Reality Hits Home

From the desk of The Brussels Journal on Mon, 2007-08-20 09:37

A quote from Andrew Anthony in The Observer, 19 August 2007

In the 10 years between 1995 and 2005, serious woundings rose by 50 per cent in England and Wales. And it is estimated that up to 70 per cent of violent crime goes unreported. Perhaps this is because victims have little confidence in gaining justice, as the conviction rate for these crimes has been falling. According to Home Office figures for 2006, only 9.7 per cent of all 'serious woundings' reported to the police led to a successful conviction. For robberies the figure is 8.9 per cent and for rape, it's 5.5 per cent. […]

Aside from an increase in police numbers and extension of security measures such as, for example, CCTV cameras, there has been a significant expansion in new laws. By some reckoning more than 3,000 new criminal offences have been made into law during New Labour's terms in office. The creation of law appears to have been confused with the maintenance of social order, as if changing the laws somehow automatically changed attitudes. Criminalising behaviour, however, does not necessarily discourage that behaviour. Indeed, the opposite may in fact be true. The more laws there are, the more the criminal authorities have to work to enforce them. Conversely, if they fail to enforce the law, the less respect there is both for the flouted law and the law in general. The rule of law is therefore not always best served by its extension.

re:atheling

Submitted by Amsterdamsky on Tue, 2007-08-21 16:27.

"Why didn't you report this to the media? "

 

I was 17 and nobody seemed to really care.  Seems to be very common in the US, UK and Scotland.  Truly a really shitty place to grow up.  Unicef was completely accurate in their report rating the UK and US as the worst place in the developed world for children.  One of the reasons I don't live there anymore.

US cops only good at picking up dead bodies

Submitted by Amsterdamsky on Tue, 2007-08-21 08:54.

"

Please show stats or examples for the US where cops don't "care" or don't "enforce" the law against men "in the evening"."

 

I was assaulted there by a bunch of assholes who saw me on the street, jumped out of a car kicked the crap out me and I spent the night in the hospital.  The police did not even take a report or lift a finger to attempt to apprehend my assailants  Fuck the US.  I know personally of two other examples. Scotland seems to have even a higher rate of random assault.

@Amsterdamsky

Submitted by atheling on Tue, 2007-08-21 16:05.

Why didn't you report this to the media? They would have loved to expose the cops. After all, it's their job to paint our police and soldiers in as bad light as possible. [/sarc]

PS- you sure it wasn't about a drug deal gone wrong?

Prison Population

Submitted by Amsterdamsky on Mon, 2007-08-20 14:29.

"Why not, you just have to look at population in prisons.
"

 

Now that would be an effective argument I think.  My point is that in the US and UK I just don't believe cops enforced or even cared much about assault against men especially in the evening.  Your fault of course if you get assaulted. You must have been asking for it.  Most were not even reported.  Police are much too busy with parking tickets and arresting teenagers with bad haircuts.

@Amsterdamsky

Submitted by atheling on Mon, 2007-08-20 15:29.

"assault against men especially in the evening"??? Why the evening?

Please show stats or examples for the US where cops don't "care" or don't "enforce" the law against men "in the evening".

Sounds a little ridiculous.

"Any attempt to tie the

Submitted by Geraldo on Mon, 2007-08-20 12:20.

"Any attempt to tie the increase to recent immigration probably would not hold up to serious analysis even if true."

Why not, you just have to look at population in prisons.

It happens in every country of Europe, there is an exponential rise in crime wich causes are well known but who dare to say that is adjectived the way all we know.

Fun with data

Submitted by Amsterdamsky on Mon, 2007-08-20 10:19.

"In the 10 years between 1995 and 2005, serious woundings rose by 50 per cent in England and Wales. And it is estimated that up to 70 per cent of violent crime goes unreported. "

Or the police don't care. I doubt most assaults are were reported with any kind of regularity so take the increase with a grain of salt. England and Scotland are incredibly violent places in my opinion. Any attempt to tie the increase to recent immigration probably would not hold up to serious analysis even if true.