if your kids are hungry you are gonna do whatever you can to feed them imo, as @Essexphil said, poverty is the driving factor behind a lotta crime.
they make a big deal outa this sorta thing but all the big shops are insuranced against theft, they budget for it as well......thats why the cops dont care.
Or you might choose to go to a foodbank.
Or the government could do its job better and give us a country with a working economy, and living wage so people wouldn’t have to rely on food banks or thieving.
Imagine having one of those kids who is a fussy eater, such as someone with OCD, food bank oxtale soup and the like must be a nightmare for them.
That story on the front of the paper is so typical, whip up a frenzy against a lager lout and avoid the real issue behind higher crime rates, which is poverty, everywhere you look. Imo.
We have always had thieving however rich or poor the country is. We have professional shoplifters. Some people would rather shoplift than work. I am sure that foodbanks are full of kind, caring people, that try to accommodate those in need as much as possible. I dont suppose you find much lager in them though.
I agree with some of your points, esp that theft has always existed, but aint the concern here the increase in such activities?
imo, the primary driver behind this increase is likely to be poverty, as many of societal problems are.
thinking about the 'lager lout' in the story. Chances are, they grew up in a single-parent household where the parent had to work crazy hours at a minimum-wage job, leaving little time for building a solid parent-child relationship. This typa situation can lead to poor performance in school, a lack of aspirations, and exposure to negative influences. which will impact the kids life long into adulthood.
Downward spirals imo usually start at a young age. Society likes to stigmatize individuals as 'wrong ones,' but, in reality, it is society that plays a role in creating these people and the situations they find themselves in. Of course, this isn't true for every case, as psychopaths and narcissists, for example, will always exist.
i hope im no rambling, just got home from work 30 mins ago, long tough day!
When I was growing up, there was some poverty. People couldnt claim benefits, and work, it was one or the other. Security cameras in shops didnt exist. Nobody had heard of a foodbank. Some people preferred to claim benefits, rather than work, as some do today. I also remember mortgage rates doubling, soon after I bought my first house. Although I cant remember the government of the time offering anyone any financial assistance. Lower paid jobs were probably just as hard to fill in those days, as they are today, particularly if they involved hard work.
I appreciate we have gone through a tough time lately. With covid, inflation, mortgage rates, energy bills, rent increases, etc. Which has left many struggling. Although that is no real excuse for robbing cans of lager.
I think the biggest thing to affect shop lifting is police forces refusing to make arrests for incidents that are less than £200. You could be a prolific shoplifter that never exceeds £200 at a time and never get arrested. Ridiculous.
It’s defo a contributing factor.
'This shoplifting epidemic is a scandal - and a wider sign that Britain is broken' When the British Retail Consortium reports around eight million thefts in the 12 months to March but police recorded only 339,206 cases, it is virtually a free crime
i still think the under laying reason for it all is poverty and the ridiculous cost increases we have seen over the last couple years......surely you see that point as a contributing factor as well
a wee shower thought after i clicked post comment, could also be a case of the retailers over exaggerating to claim more money from their insurance. and dont believe everything you read in the papers )
if your kids are hungry you are gonna do whatever you can to feed them imo, as @Essexphil said, poverty is the driving factor behind a lotta crime.
they make a big deal outa this sorta thing but all the big shops are insuranced against theft, they budget for it as well......thats why the cops dont care.
Or you might choose to go to a foodbank.
Or the government could do its job better and give us a country with a working economy, and living wage so people wouldn’t have to rely on food banks or thieving.
Imagine having one of those kids who is a fussy eater, such as someone with OCD, food bank oxtale soup and the like must be a nightmare for them.
That story on the front of the paper is so typical, whip up a frenzy against a lager lout and avoid the real issue behind higher crime rates, which is poverty, everywhere you look. Imo.
