THE PUBLIC SPEAKS
COUNT 19
While I agree with your view that our compensation culture will continue
to mushroom unless society changes its attitude, I fear the sentiment is
wishful thinking. Our adoption of the European Convention of Human
Rights spawned a rampant new industry which is relentlessly transforming
our society into one in which the rights of individuals and politically-correct
lobby groups are deemed more important than our traditional cultures and
values.
Personal gain has swept aside the erstwhile virtues of community spirit
and common sense. This damaging legislation has triggered a proliferation
of ambulance-chasing lawyers and civil liberties and human rights groups.
Combine this with a judiciary that favours the accused rather than the
victim, ably assisted by our barmy legal aid system, and is it any wonder
that a culture of ‘What’s in it for me?’ is now rife in our society?
Dr R.Piercy,Retford, Notts
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As a a retired police officer with 30 years service in a Midlands Force, I
agree with the contents of the letter sent by PC Norman Brennan to Her
Majesty. For years the Police Service has worked with one hand tied behind
its back. It now works with two hands tied. I sincerely believe that Chief
Constables are afraid to run their respective forces for the benefit of the
people they serve. They are told by the bigwigs at the Home Office (who have probably never walked a beat or patrolled an area) how to do the job.
Morale is probably at rock bottom and my ex-colleagues cannot wait to get
out of a job gone to the dogs. The criminal justice system is a joke.
Magistrates and judges cannot punish criminals as they ought to be
punished, because they are told there aren’t enough prison places. So
crooks are let off with community service orders or with probation –
anything other than a real punishment. Good on you PC Brennan for
standing up and being counted. Unfortunately no one will take a blind bit of
notice until it’s too late.
Linda A. Hicken, by e-mail
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In the past few years I have seen the rise of a disturbing attitude to
victims of crime – that they should just shut up and take it. But why should
law-abiding members of the community be victimised twice, once by the
criminal and again by our legal system, just for trying to uphold the very
laws that are supposed to protect us?
I foresee the day when a woman who has been raped will be arrested for
injuring her attacker while trying in vain to defend herself. If individuals
choose to step outside the law to commit crime, they do not deserve
protection from within the law. And if they sustain injuries while
committing crime – whether from those defending themselves and their
property or just from a rusty nail in a fence – on their own heads be it. I am
neither condoning nor promoting vigilantism, but the letter of the law is
now being used by those breaking the law to kill the spirit of the law, and
this, as well as the criminal, must be stopped.
Name and address supplied
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I note that the Home Office believes that the jail sentences of less than a
year are often ineffective. Its spokesman is also quoted as saying, ‘During a
short prison sentence, virtually nothing constructive can be done with an
offender’.
In reply I’d like to say that at least something constructive will have been
done, both for the general public and, above all, for the victim of the
offence!
The latter will have seen the offender put safely away and unable to
commit another crime, at least for the duration of the sentence. If, however,
the offender is not imprisoned, there is a very strong possibility of them
reoffending and their previous victim feeling even more at risk.
The time has now come to give more support to the victims, whose needs
have been seriously neglected for too many years.
Robin Rae, Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire
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LETTER TO HM THE QUEEN - APRIL 2004
May it please Your Majesty – I am writing to you as a serving police officer
of 25-years and director of the Victims of Crime Trust. When I was growing
up, I wanted to do a job where I could benefit society in a positive way, so
on 25th September I joined the police service. I took an Oath to well and
truly serve my Queen and country and when I first wore my uniform it was
the proudest day of my life.
Twenty-five years on, the Criminal Justice System is in crisis and
spiralling out of control. A view that is not unique to myself, but shared by
many of my colleagues throughout the UK and millions of people in this
country. They have seen the decline in the standards and quality of policing
and the lack of effective action taken against criminals. Consequently, we
now live in a society where law-abiding citizens expect to be mugged,
burgled or have their cars stolen, or worse. I have written to you and your
Government on a number of occasions over the past 12 years highlighting
my concerns about our failing criminal justice system. Sadly, all of my
predictions have come true, including the rise in violent and gun crime. I
would like to reiterate, that if your Government continues muddling
through on its current course, it will destroy the British Police Service and
the Criminal Justice System will collapse. It is clear that the Government
has lost their way on law and order. I am ashamed to say as police officers, we cannot protect and reassure the public in the way we would like, and
therefore we can no longer command the respect and support of the British
public that we once took for granted. I did not join the Police Service to
allow the criminal to win, so I have decided to make a stand. I personally
feel that I must do something about it.
