Stop Demanding New Laws!

Start demanding that the existing ones are used properly. 

The retailers, who also include the bosses of Aldi, Primark and Superdrug, call for the creation of a new UK-wide aggravated offence of assaulting or abusing a retail worker – as already exists in Scotland – which would carry tougher sentences and require police to record all incidents of retail crime and allow the allocation of more resources.

You're all idiots. Have you any idea how long it takes to get new legislation passed? Most of your shops will have closed down by the time it's on the books. 

“The police consistently tell us that a lack of data about these offences means they have no visibility about the nature or scale of the issue,” the letter says.

Well, they are clearly lying, aren't they? As their own data shows:

Meanwhile, the police’s own data for one major retailer shows that forces failed to respond to 73% of serious retail crimes that were reported...

What that letter should be urging is for them to start using the laws they already have. Not requesting new ones for them to ignore.  

Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the BRC, which helped organise the letter to Braverman, said: “It is vital that action is taken before the scourge of retail crime gets any worse. We are seeing organised gangs threatening staff with weapons and emptying stores. We are seeing violence against colleagues who are doing their job and asking for age verification. We are seeing a torrent of abuse aimed at hardworking shop staff. It’s simply unacceptable – no one should have to go to work fearing for their safety. We need government to stand with the millions of retail workers who kept us safe and fed during the pandemic – and support them, as those workers supported us.”

All of those things are already crimes. Making them 'extra special super duper crimes' will take too long and still not help.  

You want to force the government's hand? Stop paying the bastards. No more cushy sinecure jobs for ex-Ministers or MPs. No more donations to the party. Starve them. 

Then Increase The Sentence...

...until he tells you who the others are.

While the schoolboy was caught when he walked into a cafe, the three other male suspects are still at large.

How lucky the cops were in the same cafe stuffing their faces, eh? 

On Thursday 16 March the defendant, who is now 17 but cannot be named due to a court order, appeared at Croydon Youth Court, where he admitted two counts of moped-enabled robbery, one count of attempted robbery and possession of criminal property.

And following a hearing, at Wimbledon Youth Court on Tuesday 18 April, he was jailed for six months, plus six months on licence once he is released. He pleaded guilty to two counts of moped-enabled robbery, one count of attempted robbery and possession of criminal property at Croydon Youth Court on March 16.

Detective Constable Ian Croxford, from the Met Police's Operation Venice team that led the investigation, said it was lucky the victims were not more seriously hurt.

Then perhaps the Tories (Ha! I jest! As if we had any...) should look at ensuring a failure to name your fellow criminals drew an automatic sentence increase? 

'Paying Your Respects' - Yr Doin' It Wrong...

Kye Dennis, 25, of Fforestfach, was found not guilty following a trial at Swansea Crown Court. He was one of three men who bought an old black Vauxhall Astra for £250, hours before it was used in a riot in the Mayhill area of the city on May 20 last year. The Astra and a silver Ford Ka were set alight and rolled down Waun Wen Road during the disorder, which was sparked by the sudden death of 19-year-old Ethan Powell.

Yes, it's this incident.  

Dennis denied wrongdoing and said he was only there to “pay his respects” to Mr Powell during a vigil that later turned violent.

The defendant, who ran a recovery and scrap business, collected the car in Carmarthen and took it to Swansea but had no idea what was going to happen to it.

Right, yeah, sure... 

Before the verdict was returned, Judge Paul Thomas QC warned those sat in the public gallery that the jury’s decision “must be met with silence”.

But one member of the public was ordered to the cells over the lunch adjournment after ignoring the warning.

Was he a resident angry at the verdict? Reader, he was not... 

He was later brought back to court and, addressing the judge, said: “I am sorry for what happened just now. I didn’t mean for it to come out. It just came out by accident.

“One of my good friends was in the dock and his children are at home and stuff and we got a good result.”

Society didn't, but what would someone like you understand about that? 

The judge said he accepted his apology and would not take the matter further. “I would suggest that if you are in this position again, you may not find a judge who is as lenient as I am with the matter,” he said.

