

"London Fashion Week (LFW)is a clothing trade show held in London twice each year, in February and September. It is one of the "Big Four" fashion weeks, along with the New York (NYFW), Milan (MFW) and Paris (PFW)." .. Gracias Wiki!

It is now Wednesday and London Fashion Week is well and truly over for the year.

Once again I got myself down to the vibrant centre of London, to connect with new people and take some cool shots in between. I leave LFW with a bag full of business cards, a bulkier personal portfolio, a slightly boosted online presence.. Oo and a big smile on my face!

Over the past few days I have also been brainstorming various ideas for a potential 'blogging series'.. I've trialed many before but haven't had that burning passion for any of them - the burning passion is the key to it's success, I feel. 

Anyway, I will be blogging more about that later. For now, here are some photos from the past 4 or 5 days.

Follow my Instagram for more of my snaps!