You are in:
- Archives » 2006 » September 2006
"Simple, Speedy, Summary"
Britain is planning "simple, speedy and summary justice" for criminals, with proposals that the authorities hope will save the expense of putting thousands of cases through court. According to a report in The Times, police will be able to impose fines of up to £100 on hoodlums who will later be able to contest the penalty.
Penalty notices already exist for minor crimes including vandalism and shoplifting. The maximum fine, which stands at £80, will rise under the new guidelines.
However, the scheme extends to serious crimes, such as mugging and assaulting a police officer, leading critics to complain that the plans insult the victims of serious crime. The Magistrates’ Association says that the plans downgrades the "gravity of the offences."
The plans have yet to find endoresement from government ministers, but the police authorities seem to be keen: 250,000 cases would be kept out of court (each costing up to £43,000 a day). Better still, perhaps, it would mean crooks that escape prosecution due to missing witnesses and technicalities are punished. Cops issuing punishments might appeal to the "Judge Dredd" mentality of some in the police, who could enjoy acting as judge, jury and executioner - which could also explain the magistrates' opposition to the proposals.
However, does mugging, with the long-term trauma suffered by its victims, classify as a crime that merits a £100 on-the-spot fine (much less than littering in some areas, or for smoking on public transport?) And should police assault be punished the same way?
Few Britons would agree: Street crime is a serious offence, and a quick £100 fine seems derogatory. The timing of the proposals' release is unfortunate too, coming on the same day as the Telegraph reports how a group of young muggers dangled a 19-week-old baby in front of her mother, threatening to drop her if she didn't hand over her valuables.
The Daily Mail reports that last year one penalty notice was served on someone for possessing a firearm - hardly a minor offence in Britain.
Minority Report
Those worries might be over though if another creepy government scheme works out. From November, Scottish mothers will face a ten-minute psychological test to spot problems in the mother-baby relationship which could lead to antisocial behaviour problems when the kid grows up.
The Times reports that the test has been developed by Heriot-Watt University and the Scottish Executive. Apparently babies who "fail to bond" with their mothers run the risk of growing up aggressive and antisocial.
When the plan is extended, it is hoped health visitors carry out the assessment. Its developers claim they are trying to "help, rather than blame" the parents of unruly kids, but it is difficult to see exactly how a ten minute test can identify the thugs of tomorrow shortly after they are born. Bad parenting is a major contributory factor to youth delinquency, of course, but as anyone who has spent any time with a baby can tell you, one's attitude towards one's sprog can vary by the minute. Short of teaching the child to smoke cigarettes, attitudes varying from ambivalent to pissed-off to actively hostile are normal.