We have always had thieving however rich or poor the country is. We have professional shoplifters. Some people would rather shoplift than work. I am sure that foodbanks are full of kind, caring people, that try to accommodate those in need as much as possible. I dont suppose you find much lager in them though.
I agree with some of your points, esp that theft has always existed, but aint the concern here the increase in such activities?
imo, the primary driver behind this increase is likely to be poverty, as many of societal problems are.
thinking about the 'lager lout' in the story. Chances are, they grew up in a single-parent household where the parent had to work crazy hours at a minimum-wage job, leaving little time for building a solid parent-child relationship. This typa situation can lead to poor performance in school, a lack of aspirations, and exposure to negative influences. which will impact the kids life long into adulthood.
Downward spirals imo usually start at a young age. Society likes to stigmatize individuals as 'wrong ones,' but, in reality, it is society that plays a role in creating these people and the situations they find themselves in. Of course, this isn't true for every case, as psychopaths and narcissists, for example, will always exist.
i hope im no rambling, just got home from work 30 mins ago, long tough day!
When I was growing up, there was some poverty. People couldnt claim benefits, and work, it was one or the other. Security cameras in shops didnt exist. Nobody had heard of a foodbank. Some people preferred to claim benefits, rather than work, as some do today. I also remember mortgage rates doubling, soon after I bought my first house. Although I cant remember the government of the time offering anyone any financial assistance. Lower paid jobs were probably just as hard to fill in those days, as they are today, particularly if they involved hard work.
I appreciate we have gone through a tough time lately. With covid, inflation, mortgage rates, energy bills, rent increases, etc. Which has left many struggling. Although that is no real excuse for robbing cans of lager.
I think the biggest thing to affect shop lifting is police forces refusing to make arrests for incidents that are less than £200. You could be a prolific shoplifter that never exceeds £200 at a time and never get arrested. Ridiculous.
It’s defo a contributing factor.
'This shoplifting epidemic is a scandal - and a wider sign that Britain is broken' When the British Retail Consortium reports around eight million thefts in the 12 months to March but police recorded only 339,206 cases, it is virtually a free crime
i still think the under laying reason for it all is poverty and the ridiculous cost increases we have seen over the last couple years......surely you see that point as a contributing factor as well
a wee shower thought after i clicked post comment, could also be a case of the retailers over exaggerating to claim more money from their insurance. and dont believe everything you read in the papers )
When the British Retail Consortium reports around eight million thefts in the 12 months to March but police recorded only 339,206 cases, it is virtually a free crime.
There are many reasons why people shoplift. If the police made more arrests, there would be less people at it.
If they turned off all the speed cameras, do you think there would be more people speeding or less?
People break the law and bend the rules every single day, sometimes this is wrong, sometimes it is justified. punishment such as jail time or fines doesn’t stop people doing so, if it did the prisons and courts would be empty, instead of over flowing. Then there are laws which some people do not agree with and in order for them to do right, within their belief system, they must break the law, sometimes laws are daft or not fit for purpose as well.
An example would be a cancer patient who smokes weed in the uk, a young lady in the USA desperate to have an abortion and the now scraped offensive behaviour at football act (was a Scottish law)
Laws are important I get that, but society only works when the vast majority conform, anarchy is always only a few steps away, Imo most ppl simply live using their morals as a guide and no body sticks to the rules 100% of the time, anyone who says they do is a liar haha.
People break the law and bend the rules every single day, sometimes this is wrong, sometimes it is justified. punishment such as jail time or fines doesn’t stop people doing so, if it did the prisons and courts would be empty, instead of over flowing. Then there are laws which some people do not agree with and in order for them to do right, within their belief system, they must break the law, sometimes laws are daft or not fit for purpose as well.
An example would be a cancer patient who smokes weed in the uk, a young lady in the USA desperate to have an abortion and the now scraped offensive behaviour at football act (was a Scottish law)
Laws are important I get that, but society only works when the vast majority conform, anarchy is always only a few steps away, Imo most ppl simply live using their morals as a guide and no body sticks to the rules 100% of the time, anyone who says they do is a liar haha.
