Have you seen the Mail on Sunday today? The Met have apparently been issued a card with 'help' on how to deal with offenders committing offences against the peace. This card apparently comes from a department that deals with civil actions taken against the Met. Basically it is 'LITIGATION LIMITATION' yet again.
The trouble is that courts more and more listen to the sob stories of offenders and believe what they say. What is worse, this sometimes leads to the 'offenders' getting compensation from the police.
If magistrates went out on a late shift with police officers once in a while, they would see what our country has come down to. And a lot of the fault is their making by being too lenient. I am aware their hands are often tied by policy. There is no discipline any more. It all started when you could no longer shout at people without being accused of common assault. Well, they have now got the result of their soft policies, a youth culture that on occasions is out of control and has no respect for authority for the teachers, parents and general public, let alone the police. What is more, they seem to have very little self respect either. It is sad, kids often respond well to a little bit of discipline, they know where the boundaries are. Now we have very few boundaries, and if you cross one it is no big deal!
What is interesting, if you park your car illegally and you get a parking ticket from the local council parking enforcement team, you have no right to take it to a magistrate as you once did. The case is decided by the council. The irony is that for being one minute late returning to your car can cost you £60 with little or no accountability from the council, yet it appears you may be able to swear at a police officer in public and be allowed to go unchallenged by the law.
One way to stop police forces being sued by the public is to have no police officers, that would work. The day police officers were told to deal with the public as 'customers' was the start of the trouble. How can you keep your customers happy when you are responsible for bringing them to justice when they break the law. Most people who break the law have no regard for those they affect when they do so, and, what is more, they are never going to be HAPPY when they get caught. The law abiding citizens are the customers. It isn't the police that the courts let down when they pass bad decisions, it is the public.
As far as the discount tarrif for guilty pleas is concerned, I was the aggrieved in a case of attempted burglary. The case lingered on for nearly two years. Three of the offenders eventually pleaded guilty. The last messed us around for months. We had to cancel a holiday for a Crown Court warning as the case unit messed up, only for the case to be yet again adjourned. In the end all the prosecution witnesses turned up at Crown Cour in besy bib & tucker to give evidence. The briefs had a chat, and, you guessed it, he went guilty. If there is a tarrif system for a guilty plea, the offender knows when he is nicked if he did it or not, the time for a discount on sentencing is if a guilty plea is entered on the first court appearance after they have had the right to consult a brief. After that, if they are found guilty then they should get no time off for a plea. Well, that is my opinion and my rant for today....
