Quote:
Originally Posted by ntluser
The sad lesson from all this is that the Government has still not learned that prevention is better than cure.
Their lack of a hard-line policy on crime from the time they took power has meant that increasingly criminals feel they can commit a crime and get away with it.
Some of the penalties given out e.g 10 weeks in prison are derisory, very similar to the light sentences given to the corrupt MPs.The Welsh have the right idea. They fine you £400 for dropping litter not the pathetic £50 charged in England.
The government is totally out of touch with the feelings of the public and the feelings of anger experienced by retailers whose businesses have been destroyed by the rioters.
We now have policing and punishment to a price not to a standard. Despite the government's view, prison does work because it keeps yobs like that away from law-abiding people who want to get on with their lives and prevents them from doing expensive damage.
The government say the police have all the tools they need but it's evident that they are not using them and seem to have no effective tactical plan for dealing with large mobs.
It's time to bring back National Service in a phased way and to pay the unemployment benefit of unemployed youths directly to the armed forces who will given them food and meals, a roof over their head, a job and training not to mention foreign travel. The armed forces may not like it but they will get the additional funds they need to maintain their services. It might also show our errant youth how lucky they are to live in a relatively democratic society like ours.
The idea could be extended with unemployment benefit could be paid directly to other businesses willing to take on workers.Just merely expecting the private sector to do it all is pathetic. Direct government action is needed and those on benefit need to earn it by being in a job or training.
Many of our society's ills can be designed away by good strategic planning and creativity and it's about time the government started listening to the public because if they don't the people will be electing a government that does.
This government is displaying too many lapses in judgement and that does not bode well for them or us.That needs to change and we need a government that is more pro-active and ahead of the game.
Only time will tell if that happens.
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I'm not sure HMG is totally out of touch although there is certainly an element of that. Some of these people have now seen the riots very close to them/theirs so I dare say they're a bit less out of touch now than they might have been. I think the main problem is HMG has taken it's eye off the ball when it comes to the gradual process through which rights have replaced responsibilities. Certain groups have become accustomed to getting what they want without having to earn or even deserve it. Then there's the creeping paralysis of the police and the legal system which has been going on for some time and which has got us to the point where they're so uncertain about what to do they do nothing for long periods. Yes, the laws are there but the interpretation of those laws and sentencing so often now seems to favour the guilty over the innocent.
I heard Sir Hugh Orde this morning and I must say I wasn't left feeling very confident about what he was saying about the new 'robust' approach we're supposed to be implementing and the use of other means by which to handle these disturbances. It seemed to me that he was pretty much saying the tried and tested UK policing model had worked and didn't need to be reformed. Well excuse me but it hasn't seemed to be working very well for much of the past week and if people like him can't accept that then I fear we're in real trouble. If that's 'working' I'd hate to see policing which isn't working.
I also heard another police officer commenting on vigilantism during a TV news programme last night. He was warning people not to do it and asking them leave it all to the police but couldn't really answer they other interviewee (who'd been out with his neighbours to defend their property) when he pointed out the police just weren't there! The officer made a rather silly point IMHO when he suggested that a group of 'vigilantes' like his would be just as frightening to members of the public as groups of rioters. I really don't think that's very likely. For one thing they obviously weren't hooded/masked teenagers carrying weapons of all descriptions and they weren't clearly engaging in wanton destruction or seeking out trouble.
---------- Post added at 10:56 ---------- Previous post was at 10:55 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierre
Problem is, there could be full scale carnage and destruction in Wales.................and no one would notice.
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but those who did notice would blame it all on the English...