I think you are completely missing the point. If the police only attend 300,000 incidents out of at least 8 million. Then the police are treating the law as if it doesnt exist. Shoplifters will follow suit.
People break the law and bend the rules every single day, sometimes this is wrong, sometimes it is justified. punishment such as jail time or fines doesn’t stop people doing so, if it did the prisons and courts would be empty, instead of over flowing. Then there are laws which some people do not agree with and in order for them to do right, within their belief system, they must break the law, sometimes laws are daft or not fit for purpose as well.
An example would be a cancer patient who smokes weed in the uk, a young lady in the USA desperate to have an abortion and the now scraped offensive behaviour at football act (was a Scottish law)
Laws are important I get that, but society only works when the vast majority conform, anarchy is always only a few steps away, Imo most ppl simply live using their morals as a guide and no body sticks to the rules 100% of the time, anyone who says they do is a liar haha.
I think you are completely missing the point. If the police only attend 300,000 incidents out of at least 8 million. Then the police are treating the law as if it doesnt exist. Shoplifters will follow suit.
I get that point, that wasn’t what I was replying too, my point above was about how laws don’t stop people committing crimes, it’s folks morals that do, I do agree with what you said, I also think those figures are exaggerated for headlines, for example is a 4 year old picking up a packet of crisps and eating without payment theft? In the eyes of the law yes, in the eyes of humanity it’s just a thing that happens and not really a crime……everyone has walked out a store without paying for something in the past, innocently forgetting to ring it through the till….should those folks face a criminal record, should the police really attend and charge the kid or the stressed out mother who paid for everything except the milk?
Those typa things will be included in that 8 million figure.
The numbers probably just over a third because just over a third were actual crimes….or maybe the newspapers are talking rubbish to sell more papers, it’s doubtful to me that they are telling the truth for the first time in the history of man kind haha.
People break the law and bend the rules every single day, sometimes this is wrong, sometimes it is justified. punishment such as jail time or fines doesn’t stop people doing so, if it did the prisons and courts would be empty, instead of over flowing. Then there are laws which some people do not agree with and in order for them to do right, within their belief system, they must break the law, sometimes laws are daft or not fit for purpose as well.
An example would be a cancer patient who smokes weed in the uk, a young lady in the USA desperate to have an abortion and the now scraped offensive behaviour at football act (was a Scottish law)
Laws are important I get that, but society only works when the vast majority conform, anarchy is always only a few steps away, Imo most ppl simply live using their morals as a guide and no body sticks to the rules 100% of the time, anyone who says they do is a liar haha.
I think you are completely missing the point. If the police only attend 300,000 incidents out of at least 8 million. Then the police are treating the law as if it doesnt exist. Shoplifters will follow suit.
I get that point, that wasn’t what I was replying too, my point above was about how laws don’t stop people committing crimes, it’s folks morals that do, I do agree with what you said, I also think those figures are exaggerated for headlines, for example is a 4 year old picking up a packet of crisps and eating without payment theft? In the eyes of the law yes, in the eyes of humanity it’s just a thing that happens and not really a crime……everyone has walked out a store without paying for something in the past, innocently forgetting to ring it through the till….should those folks face a criminal record, should the police really attend and charge the kid or the stressed out mother who paid for everything except the milk?
How do you know that? Maybe the many thousands of independent small shops cant be bothered to record their incidents, and perhaps the 8 million is extremely underestimated.
Those typa things will be included in that 8 million figure.
How do you know that?
The numbers probably just over a third because just over a third were actual crimes….or maybe the newspapers are talking rubbish to sell more papers, it’s doubtful to me that they are telling the truth for the first time in the history of man kind haha.
