"We can cut police budget without risking violent unrest"
UPDATE - Laban, back in December, on our "Justice" Secretary, Ken Clarke - a man conspicuously absent at present :
He's been given a job to do - to cut the cost of the Prison Service and the criminal justice system - and by God he's going to do it. That's what makes him the reliable chap that he is, and such a useful man to have in Government. A lesser - or shall we say less useful - man might have argued the toss, pointed out that defending the lives, property and liberty of the citizens is the primary duty of any state, reminded Cameron of the association (however undeserved, if we look at the 1980s) in the public mind of the Conservative Party with a robust attitude to crime and criminals, dug in his toes and defended his budget. Not Ken. It doesn't matter that
a) the costs will be transferred from the State to individuals - in the form of burglaries and assaults for many, rape, bodily harm and homicides for the unfortunate, insurance premiums for householders, quality of life for everyone.
b) these costs will in total be much greater than the amount saved.
c) they will fall most heavily upon the poor and vulnerable. I doubt Ken will be troubled by too much anti-social behaviour in whichever expensive village his mansion is located.
10 comments:
If only there had been more cops standing around watching people loot stores, everything would've been fine!
It's true that riots aren't just a function of police numbers. But the next few - years ? decades are going to be quite unpleasant for many people. Cameron & Co genuinely seem to believe that they can reduce crime and save cash by emptying the prisons and letting some outsourcers do the probation bit. They're living in a fantasy world.
There are many criticisms of Mrs Thatcher, but one of her first acts was to stuff the constables' mouths with gold. She was to need them. Last night an awful lot of officers were 'away from the phone' or 'had too much to drive in' when the calls came. They're not happy bunnies.
"...a man conspicuously absent at present .."
Not recalled back from holiday?
'Interesting' isn't it, how none of the UK media appear willing to notice the ongoing phenomenon of violent youth flashmobs in the US - see http://violentflashmobs.com/
Just when we're getting the same social media-organised opportunist mayhem here.
It's not as if UK journos don't know, many of them must read the Drudge Report often enough.
But they clearly don't want people beginning to see any bigger picture.
And much of the US flash mob violence has included violent anti-white racism. (See recent Wisconsin State Fair mob violence).
Lucky I suppose that this is not apparent here (though probably wouldn't be reported if it were, so who really knows...)
I see that you've disabled comments to your post 'The Death of the Moledias', but I wish to say that it's a very good post.
One minor point regarding Turks defending their shops and businesses. A large crowd did so in Dalston, east London. Many of the Turks in London are secular rather than practising Muslims, although that probably doesn't have much bearing on how they respond to would-be looters threatening their livelihoods.
An informal system of mutual support has long existed by necessity in Tottenham and Wood Green, where a mobile phone call can summon a dozen or so burly Turkish men to defend a cafe or restaurant from those who think paying for things is beneath them.
"iIf only there had been more cops standing around watching people loot stores, everything would've been fine!"
But surely part of the reason that police morale is so low is that so many are being made redundant, forced to reapply for their own jobs, and having their pay and pensions cut.
And the riots were certainly a function of police morale, among other things.
There's a small silver lining in the great dark cloud: fewer Third Worlders will be headed your way after all of this. Now that pictures of England look just like their own homelands, why come?
Observer - there's still money ...
Not really though? With France on the verge of being downgraded, and the U.S. already downgraded, how long before the U.K. follows suit?
No Western country really has any money any more, unless it's some tiny outlier like Switzerland or Norway.
In my homeland we have quite a few freshly arrived Mexicans who do not paint their house exteriors or keep up their gardens. Yet inside, all is neat and clean as a pin.
They rationalize that presenting a run-down, poverty-stricken exterior discourages thieves.
There's a lesson in there somewhere for the Western nations, methinks.
--An Observer
I'll tell you how Ken Clarke can bring down the costs of justice, AND give the rioter what for.
Bring back flogging. With a special recovery therapy using salt.
Laban, can you please explore the economics of civilian corporal punishment? Or should I look for a historian?
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