Mexico takes a stand on crime, with mass anti-crime rallies

Hundreds of thousands of Mexican citizens took a stand on crime by attending mass demonstrations on crime, in a series of protests, dressed in white and silently carrying a candle, they protested to put pressure on the Government to take a tougher stance on crime. The full BBC stor can be found here, complete with a video.

What is Britishness?

I think 'Britishness' is quite easy to define - it is the sense of community in the face of adversity the country used to display.
Britishness is knocking on a neighbours door if they haven't taken the paper in for a couple of days. It is helping others out if they have a crisis, it is volunteering for a good cause. It is teaching your children respect for others person and property. It is keeping a public stiff upper lip and not going on Jeremy Kyle and washing your dirty laundry in public, it is caring if people are abusing children, animals and vulnerable people. It is stopping to help push a car, or offering a neighbour a lift home at the bus stop when they have been shopping.
It has nothing to do with colour or creed, class or education. We were a great nation because that community spirit once existed.

Society

Much is being made of the global recession and credit crunch, as it is financially affecting most families in the UK, with fuel, food and other goods being more expensive, topped by the rise in utility bills. It is more difficult to get a mortgage or loan at the present time.
In the last decade or so, credit has been so easily obtainable that the culture of saving up for luxury items has become almost non existent. Nothing really, has a value any more - if it can be replaced straight away, then it doesn't matter if it is not treated with respect.
This can sadly also be attributed to other values. Our society has become morally bankrupt. Respect used to exist within families and within the system - respect for parents, authority figures and for peers. This has almost been eradicated. The family unit is no longer strong, with both parents being forced to work, there are no role models at home, which in the first few years helps build character in a child which should reinforce them throughout their life. Even single parents have felt forced by the Government to go back to the workplace. Both parents and schools have been forced to look at how to discipline children, and to be honest - nothing seems to work (the threat of a smack was enough a couple of generations ago, but this is no longer admissible).

And this week.................

A man was kicked and punched by 3 "men" after he refused a request to give one of them a cigarette. The full story can be found here. He is now in a drug induced coma in intensive care.
Reminiscent of a case in Bristol where a man died after a man jumped out of a car and punched him in the head and he fell.
Well, this is a week the UK can again be proud of, isn't it?
If you look at both links and have any information, ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Sick Bastards

I do not usually reproduce an article in full on this Blog but here goes...........

Rabbit torture filmed on mobile

A drunken Darlington teenager has admitted smashing a rabbit against a wall while her friend filmed the attack on a mobile phone.

The 14-year-old swung the pet by its ears and its skull could be heard cracking on the footage. It died later.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had drunk three litres of wine and claimed the four-month-old rabbit had bitten her.

She admitted cruelty and was given a referral order for 10 months.

A 17-year-old youth admitted a charge of aiding and abetting the girl to cause unnecessary suffering.

He will be sentenced at South Durham Youth Court, sitting in Bishop Auckland, in September.

The court heard how the girl was babysitting at a house in Darlington when she was egged on by her friends to abuse the family pet by smashing it against a wall four times.

'Extremely remorseful'

A 30-second video was then sent to several other people via Bluetooth.

The RSPCA has been unable to establish who filmed the incident.

Lucy Shuttleworth, defending the girl, said the animal's owner had already carried out her own "justice" and had been given a six month conditional discharge by magistrates for assaulting the teenager.

Ms Shuttleworth said: "She deeply regrets it and is extremely remorseful for what she has done."

'Absolutely horrendous'

Mr Abbott told the girl: "In my time as a magistrate, which is now 18 years, I heard never heard anything like this.

"The bench felt very strongly. If you are capable of doing this to animals, what else are you capable of?"

The referral order means the girl will have to be monitored by a youth offender team for 10 months in an effort to reform her behaviour.

The court also banned the girl from keeping animals for five years and ordered her mother to pay £455 prosecution costs.

RSPCA Inspector Mark Gent said: "This is the worst case of wilful animal cruelty I have seen in my career.

"What that rabbit went through was absolutely horrendous."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/7572705.stm

Published: 2008/08/20 15:30:54 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

Remorseful??????? After bluetoothing it to all their friends?????????????

Part 2......