People break the law and bend the rules every single day, sometimes this is wrong, sometimes it is justified. punishment such as jail time or fines doesn’t stop people doing so, if it did the prisons and courts would be empty, instead of over flowing. Then there are laws which some people do not agree with and in order for them to do right, within their belief system, they must break the law, sometimes laws are daft or not fit for purpose as well.
An example would be a cancer patient who smokes weed in the uk, a young lady in the USA desperate to have an abortion and the now scraped offensive behaviour at football act (was a Scottish law)
Laws are important I get that, but society only works when the vast majority conform, anarchy is always only a few steps away, Imo most ppl simply live using their morals as a guide and no body sticks to the rules 100% of the time, anyone who says they do is a liar haha.
I think you are completely missing the point. If the police only attend 300,000 incidents out of at least 8 million. Then the police are treating the law as if it doesnt exist. Shoplifters will follow suit.
I get that point, that wasn’t what I was replying too, my point above was about how laws don’t stop people committing crimes, it’s folks morals that do, I do agree with what you said, I also think those figures are exaggerated for headlines, for example is a 4 year old picking up a packet of crisps and eating without payment theft? In the eyes of the law yes, in the eyes of humanity it’s just a thing that happens and not really a crime……everyone has walked out a store without paying for something in the past, innocently forgetting to ring it through the till….should those folks face a criminal record, should the police really attend and charge the kid or the stressed out mother who paid for everything except the milk?
Those typa things will be included in that 8 million figure.
The numbers probably just over a third because just over a third were actual crimes….or maybe the newspapers are talking rubbish to sell more papers, it’s doubtful to me that they are telling the truth for the first time in the history of man kind haha.
I think the real point is that if the police started arresting shoplifters, and eventually got around to jailing serial offenders, there would be less shoplifting. Less shop staff would be assaulted. Stopping four year olds eating a bag of crisps is probably not very high on the list of retailers priorities.
People break the law and bend the rules every single day, sometimes this is wrong, sometimes it is justified. punishment such as jail time or fines doesn’t stop people doing so, if it did the prisons and courts would be empty, instead of over flowing. Then there are laws which some people do not agree with and in order for them to do right, within their belief system, they must break the law, sometimes laws are daft or not fit for purpose as well.
An example would be a cancer patient who smokes weed in the uk, a young lady in the USA desperate to have an abortion and the now scraped offensive behaviour at football act (was a Scottish law)
Laws are important I get that, but society only works when the vast majority conform, anarchy is always only a few steps away, Imo most ppl simply live using their morals as a guide and no body sticks to the rules 100% of the time, anyone who says they do is a liar haha.
I think you are completely missing the point. If the police only attend 300,000 incidents out of at least 8 million. Then the police are treating the law as if it doesnt exist. Shoplifters will follow suit.
I get that point, that wasn’t what I was replying too, my point above was about how laws don’t stop people committing crimes, it’s folks morals that do, I do agree with what you said, I also think those figures are exaggerated for headlines, for example is a 4 year old picking up a packet of crisps and eating without payment theft? In the eyes of the law yes, in the eyes of humanity it’s just a thing that happens and not really a crime……everyone has walked out a store without paying for something in the past, innocently forgetting to ring it through the till….should those folks face a criminal record, should the police really attend and charge the kid or the stressed out mother who paid for everything except the milk?
How do you know that? Maybe the many thousands of independent small shops cant be bothered to record their incidents, and perhaps the 8 million is extremely underestimated.
Those typa things will be included in that 8 million figure.
How do you know that?
The numbers probably just over a third because just over a third were actual crimes….or maybe the newspapers are talking rubbish to sell more papers, it’s doubtful to me that they are telling the truth for the first time in the history of man kind haha.
Where did you get that from?
Maybe you are right, I think it’s an educated guess, well I guess I should t count in the morning haha. But just like my counting, those figures don’t add up.
People break the law and bend the rules every single day, sometimes this is wrong, sometimes it is justified. punishment such as jail time or fines doesn’t stop people doing so, if it did the prisons and courts would be empty, instead of over flowing. Then there are laws which some people do not agree with and in order for them to do right, within their belief system, they must break the law, sometimes laws are daft or not fit for purpose as well.