Oh, I'm betting if he played the odds, he'd hit the jackpot again... 

This Is The Great British 'Justice System' In Action...

A woman who lost both her legs after being crushed by a drunk driver has died it has now been confirmed.

Rebecca Hodgson, 38, appeared in Liverpool Crown Court after admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

She had to be arrested and brought into court by police after failing to appear for her sentencing, which was due to take place in the morning.

The offence was horrendous.... 

Hodgson sped down the road in a black Renault Megane, with an expert report concluding that she was travelling between 50-55mph on a 30mph road prior to the crash.

.... a roadside breath test put her close to twice the legal limit.

But that's no bar to today's barristers! 

Defencing Hodgson, Ms Rebecca Smith explained she suffers with ADHD and is on the autism spectrum.

Ms Smith said: "It's very difficult for her to control her behaviour, simply she doesn't have the coping mechanisms to deal with it." 

Then maybe freedom to do as she pleases isn't the safest thing? 

Hodgson had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing and was yesterday sentenced to serve three years in prison - reduced from four and a half years due to her early guilty plea.

She was also disqualified from driving for five years and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge.

Does anyone think she'll be cured after 5 years, and therefore safe to drive again? 

Big Brother Is Watching You...

...and providing the evidence to hang himself.

What happened when they turned up would have been hard to believe had the farce not been filmed and recorded on the body-worn cameras of the officers from MLB.The two Metropolitan Police officers who attended the scene decided the offence was a 'civil' matter (it isn't) and, after refusing to arrest Richards, simply released him even though they were fully aware of his notorious track record.

...the men behind My Local Bobby, former senior Scotland Yard officers who were providing security in the store, were so frustrated by the response of the police they took out a private prosecution against him. Last week, more than 16 months and nine court appearances later, Richards was finally punished for his shoplifting spree. After pleading guilty to the Boots offence, he was ordered by Chatham magistrates to do six months community service, undergo 20 days of rehabilitation and pay £100 towards costs.

Yes, it's not enough. But it's something, something the stores are having to pay for, when it should be a job for the people paid to do it. 

Who mostly spend their time doing the things no sensible member of the public has at the top of their priority list: 

Meanwhile, elsewhere in London:James Cooper, who owns Body Transformation in Hampstead, north London, was stunned when seven officers turned up at his gym and tried to gain access.

He logged into his security system and watched as police and staff from Camden Council spent an hour banging on his doors.When they failed to gain access the officers went round the back and one tried to tamper with a key box secured to the gym wall in what Mr Cooper believes to be an attempt to get inside his property without a warrant.

Mr Cooper, who trains a string of high profile clients from celebrities to city CEOs and barristers, vowed to launch proceedings against the police.

'I can hear them saying they don't have a warrant because my system records sound as well. I'm just not going to put up with this any more.

'What has the world come to that seven officers spend an hour of their time standing around my gym?'

Well, what else do you expect them to do, Mr Cooper? Arrest thieves? Pshaw! That's soooo 1970s. 

We Used To Put Traitors In The Tower Of London...

A Jamaican murderer and two rapists avoided deportation today following legal challenges backed by Labour MPs and a host of celebrities.

In all, 23 serious criminals submitted last-minute appeals – including human rights claims – which led to them avoiding deportation to Jamaica. They had been sentenced to a combined 156 years in jail.

...so maybe we should reconsider its status as tourist attraction?

The Home Office minister for immigration compliance, Chris Philp, said the flight had removed 13 “serious foreign criminals” from the UK. A number of others due to be onboard are said to have been granted a reprieve after the ministry acknowledged they may have been victims of modern slavery.

Welcome to the crazy world of Britain 2020, where you, a convicted criminal, is a 'victim'. One who's 'rights' supercede those of the people who are citizens.

The Guardian has seen a letter and drawing from a 10-year-old boy addressed to a judge he hoped would remove his father from the flight. The boy wrote: “People are making decisions about my dad. When they grew up they probably had a dad. The decisions they make mean I won’t have a dad with me.”

Pretty sure the decisions that made the difference here were those made by your father, kid.