Following on from the last article, a former Police Officer was arrested in Northumberland for standing up to a bunch of yobs, hot on the heels of last months appeal from the Chief Constable of the same force asking the public to challenge rowdy behaviour.
The former Police Officer had his life threatened by 12 male youths who were throwing cans at cars, and he was later locked up for 2 hours in the cells on suspicion of assault. It took 2 months to be told no charges were to be forthcoming.
Yet another reason not to put yourself at risk!

More reason not to confront antisocial behaviour head on

Following a man being sprayed in the face with pepper spray and threatened with a knife, a woman was thrown onto rail tracks after she asked 2 men not to smoke at a train station (story here)
There are ways of taking a stand against crime and antisocial behaviour without putting yourself at risk. Crime and ASB can be reported anonymously and the onus is on the criminal justice system to put every available tool in place to protect witnesses and victims. Lobbying to make sure this happens is the best proactive action the public can take.
People are voted into public office to represent the views of the law abiding decent people who reside in this once great country - So take a stand and demand (in a lawful and peaceful manner) that they do the job they were elected to do and listen to overriding public opinion.

Youth Gangs in London

A 13 year old was arrested for weapons offences after Police found a gun along with 2 silencers and 20 bullets in the stairwell of his home, the full story can be found here. It appears the Baikal is the weapon de jour for today's teenage gang members in Inner City Britain, with a 17 and an 18 year old being killed this year in London with this gun.

Brown calls for Communities to rally against knife crime

Yesterday, Gordon Brown called for communities to rally against knife crime, the article can be found here.
An injection of money into community groups and non-profits perhaps would facilitate the message being taken out to the public in a safe and proactive way, also making community education more freely available.
Communities need to address such issues with input from agencies as a one size fits all approach will never work. More money needs to be available for funding projects to work holistically with at risk groups.
I would also venture to suggest, the reason some communities are not taking a proactive stand against crime and antisocial behaviour, is that when individuals try to make a difference, the law lets them down with weak and ineffectual sentencing - and it is difficult to access support from overstretched agencies while trying to take a stand.
I have attended respect events and what horrifies me is that these brave members of the community who have stood up to the bullies and criminals, have been forced to relocate because of ongoing harassment.

No Charge!

According to an article in today's Bristol Evening Post, over a 3 month period half of the youths caught in possession of a knife were not charged. The article can be found here. With the current campaigning and public outrage about knife crime and the senseless loss of life, it seems quite ineffectual that harsher sentencing is not being carried out, at least charge those in possession of an offensive weapon.

Code of Practice Setting Out Victims Rights

Here is a link to your rights if you are the victim of a crime. Make sure your rights are upheld by the authorities dealing with you or your family.

Too Soft on Gun Crime

Today, the Weston-super-Mare Mercury reported that a man who terrorised a 13 year old boy with a gun and punched him to the ground, escaped a jail sentence.
How on earth are we supposed to make a difference and sort out the knife and gun culture in this country if custodial sentences are not given out.
The mitigation in this case was that the offender hadn't realised his victim was only 13 years old and that the offender was working long hours.
I expect this will be a comfort to a 13 year old who will probably bear the mental scars for the rest of his life.

Offenders Escaping Court

Magistrates and Solicitors warned in an article published today by the Telegraph that many offenders are escaping court because of Police targets (whole story here)
The consensus of opinion seems to be that Police Officers are handing out fixed penalty notices and cautions for crimes that should require proper sentencing such as ABH resulting in the victim needing medical attention and stitches.

Crime Maps

Ever wondered what goes on in your street?
With new sharing of information you could be appraised of every crime that occurs. A google map could soon be available to residents mapping out every offence that takes place in the area you live.
Critics are already predicting these statistics could be used by criminals to target vulnerable area and by insurance companies to put premiums up. There is a link here to the article in today's Telegraph.
Four Police Force areas are publishing similar information on line now including North Yorkshire and West Midlands. The consensus in some circles is, that unless these statistics are being used to make the Police accountable to the public, they are of little value.
Perhaps in conjunction with PACT (Police and Communities Together - where priorities are set by the public) these statistics could be invaluable, as at present - there can be an issue with the way PACT is administered, because the areas with the strongest resident participation are setting all the priorities, and sometimes this means that a homogenised view of crime or antisocial behaviour leads to the less serious aspects of nuisance being tackled rather than the grass root causes. For example if a local park have a strong committee, a priority may be set to move Youths on if they are drinking in the parks in the evening. This leads to another area without the strength of participation having the problem moved into their area.
PACT needs to be developed, so it outreaches into the general population, and there needs to be a much wider net cast to catch feedback from all groups in the communities, especially the historically harder to reach groups.