An example would be a cancer patient who smokes weed in the uk, a young lady in the USA desperate to have an abortion and the now scraped offensive behaviour at football act (was a Scottish law)
Laws are important I get that, but society only works when the vast majority conform, anarchy is always only a few steps away, Imo most ppl simply live using their morals as a guide and no body sticks to the rules 100% of the time, anyone who says they do is a liar haha.
I think you are completely missing the point. If the police only attend 300,000 incidents out of at least 8 million. Then the police are treating the law as if it doesnt exist. Shoplifters will follow suit.
I get that point, that wasn’t what I was replying too, my point above was about how laws don’t stop people committing crimes, it’s folks morals that do, I do agree with what you said, I also think those figures are exaggerated for headlines, for example is a 4 year old picking up a packet of crisps and eating without payment theft? In the eyes of the law yes, in the eyes of humanity it’s just a thing that happens and not really a crime……everyone has walked out a store without paying for something in the past, innocently forgetting to ring it through the till….should those folks face a criminal record, should the police really attend and charge the kid or the stressed out mother who paid for everything except the milk?
Those typa things will be included in that 8 million figure.
The numbers probably just over a third because just over a third were actual crimes….or maybe the newspapers are talking rubbish to sell more papers, it’s doubtful to me that they are telling the truth for the first time in the history of man kind haha.
I think the real point is that if the police started arresting shoplifters, and eventually got around to jailing serial offenders, there would be less shoplifting. Less shop staff would be assaulted. Stopping four year olds eating a bag of crisps is probably not very high on the list of retailers priorities.
Imo the serial shop lifters will steal regardless of the punishment, jailing folk doesn’t work, that’s why prison numbers are so high, it’s not a deterrent. It’s an occupational hazard for those types….3 months here 6 months there…..waste of time and money, we need rehabilitation programs, and education, plus opportunity or nout will ever change.
People break the law and bend the rules every single day, sometimes this is wrong, sometimes it is justified. punishment such as jail time or fines doesn’t stop people doing so, if it did the prisons and courts would be empty, instead of over flowing. Then there are laws which some people do not agree with and in order for them to do right, within their belief system, they must break the law, sometimes laws are daft or not fit for purpose as well.
An example would be a cancer patient who smokes weed in the uk, a young lady in the USA desperate to have an abortion and the now scraped offensive behaviour at football act (was a Scottish law)
Laws are important I get that, but society only works when the vast majority conform, anarchy is always only a few steps away, Imo most ppl simply live using their morals as a guide and no body sticks to the rules 100% of the time, anyone who says they do is a liar haha.
I think you are completely missing the point. If the police only attend 300,000 incidents out of at least 8 million. Then the police are treating the law as if it doesnt exist. Shoplifters will follow suit.
I get that point, that wasn’t what I was replying too, my point above was about how laws don’t stop people committing crimes, it’s folks morals that do, I do agree with what you said, I also think those figures are exaggerated for headlines, for example is a 4 year old picking up a packet of crisps and eating without payment theft? In the eyes of the law yes, in the eyes of humanity it’s just a thing that happens and not really a crime……everyone has walked out a store without paying for something in the past, innocently forgetting to ring it through the till….should those folks face a criminal record, should the police really attend and charge the kid or the stressed out mother who paid for everything except the milk?
Those typa things will be included in that 8 million figure.
The numbers probably just over a third because just over a third were actual crimes….or maybe the newspapers are talking rubbish to sell more papers, it’s doubtful to me that they are telling the truth for the first time in the history of man kind haha.
I think the real point is that if the police started arresting shoplifters, and eventually got around to jailing serial offenders, there would be less shoplifting. Less shop staff would be assaulted. Stopping four year olds eating a bag of crisps is probably not very high on the list of retailers priorities.
