MOTORING COURT

It is common practice that a motoring court will comprise many dozen cases.  The last such sitting was no exception.  We had over sixty defendants listed with about two dozen having multiple charges.  There were twenty two appearances one of whom was of that well known tribe; the Freemen of England.  In the usual manner of those people he tried to overwhelm the court by his outspoken opinions of who and what were  fit to hear his case.  With a L/A who takes no nonsense and a chairman not known for his reticence he was persuaded to plead to “no insurance”  being advised it was a strict liability offence.  His “not guilty” resulted in a trial date being set and his response to  bench advice that the case would still proceed if he didn`t turn up was greeted with ,”Don`t you worry your worship I`ll be there with all my evidence”, whereupon he showed us all a thick pile of papers in a transparent envelope.  I`m sure my colleagues in November will be up to the task of providing justice although from my past experience it will require patience, tact and a firmly drawn  red line which, if breached, unlike that before the esteemed  chieftain  Mr B O`Bama  last year   should provoke sanctions.  We had two totter defendants, one of whom was represented,  arguing exceptional hardship. That particular gentleman might have felt his money was not well spent when his argument was rejected.    We accepted the other`s plea and banned him for 14 days.  Unusually there were two cases of  permission to drive as a defence against no insurance.  Both were rejected.  Two totters were disqualified for the mandatory six months and five other non appearances were summonsed to appear to argue why they also should not be disqualified as totters.  A speeder caught doing 104MPH in a 70 zone whilst driving his Aston Martin was quite relaxed when his fine and costs of over £1,000 plus four weeks disqualification were announced.  Compared to the Swiss courts he got off lightly.  Presumably he could afford to employ a driver for the prescribed period.  A German gentleman earning over  £2,000 per week after tax was most surprised that even with a guilty plea he was fined an amount commensurate with his income for no insurance. 

All in all just a normal sitting in the motoring court.

PERFIDIOUS ALBION

How twenty fours can encapsulate all that brings derision to politics and politicians but with one exception.  We will never know how many of the 2,001,926 “NO” voters were persuaded by Cameron and Milleband`s  last minute promises of change but already the caveats are set to obfuscate the actuality.  This apparent volte face will live in the minds of these people for a long time.  The phrase perfidious Albion comes to mind.  The only person to emerge with credit from this is Gordon Brown whose rousing speech in Dunfermline this morning shows a man changed beyond all recognition from the weak indecisive misfit who flunked calling an election in 2008 which he could have won.  I`ll be in Glasgow in the near future.  My eyes and ears will be more sensitive than usual.

NO SENSE OR NONSENSE

The last decade has seen almost a running feud between government and the police; federation or otherwise.  Notwithstanding the reforms initiated by Tom Winsor Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary  a position he has held since 1 October 2012,  the reduction in police budgets, the scandals of Police and Crime Commissioners and assorted Chief Constables and continuing  doubts over the accuracy of various crime statistics to many people the visible presence of police on the streets is what is required to assure them of public safety.  It has been consistently demonstrated that with reduced personnel police have to be mobile in order to offer rapid response to threats to  person or property.  Thus the ubiquitous moving illuminated Christmas tree AKA a police car in pursuit mode is an all too familiar sight.  Such vehicles cost over £40,000 on average.  With such a capital cost involved one might think that police would make maximum use of such a resource.  One would be mistaken with regard to Police Scotland.  In Dundee it seems a police car has more worth being parked in the city centre as a deterrent to criminal activity.  Placing life size cardboard cut outs of police officers in shopping centres as deterrents to would be miscreants proved to be a false economy as police found out in Essex and Gwent but at least these two dimensional  objects of ridicule could be recycled into something more useful  eg fuel for power stations or for their colleagues` target practice on the shooting range.  But it`s hard to believe the sense in leaving  a £40K police car lying around..........................!!!!!!!  

A full size toy would make more sense.

THE WORLD OF THE ASBO

For number crunchers and those interested in Anti Social Behaviour Orders feast upon the latest offering from the Ministry of Justice if you wish to peruse the statistical analyses.  The following summary is copied for convenience.

ASBOs issued

• in total, 24,427 ASBOs were issued between April 1999 and December 2013; the highest number of ASBOs issued annually was in 2005 (4,122); since then, there were year-on-year falls in the number issued between 2005 and 2012
• in 2013, 1,349 ASBOs were issued, a 2% increase from the 1,329 ASBOs issued in 2012
• in total since 1 June 2000, 86% of ASBOs have been issued to males; and 36% of ASBOs issued to juveniles
• a greater proportion of ASBOs (60%) have been issued following conviction for a criminal offence rather than following an application
• 25% of ASBOs issued on application to juveniles in 2013 were accompanied with an Individual Support Order (ISO); this is an increase from 18% in 2012 and is just below the 2009 peak of 26%

2. ASBOs breached

• of the 24,323 ASBOs issued between 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2013, 58% (14,157) had been breached at least once; of those breached, 75% (10,651) were breached more than once; if an ASBO is breached, on average it is breached five times
• in 2013, there were 862 ASBOs breached for the first time, a 3% decrease compared to 2012 and the lowest number of breaches since 2003
• juveniles have accounted for 42% of ASBOs breached; just over two-thirds of juveniles had breached their ASBOs at least once by the end of 2013, compared to just over half of adults
• on average, 29% of ASBOs were breached within the year they were issued; on annual basis, this ‘in-year breach rate’ has remained relatively stable since 2009 at around 30%

3. Sentencing for ASBOs breached

• of the 14,157 ASBOs breached at least once, 53% (7,503) resulted in courts imposing a sentence of immediate custody, with an average custodial sentence length (ACSL) of 5.0 months; a further 23% (3,200) resulted in a community sentence being imposed

PROLIFIC OFFENDERS AND THEIR SENTENCING

The sentencing of prolific offenders can  pose  particular problems.  When these offenders have pages of shoplifting convictions custody can be the only option when our duty of public protection is considered.  The vast majority of such people  owe their offending to a life blighted by alcohol and/or drug addiction.  In a rational system of health and justice the right of society to supercede the rights of the individual   to the benefit of both would be a no brainer.  Every government parrots the mantra of rehabilitation and the need to keep offenders out of prison.  Yet when it comes to dealing with those such as this woman we are like a swimmer splashing about in a sea of custard going nowhere but making a huge noise and spraying the goo everywhere.  Compulsory treatment at a drying out centre under strict confined medical control is the only humane way for the scourge of criminally funded  addiction to be controlled and eventually minimised and eliminated.  The Priory Clinic does it for those who have the money.  Surely the state has no less a duty to us all, addicted offenders and citizens of good character alike,  to do it for the common good?  Banning entry to Tesco`s or any other retailer is p****** into the wind.