Today, I am using the Victims of Crime Trust 10th Anniversary
Conference to launch a nationwide phone petition under the auspices
‘Voice for Victims, Communities against Crime’. We will be asking the
country to unite with the Trust to ensure that victims of crime and the
safety of society, is the foremost concern of the Criminal Justice System. I
have written to all of your Chief Constables, suggesting ways they too can
help, a copy of which is enclosed. I am presently six months into a year
secondment to the Victims of Crime Trust from the police. I intend to spend
the next six months travelling around the UK, in order to meet with
communities to gather support for the nationwide petition. If after this time
I believe I can once again be proud to wear the uniform I have done for so
long, I will return to join my colleagues in frontline policing. If not, I will
seriously consider resigning from the Police Service.
Your humble servant,
PC NORMAN BRENNAN - Director - Victims of Crime Trust
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I would like to congratulate PC Norman Brennan on his courageous stand
against the rising tide of crime and for his direct appeal to the Queen to save
the justice system from disintegrating. It is said that it takes an ordinary PC
to say that that the law and order system is on the verge of collapse, while
most of his superiors remain silent. It is also said that trying to reverse this
tide will take decades. Crime, in all guises, is now firmly ingrained into the
fabric of our society. That is thanks to the liberalism of the misguided
socialists who have effectively ruled our country for so many years.
Criminals, whether burglars, murderers, benefit fraudsters or con artists,
see easy pickings without very much fear of even being caught, let alone
‘paying’ for their crimes.
So I say good luck to PC Brennan and all that he stands for!
David Heath, Birmingham
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Tony Blair’s vision of Britain is fast becoming a nightmare for all of us.
Seven years of weak government have come at a cost. We have asylum
seekers benefiting from a welfare system funded by the contributions and
taxes of honest, hard-working taxpayers. Human Rights lawyers are earning
huge fees, defending career criminals and illegal immigrants, funded by
legal aid.
What’s more, the UK is a country where an evil Islamic cleric can preach
hatred against the UK and still receive state aid. We have a justice systemthat favours the criminal rather than the victim. And we live in a country
where billions can be found to fund a seemingly unjustified war in Iraq
while health, education and transport struggle for funding.
Peter Watts, Aberdeenshire
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More custodial sentences should be handed out to crooks, after Prof. John
Dilulio calculated that keeping them behind bars saves the country £25K a
year per prisoner. And if this is the case, why is Cherie Blair insisting that
FEWER women should be jailed? Women should not be treated differently
because of their sex. If they commit a crime that warrants it, they deserve to go to prison.
Janet Stringer, Leeds
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Traitor was the only word that entered my mind when I read your story
about the woman in the Immigration Service selling dodgy passports. It’s
utter greed and she should be jailed.
Natalie Branch, Basingstoke
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In response to the letter from Douglas Wathen, I would like to say that I
totally agree with him – it would indeed be wonderful to see a policeman,
particularly if you happen to be married to him. My husband is a Detective
Inspector and, apart from his usual working duties, he is on call for one
week in every four. Not only does this entail all his usual duties, but also
being on call 24 hours a day for the next seven days to deal with anything
serious that may arise. The other weekend my husband worked an extra 38
hours in one week in addition to his normal working hours. Good money
you might think, but unfortunately Inspectors do not get paid overtime. No
overtime on an 80-hour week – what joy!
In our household we know exactly what’s going on with the police force
and yes – I personally think that the police are wonderful. Would a member
of any other profession work such hours for no extra pay? I think not. Let
us just be thankful that there are still some men and women out there who,
day in and day out, readily put their lives at risk, despite getting little
thanks for it.