Imo the serial shop lifters will steal regardless of the punishment, jailing folk doesn’t work, that’s why prison numbers are so high, it’s not a deterrent.
Well doing nothing clearly isnt working. The way the figures are increasing may prove that you are wrong.
. it would probably remain the same, just the folk who slow down to pass the camera wouldnt need to
Shoplifters taking under £200 worth of goods 'not pursued'
Retailers are warning that a sharp rise in shoplifting is being fuelled partly by police forces not investigating the theft of items worth less than £200.
"police forces not investigating the theft of items worth less than £200".
The thread repeatedly reverts to the fact that the police don't or wont attend most instances of shoplifting, & so this encourages the shoplifters.
Here's a thing though. Yesterday I happened to be at Derby Railway station at 5.30pm. Derby County v Portsmouth has just finished & there were a fair few football supporters there, many of them shouting at each other in the tribal & moronic way they so often do.
The police were there, basically ensuring the two sets of fans were kept apart. I'd say there were 12 or 15 Police vans & over a hundred Police Officers there.
Now multiply that by, say, 50 other matches across the country at that time on a Saturday afternoon. That's 600 Police Vans & 5,000 Police Officers, all tied up for several hours to stop those idiots fighting. Presumably they were there before the match too, so let's say 2pm until 6pm.
Personally, I'd rather that resource was diverted to shoplifting & petty street crime. If football fans want to beat each other up, let them.
I accept there's a finite amount of money & resource at the disposal of the Police, but it's important to utilise it efficiently.
Would their time be better spent combatting shoplifting & petty street crime rather than stopping rival football fans beating each other up?
"police forces not investigating the theft of items worth less than £200".
The thread repeatedly reverts to the fact that the police don't or wont attend most instances of shoplifting, & so this encourages the shoplifters.
Here's a thing though. Yesterday I happened to be at Derby Railway station at 5.30pm. Derby County v Portsmouth has just finished & there were a fair few football supporters there, many of them shouting at each other in the tribal & moronic way they so often do.
The police were there, basically ensuring the two sets of fans were kept apart. I'd say there were 12 or 15 Police vans & over a hundred Police Officers there.
Now multiply that by, say, 50 other matches across the country at that time on a Saturday afternoon. That's 600 Police Vans & 5,000 Police Officers, all tied up for several hours to stop those idiots fighting. Presumably they were there before the match too, so let's say 2pm until 6pm.
Personally, I'd rather that resource was diverted to shoplifting & petty street crime. If football fans want to beat each other up, let them.
I accept there's a finite amount of money & resource at the disposal of the Police, but it's important to utilise it efficiently.
Would their time be better spent combatting shoplifting & petty street crime rather than stopping rival football fans beating each other up?
I know what I'd vote for.
Football clubs do make a contribution towards the cost of policing matches. Probably not enough, but they do contribute. They should probably charge them more, and recruit more officers. This should probably be applied to other areas, like maybe the internet. Maybe the social media giants should have to pay for policing it. The resulting savings could be used to recruit more officers.
I stole a can of pop at the COOP and got caught by the store detective was about 13 at the time so very early 80s , police come arrested me took me to the station and phoned my dad , gulp , while waiting saw my dad at the desk and i knew by the look in his eyes i was in trouble , as they took me to be interviewed with my dad present my dad lashed out and slapped me , i fell hitting my head on a filing cabinate splitting my head but that didn't stop him as the police had to drag him off me Moral , i didn't steal again , the police didn't charge because they knew dad was in control of his kids
I stole a can of pop at the COOP and got caught by the store detective was about 13 at the time so very early 80s , police come arrested me took me to the station and phoned my dad , gulp , while waiting saw my dad at the desk and i knew by the look in his eyes i was in trouble , as they took me to be interviewed with my dad present my dad lashed out and slapped me , i fell hitting my head on a filing cabinate splitting my head but that didn't stop him as the police had to drag him off me Moral , i didn't steal again , the police didn't charge because they knew dad was in control of his kids
Similar when I was growing up in Penkhull, we had a local copper who knew all the kids, good and bad. Spotted me and 2 mates taking pop bottles to take back to the shop for the refund. We ran off and all he had to do was shout "Either you come back now and let me handle it or I speak to your Dads"
We all went back for a bolloking and a clip round the ear apiece. Nobody dare tell dad we had a clip from the copper, We'd have had a right good hiding.
