Typical British justice

[STEED]

One rule for us and one rule for them. If that was joe public it would be a different story.

Drink-drive Pc's fall from grace
A police officer who admitted driving two cars, including a patrol car, while over the legal alcohol limit has been given a community sentence.

Pc Ian Fielding, 44, who had once been given a bravery award, was celebrating promotion on the night of the offences.
Fielding, who served with West Mercia Police, was given 200 hours' community service and a 30-month driving ban.
He also faces instant dismissal in what Shrewsbury Magistrates' Court heard was "a spectacular fall from grace".
District Judge Bruce Morgan said a custodial sentence was not needed as Fielding had already suffered through the loss of his career and pension.
"It is quite clear one moment this officer was the hero of the hour and in a very short space of time he now may be considered to be a villain," he said.
'Fall from grace'
The court heard that on 7 January Fielding went to a party and a pub in Worcester to celebrate promotion to the helicopter squad.
He had organised to sleep there instead of returning to his home in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, but later decided he wanted to go home.
He first crashed his Ford Focus down an embankment and was seen by a witness scrambling out of a ditch.

This was a fall from grace of quite spectacular proportion
Shane Crawford, defending

He then went back to West Mercia Police's headquarters in Hindlip, Shropshire, and drove a marked police car but was spotted by a colleague.
He drove off but eventually returned and handed himself in.
A breath test found he had an alcohol level of 79 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath in his system. The legal limit is 35 micrograms.
In mitigation Shane Crawford said: "This was a fall from grace of quite spectacular proportion.
"He had up until this point had an exemplary record.
"The very laws he is now guilty of he sought for all of his working life to enforce."
In December 2002, Fielding disarmed a gunman in Worcester city centre.
The court heard this left him with post-traumatic stress.
Shortly before the drink-driving incident two close family members died, leaving him to deal with arrangements, Mr Crawford said.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...re/5220556.stm

Published: 2006/07/27 12:49:38 GMT

© BBC MMVI

[SUBMAN1]

You sure your criminal class didn't like, take over the government or something? The criminals get off, the government guys get off, and the only one getting busted are the working class joe over rediculous laws!!!!

[TteFAboB]

Actually, that's a pretty harsh sentence.

200 hours in public space, and 30-months walking to work. He'll be exposed to iPod muggers!

[STEED]

A member of the general public would had got prison.

[lesrae]

I wouldn't say he got off lightly, 30 month ban + losing his job (community service isn't worth the breath it takes to say it). Sending police officers to prison seems to be avoided as much as possible, probably due to the reception they'd get once inside.

[August]

Not to mention loss of both his job and his pension.

[STEED]

And 9 times out of 10 they get their pensions back after going to the human rights court.

If they break the law which justifies a prison sentence they should get it.

[STEED]

The British Home Secretary has said... We have the softest Justice system in the world and the highest crime rate in Europe.

And his solution is to build more prisons, sorry holiday camps.

The Labour party is and has always been useless on law and order they are a waste of space.

[Captain Nemo]

Originally Posted by STEED

The Labour party is and has always been useless on law and order they are a waste of space.

Are the Tories any better? If I remember rightly they were in power from 1979 to 1997 (18 years) and overall did the crime rate go down during this period? I don't think so. IMHO neither party has been sucessful in tackling the crimes that really worry the average person on the street.

Nemo

[Kapitan]

If that was me (JOE PUBLIC) i would have got 18 months prision heavy fine and a 2 year ban, he got off light!

[STEED]

Originally Posted by Captain Nemo

Are the Tories any better? If I remember rightly they were in power from 1979 to 1997 (18 years) and overall did the crime rate go down during this period? I don't think so. IMHO neither party has been sucessful in tackling the crimes that really worry the average person on the street.

Nemo

Crime under Labour has gone up in fact out of control.

[micky1up]

and if this man had drove his car into a car with a family in it would you be defending him still there is no excuse for driving under the influence of alcohol and damn right he should lose his job

[Captain Nemo]

Originally Posted by STEED

Crime under Labour has gone up in fact out of control.

If you look at the Home Office's British Crime Survey for all crime it states:

• In 2004/05 the total number of crimes in England and Wales was around 10,850,000.
• Total crime peaked in 1995, and has since fallen by 44%.
• In 2004/05 nearly 24% of the population were the victim of some type of crime.
• This has fallen from a high in 1995 of nearly 40% of the population.

If I'm not mistaken the Prime Minister in 1995 was John Major who is a Tory. So it would appear your statement above is incorrect. Don't get me wrong here, I think both Party's are crap when it comes to dealing with crime.

Nemo

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by Captain Nemo

If you look at the Home Office's British Crime Survey for all crime it states:

• In 2004/05 the total number of crimes in England and Wales was around 10,850,000.
• Total crime peaked in 1995, and has since fallen by 44%.
• In 2004/05 nearly 24% of the population were the victim of some type of crime.
• This has fallen from a high in 1995 of nearly 40% of the population.

If I'm not mistaken the Prime Minister in 1995 was John Major who is a Tory. So it would appear your statement above is incorrect. Don't get me wrong here, I think both Party's are crap when it comes to dealing with crime.

Nemo

Actually, I beleive this is a drop due to the way the British report crime now. I forget which year, but there were some changes made in the reporting of crime in England near the turn of the century. We just studied it in my Criminal Law class and England was the test subject. I think even the US's FBI refuses to report English crime statistics now because they are so off, but they will report up to like 1999 or so.

-S

[SUBMAN1]

Wow! You aren't kidding by light sentences out there! This only goes from 1981 to 1996, but you typically hit prison for 3 times the amount of time in the US than you do in England for the same offense!

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/html/cjusew96/ts.htm

-S