Category: Law and Order

Watchful Eyes

Law and Order, Surveillance Society

Over in Britishland, a young mother named Nicola Bulley has gone missing while taking her dog for a walk one evening a couple weeks ago.  There have been all sorts of theories (coupled with the usual bollocks from people unrelated to the case who have nothing better to do with their lives):  that she fell into a river along her walk, that she was kidnapped, that she decided to do a runner (leaving behind her two small children), and so on.

No investigations have turned up anything at all — the Britcops are getting all sorts of crap for their slipshod investigation — and her disappearance has remained to date a complete mystery.

(Here’s a sample of articles on the topic.)

Here’s what disturbs me about all this.  For a small village, there sure must be a boatload of CCTV cameras around.  Here’s a photo map of the “blind spots” in the CCTV coverage — which are tiny — which means that there’s an awful lot of geography that’s apparently covered, and isn’t a blind spot.

To me, this means that surveillance cameras Over There are practically ubiquitous.  One might expect, perhaps, that densely-populated urban areas might have cameras all over the place (as seen in the gloomy 2006 Red Road  movie);  but in a remote little village like St. Michaels-On-Wyre?

I bet it’s not just in Britishland, either;  it’s probably growing Over Here, too;  and that gives me the creeps.

Of course, if anyone has proof that this is not the case, then I stand corrected.

No Exceptions

Anti-Gun Nannies, Law and Order, The Gun Thing

Not so much fun when it affects you personally, is it?

Oregon police are worried that if Ballot Measure 114 (BM 114) is allowed to take effect it may limit them to ten-round magazines and force them to get a permit in order to carry their firearms off-duty.

Among other things, BM 114 bans magazines holding more than ten rounds and requires residents to get a permit before being allowed to own a gun.

BM 114 contains an exemption for officers on duty, but there is confusion as to what hoops officers might have jump through in order to be armed and to maintain a standard number of rounds in their firearms when they are off-duty.

As the title of this post suggests:  no fucking exceptions.  Let cops and other government officials have to live under the bullshit laws that affect all citizens.

Even better would be if Oregon cops (of all jurisdictions) just come right out and say flatly that they’re not going to enforce any of this crap.

But they won’t, of course, and some “supplemental” law is going to be passed which carves out an exemption for law enforcement officers and deputies.

You heard it here first.

No Responsibility

Gummint, Law and Order

Here’s a recent situation which set my teeth on edge:

Mackenzie Croxford-Cook, 14 and from Deal in Kent, died on August 3 this year after entering a fairground in Pencester Gardens in Dover before it opened to the public.

He and a number of friends gained access to the fun fair and used the dodgems and trampolines before the teen was trapped and fatally injured on a ‘superstar’ machine.

So far, so good:  irresponsible / lawless teens go exploring, start fucking around on equipment that in normal times would be responsibly operated and controlled, and find out the ultimate cost of trespass and said behavior.  Sad, but teenagers do this kind of stuff all the time (although not always with a tragic end), and we all feel for the grieving parents of said hooligans etc. etc.

Here’s what blows the cuff off my arm:

The inquest into his death was due to conclude on Monday at County Hall in Maidstone, but area coroner Katrina Hepburn adjourned the case so further information could be gathered.

The coroner would like to question ride operator, Luke Shufflebottom, as well as Dover District Council which owns the land.

Ummm what for?  Was said funfair locked up?  Were signs posted which said, “Warning: Equipment Should Not Be Operated Except By Fairground Employees”, or something like that?  If so, then we all move on — if not, then fines can be issued and so on.

Ms Hepburn wants to have ‘all of the information’ needed to both conclude the inquest and potentially issue a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report, if necessary, due to any failings or shortcomings which could have contributed to the death.  She explained: ‘Mackenzie and his colleagues had access to this ride outside its hours of operation with such tragic consequences. I believe there is missing evidence looking at the fencing of this ride and questions about access to this location for these teenagers on that morning. Mackenzie was trapped in a fairground ride but I don’t have evidence about how that location was being fenced and monitored at that hour in the morning.’

Errrr no.  You’re the fucking coroner.  Your responsibility begins and ends with determining the cause of death.  If there’s any kind of culpability to be sought, that’s actually the job of the police to determine — assuming they’re not too busy tracking down and arresting perpetrators of hateful online texts, that is.

And excuse me, but it is not the responsibility of the fairground operator to have security constantly patrolling the (locked) premises just in case a bunch of thrill-seeking, irresponsible punks happen to come calling.

I’m heartily sick of criminal behavior being excused because there weren’t a thousand warning signs posted or a security guard stationed at five-yard intervals just in case some scrote feels like breaking the law.  A fence, a locked gate and a warning sign should be all that’s necessary to prevent you from accidentally getting hurt.  After that, you’re on your own and if bad things happen it’s your fault, and your problem.

Some people, such as the above coroner, are no doubt going to disagree with me, but I don’t care.  They’re wrong, and I’m right.

NIMBY, But With Reason

House & Home, Law and Order

Here’s something I agree with, but not for the reasons you might think.

We’re furious as monstrous new super prison is being built behind our home – it will put our lives in danger

But quite apart from the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) sentiment, my argument against the “But we have to put the prisons somewhere!” statement is simple:

There are literally dozens of uninhabited islands scattered around the shores of Britishland (e.g. in the Outer Hebrides or even the Shetlands) which could easily support a supermax prison.  Why, I ask, should a prison be built in a quiet country locale when it would be easier — not to say more secure — to dump the nation’s most reprehensible criminals in a place which has shitty, cold weather, as opposed to in the relatively-mild climate of Leicestershire?

Yeah, the construction costs may be higher in the middle of the ocean — but offset those against the long delays and added costs involved with overcoming local opposition on the mainland?  Not so bad.

“What about power and water?”  How about a couple of windmills and a few solar panels (for those few hours a year when the sun actually shines) to provide electricity, and a small desalination plant if necessary?

It’s not like these animals deserve coddling, after all.

Street Takeovers

Crime, Good Stuff, Law and Order

Reader Mike L. sends me this heartening news:

Dangerous street takeovers are happening more and more often in Oklahoma City and across the nation, which is why an updated city ordinance is cracking down on large groups of people who illegally block intersections, roads, or parking lots. Street takeovers can include street racing, or can simply involve participants using their vehicles to block intersections while they take over the area with friends.

Not only do illegal takeovers increase crime, they also block medical responders during emergencies.

The updated ordinance includes vehicles being impounded for 90 days, while participants can be jailed for 60 days, as well as face fines of more than $2,000.

My only suggestion is that the towed cars are taken not to impound lots, but straight to scrapyards where the car crushers are waiting.  To paraphrase Samuel Johnson:  nothing concentrates the mind more than an imminent crushing.

And the fine takes away the deposit for a replacement.

My Kinda Guy

Good Stuff, Law and Order

The Kim Award for Honest Speech and Straight Talk goes to Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County FL for this outstanding comment:

People have a right to be safe in their homes… I highly recommend, if a looter enters your home, you grab your gun and you shoot him, you shoot him so he looks like grated cheese.

I bet he drinks straight bourbon with a vitriol chaser.

No doubt some fainting goats will have a problem with his fine suggestion;  just nobody on this website.