P.S This copper also was the first to check that everything was ok if any of the regular kids weren't in the usual groups or haunts. Proper Copper and well respected even when he had to give us the odd clout.
Comments
a wee shower thought after i clicked post comment, could also be a case of the retailers over exaggerating to claim more money from their insurance. and dont believe everything you read in the papers
There are many reasons why people shoplift.
If the police made more arrests, there would be less people at it.
If they turned off all the speed cameras, do you think there would be more people speeding or less?
An example would be a cancer patient who smokes weed in the uk, a young lady in the USA desperate to have an abortion and the now scraped offensive behaviour at football act (was a Scottish law)
Laws are important I get that, but society only works when the vast majority conform, anarchy is always only a few steps away, Imo most ppl simply live using their morals as a guide and no body sticks to the rules 100% of the time, anyone who says they do is a liar haha.
If the police only attend 300,000 incidents out of at least 8 million.
Then the police are treating the law as if it doesnt exist.
Shoplifters will follow suit.
Those typa things will be included in that 8 million figure.
The numbers probably just over a third because just over a third were actual crimes….or maybe the newspapers are talking rubbish to sell more papers, it’s doubtful to me that they are telling the truth for the first time in the history of man kind haha.
Less shop staff would be assaulted.
Stopping four year olds eating a bag of crisps is probably not very high on the list of retailers priorities.
Gotta go work. Tata
The way the figures are increasing may prove that you are wrong.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/organised-shoplifting-gangs-terrorise-stores-30570340
Retailers are warning that a sharp rise in shoplifting is being fuelled partly by police forces not investigating the theft of items worth less than £200.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42492488
"police forces not investigating the theft of items worth less than £200".
The thread repeatedly reverts to the fact that the police don't or wont attend most instances of shoplifting, & so this encourages the shoplifters.
Here's a thing though. Yesterday I happened to be at Derby Railway station at 5.30pm. Derby County v Portsmouth has just finished & there were a fair few football supporters there, many of them shouting at each other in the tribal & moronic way they so often do.
The police were there, basically ensuring the two sets of fans were kept apart. I'd say there were 12 or 15 Police vans & over a hundred Police Officers there.
Now multiply that by, say, 50 other matches across the country at that time on a Saturday afternoon. That's 600 Police Vans & 5,000 Police Officers, all tied up for several hours to stop those idiots fighting. Presumably they were there before the match too, so let's say 2pm until 6pm.
Personally, I'd rather that resource was diverted to shoplifting & petty street crime. If football fans want to beat each other up, let them.
I accept there's a finite amount of money & resource at the disposal of the Police, but it's important to utilise it efficiently.
Would their time be better spent combatting shoplifting & petty street crime rather than stopping rival football fans beating each other up?
I know what I'd vote for.
Probably not enough, but they do contribute.
They should probably charge them more, and recruit more officers.
This should probably be applied to other areas, like maybe the internet.
Maybe the social media giants should have to pay for policing it.
The resulting savings could be used to recruit more officers.
Moral , i didn't steal again , the police didn't charge because they knew dad was in control of his kids
We all went back for a bolloking and a clip round the ear apiece. Nobody dare tell dad we had a clip from the copper, We'd have had a right good hiding.
P.S This copper also was the first to check that everything was ok if any of the regular kids weren't in the usual groups or haunts. Proper Copper and well respected even when he had to give us the odd clout.