Sheila Bending, Hornchurch
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Thank you for the coverage given to the thoughts of our Chief Constable, Steve
Green, in your newspaper. The response that we have received at the Police
Authority has proved that we were right to appoint a Chief Constable who is prepared
to listen to the feelings of the community, and get tough on crime and those who cause it. When the Police Authority appointed Mr Green four years ago, its members were
impressed by his commitment and determination to make Nottinghamshire a safer place to live and work. Although at times he has been subject to public criticism for the wide-ranging changes he has made to policing in the county, in order to achieve his goals, the Police Authority has been steadfast in its support of his stance. During the same period we have consistently called for further resources for policing, something which the public has also embraced. Crime is reducing and 3,000 more criminals have been arrested this year, compared to the same period in the previous year. Our police officers deserve our thanks and appreciation.
However, it must be recognised that neither the police nor the authority can tackle these issues alone. We need help from the communities themselves and, most especially, from our partners on the crime and reduction partnerships. Only by a consolidated and cohesive approach will the balance ever be redressed. We are proud to see our Chief Constable has spoken out. We know his words echo the views of the majority of the public in our area, and we feel sure that this is the same across the country.
W.J.Clarke, Chairman, Nottinghamshire Police Authority
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I am a serving police officer and fully agree with the comments of the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire, Steve Green. Liberals and prison reformers state that prison doesn’t work. I disagree, as I don’t know of any criminal who continues to rob or burgle from inside a prison cell. The problem now is the constant use of short custodial sentences. This means that prolific offenders are in and out of prison numerous times a year. I
suggest that we enforce an American-style ‘three-strikes-and-you’re-out’ rule, thereby incarcerating for life, any person who decides to become a career criminal. This will prevent my colleagues from having to listen to me moaning every time I arrest someone with 20 or more convictions. The Government funds 20,000 Community Support Officers at a yearly cost of more than £440million in wages alone. This would be better used on new no-frills prisons.
Name and address supplied
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Chief Constable Steve Green has hit the nail on the head. We are now paying a very heavy price for attitudes adopted over many years. There has been a serious breakdown in discipline. Discipline begins at home in a child’s very early life, not in early teenage years. This is far too late. Failure to punish yobs properly and excusing their behaviour makes the police’s job far harder.
Steve Fuller, Hove, E. Sussex
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As regards the unacceptable leniency in sentencing of offenders, which
we witness every single day of the year on which magistrates and judges sit
in judgement. I have come up with the simple and perfect solution – in fact
we could turn around the appalling violent crime figures virtually overnight
– let’s arrange a one-month’s job-change for all magistrates and judges, with
the police. After all, they were once known as ‘Police Courts’ in certain
parts of the UK.
We’ll have all the judges and magistrates in the country in police cars, patrolling on foot, experiencing and responding to anti-social behaviour, violent gun and drugs crime, burglaries, murders committed by criminals, some of whom are mentally disturbed, all released from jail or hospital too early, multi drink-drivers, multi drivers who drive totally
without documents whilst disqualified, etc. If the judiciary actually succeed
in arresting any offenders, we’ll have them taken before Senior Police
Officers sitting in judgement on the Bench, dispensing justice by sentencing
them all to community penalties, referral
Then let the judges and magistrates experience the disappointment,
amazement, horror and frustration of victims and police officers when all of
THEIR prisoners just walk free from courts across the land. During the
month’s ‘TRIAL’, we’ll arrange for most of those offenders to roll up their
sleeves, bend their backs and work-off their aggression, pent-up anger and
selfishness, by laying the foundations of the 18 new-build prisons we so badly need. Let’s create a new, combined community penalty order for
them, to be known as ‘Community, Reparation, Rehabilitation,
Construction and Restorative Justice Orders.’ (CRRCRJ Orders) – It’s time
for change – let’s break the mould once and for all and have the most
welcome return of ORDER, JUSTICE and PEACE OF MIND.
Mike Hughes, Oxfordshire
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HMP GLOUCESTER