In response to the scourge of “moped thieves” (louts who rob people, often violently, then speed off on little — stolen — 50cc scooters and motorbikes), London’s Metropolitan Police have instituted a policy of “chase and knock down” — in effect, chasing after said thieves, then ramming them with their cars if the criminals refuse to stop. To the surprise of nobody, this has been extraordinarily effective in getting arrests.
[pause to allow the cheering and applause to subside, on both sides of the Atlantic]
Of course, knocking some little scrote off a moving motorcycle can cause injury, and has. (Okay, you can knock off those catcalls and jeers now, my ears are hurting.)
And predictably, the Usual Suspects are wailing that this is Crool & Hartless, and Nobody Deserves This Rough Treatment, etc. etc. etc. You’ve heard all this nonsense before.
If you follow the above link however, do not miss the Comments section below the article. And in case you don’t have time to go over to the Mail‘s website, here are but a few of my favorites:
“Forgive me if I see violent criminals being injured as a bonus.”
“I’m just disappointed they’re not reversing back over them.”
“I don’t care if they suffer breaks to all the bones in their bodies. Quite frankly who cares?”
“Good job. Don’t stop.”
“Who cares about dead robbers? The more the merrier!” — and from one man who could well have been one of my Loyal Readers:
“Don’t chase them, very dangerous, use snipers!”
And here’s the reason for the anger and vitriol. Most of these larcenous little fuckers (and they’re almost all teenagers, by the way) have little problem in using violence to rob people, whether the weapons are hammers, clubs or machetes — imagine having your arm nearly sliced off just so that some little shit can take your iPhone — which is why the public, if the commenters at the Daily Mail are at all representative, are so angry about all this.
Furthermore, the use of mopeds means that these armed robbers can roam all over London — meaning that nowhere is “safe” anymore — thus this kind of crime can affect literally anyone in the street, and it is: from grannies to housewives to toffs and to other teenagers, all are potential victims.
No wonder people are cheering.