Youths Fear Knife Crime

In a report commissioned by BBC London, 55% of young people polled in Brent, Croydon, Hackney, Lambeth, and Southwark. said they fear becoming victims of knife crime, the full report can be found here. So far this year 21 teenagers have died in violent circumstances in England's Capital City.
In the same poll last year fear of crime was much lower.

REVIEW OF RIPA ORDERED

In an article today, the Telegraph have reported Gordon Brown has ordered a review into the use of Ripa (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act) because local authorities have been abusing the system. It is estimated there have been 10,000 cases where Ripa has been used to snoop on low level offences such as under age smoking, dog fouling and other such issues. Here is a link to the Home Office which goes into more detail about Ripa.

RADICAL SHAKE UP OF MURDER LAWS

Men who kill their partners will no longer be able to claim provocation, under a shake up of UK law it was reported today in the Telegraph. Around a hundred men a year kill their partners and use defences such as nagging, unfaithfulness and provocation such as failing to cook meals. It was also noted in this report that it was easier for men to use this as a defence than women who kill their partners.
Domestic violence is horrific, and not only constrained to men offending against women, it can happen in same sex relationships and women offending against men, although, unfortunately there is a stigma attached to reporting this crime so the true scope of this problem cannot be guessed, although the Home Office thinks it affects 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men during their lifetime.
If any readers, male or female, are suffering from domestic violence, whether it is physical, mental or financial, please ask for help and support........ There are lots of organisations out there who will support you.
Updated here, 29/07/08

KNIFE CRIME AGAIN

The link here will take you to an article in the Times where 4 young offenders who are currently jailed for knife offences are interviewed about their crime. They actually talk of their experience of prison as being positive and how they wish to improve their lives when released. Perhaps in the current climate of people standing together to help stamp out knife crime, something may be achieved.
Sign petitions, join campaigns, lobby Parliament - do whatever you can to take a stand against this type of crime. If you are a parent or teacher, let children know the implications of carrying a knife or other weapon. Make them aware of the sorrow families feel at losing a loved one in such a tragic manner.

BACK TO WORK PLANS

Today a Government plan was unveiled to make community work mandatory for thousands in receipt of benefits. Unemployed for a year? Then work for 4 weeks in your community carrying out chores such as graffiti removal and litter picking - Unemployed for 2 years? It becomes full time. This hot on the heels of a Guardian interview today which predicts hundreds of thousands of job losses due to the current recession. (I wonder if high ranking city workers will be subject to the same penalties?)
The third sector (non-profit) are always crying out for volunteers. It is almost impossible to volunteer full time if you are in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance, or seek to improve your employment prospects with full time education. Perhaps it is time for a new benefit to be offered?
With claimants opting in for a period of a year (with an option to extend at the Benefit Agencies discretion) where the claimant either opts to work or study full time, as this would improve long term back to work prospects with a better salary.

Witness Protection Bill

Today an emergency witness protection bill was rushed through both houses as a stopgap until the law is amended. The full story can be read here.
In some cases of antisocial behaviour as well as crime, intimidation and fear of reprisal makes it very difficult to encourage people living with ASB to officially report it to the correct authorities. It is easy to ask the public to take a stand, but more difficult to provide a service that keeps witnesses free from intimidation and threat 24 hours a day.
I have attended events where the public have been rewarded for having the courage of their convictions and have stood up to people who make their and other peoples lives a misery, but sadly, in many of those cases the recipients of the awards have had had to move for their own safety. Justice needs to be swift and punitive for offences of this type, with no social reports taken into account to ensure more lenient sentencing.
There are more tools than ever to help facilitate this, but we still need more Police and a quicker turnaround from the courts. We also need more services to offer support through this stressful time. If anyone reading this Blog needs support because of antisocial behaviour click here.