Police could arrest people for minor offences such as daubing graffiti or dropping litter, under government proposals.

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Police could arrest people for minor offences such as daubing graffiti or dropping litter, under government proposals being outlined on Thursday.

― Newshound, Thursday, 12 August 2004 02:53 (twenty-one years ago)

the uk is really becoming a police state

way to go all you assholes who voted for blair

― paladin, Thursday, 12 August 2004 05:23 (twenty-one years ago)

people on the radio this morning pointed out that there's an election around the corner and the government need to be seen to be doing something about crime and that this is it.

"Curiously, there was no great pressure from the police for these reforms" pretty much says it all.

― koogs (koogs), Thursday, 12 August 2004 07:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Every new initiative on crime always targets the most visible and most common crimes, those which many ppl would not consider to be crimes at all. Partly this is because they are the most visible and most common - if you come down hardline on everyone who drops litter, yr litterbug blitz has a visible effect - less litter in the streets so the towns look cleaner. So you can be seen to be making a difference...handy if there's an election round the corner, as Koogs mentioned.

But its also coz targeting the crimes which are truly damaging - rape, murder, armed robbery, possibly heroin and crack cocaine dealing, is both expensive and difficult. Not least because it doesn't matter how draconian you get, you will not deter the ppl who commit these kinds of crimes, whereas you can scare the litterbugs and graffiti daubers into submission if you are hardline enough.

― MarkH (MarkH), Thursday, 12 August 2004 07:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I get really angry about the overzealous use of the ASBO. I was virtually shouting at the TV the other night when they had the item about the kids in Brixham, Devon who were prevented from going down a certain street under the terms of the ASBO. And from what I could make out, it was *all* the kids, not just a certain group who were known to hve caused trouble in the past. And the things that some of the kids had done were so trivial! Hanging around in a graveyard! Underage drinking! And - omigod, kicking a football against the door of a church!

― MarkH (MarkH), Thursday, 12 August 2004 07:27 (twenty-one years ago)

> And the things that some of the kids had done were so trivial! Hanging around in a graveyard! Underage drinking! And - omigod, kicking a football against the door of a church!

but, as has been pointed out several time in the passive-aggressive housemates thread, these things can look trivial when written down when the reality is a lot more threatening. one persons group of boisterous kids is another's screaming teenage horde.

but yes, easy targets on the litter and graffiti (not that i wouldn't appreciate less of each) but the people who applaud these things probably haven't thought it through - more police time taken up doing this stuff (= less time on other stuff), higher council tax payments (because someone's got to pay for it)...

― koogs (koogs), Thursday, 12 August 2004 07:41 (twenty-one years ago)

five years pass...

Fuck it - I wish they would do this, some crappy police state this turned out to be.
I was following these assholes in a car to-day as they proceeded to chuck out the remains of their McDonalds meal. I got ridiculously angry about it (and I mean stupidly cross, disproportionate to the crime) so it would be better for me if these bastards were kept of the street.

― Ned Trifle II, Saturday, 12 December 2009 17:41 (sixteen years ago)

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