RoboCop

[caddyman]

Apparently, the British are ’passive against crime’.

It seems that the UK has developed a culture whereby the police, the courts and government generally are supposed to tackle crime and fewer individuals are likely to get involved as so-called ‘have a go heroes’ compared with other European nations.

The public policy group Reform says that Britons have become "passive bystanders" in the fight against crime.
It says the UK has the world's most expensive justice system but people are uninformed and abdicate responsibility to politicians, police and the courts.

I wonder why this might be? The fact that the public is scared to get involved because the villain will either shoot them with a gun they have but the citizen is not allowed, stab them with a knife they have but which the citizen is not allowed, or simply sue their arses off for assault?

If we have a society that has become dependent upon the state, it’s because a steady stream of reforming do-gooders have poked their noses in creating the nanny state, creating an environment of dependency and fear that goes well beyond attitudes to tackling crime.

Comments

[fen-wolfchile.livejournal.com]

Once my mum was offered this advice from the police (she's a neighbourhood watch bod).
If you think there is someone in your house don’t do anything to alert them.
Don’t turn on any lights or in anyway attempt to confront them or scare them away.
Only when you think that they are no longer in your house should you call the police.

In other words hide under your duvet until the bad people have gone away then you can get the police round to patronise you about your lack of security and completely fail to catch the offending bad person, but it’s ok as you’ll have a crime number so you can claim on your insurance.
No matter what you do then you’ll never feel safe in that house ever again.

[mollpeartree.livejournal.com]

You know, I've heard from other sources that this is official police advice in Britain, and it just boggles my mind. The thing is, if someone has broken into your house, you have no way of knowing if they're just there to steal things. I can understand why it might be a bad idea to confront someone (depending on all kinds of variables), but it would seem to me that in that event, what you really want to do is at least get out of the house. It's fight or flight, not force yourself to hang around quietly and see.

The idea of voluntarily remaining alone in an enclosed space with someone you at least know is a criminal just sounds like crazy talk to me.

[nyarbaggytep.livejournal.com]

People are certainly encouraged to hand over their responsibilities, but it's not possible for anyone to force them too. And I can understand people being scared, although I blame the media for that, I think that for every murder they report they should have to report one of the many life-saving things that people do for each other every day.

There's a lot of apathy as well though, after all, it's certainly easier to let it be someone else's problem rather than recognising that it affects all of us.

Twice when I've been hit by another vehicle nobody out of the many people who witnessed it stopped to see if I was ok, let alone offer to be my witness for the insurance. Not a lot of danger involved there. Pure laziness: it'll take time, it might be difficult, it's nothing to do with me.

We are encouraged to see ourselves as societally distinct rather than inter-related, but anyone who chooses to look can see that that is not true.

[fencingsculptor.livejournal.com]

Good points. Good post. I particularly agree about your point about media culpability in the state of society.

[mr-h-r-hughes.livejournal.com]

Yes I heard some interesting figures about the relative 'danger levels' of various places. Surprise surprise people who claimed you couldn't walk the streets of London for the legions of kids with knives you'd bump into but not in slightest bit worried about visiting places outside the UK which the figures prove are much, much, much more dangerous.

I have recently been getting to the stage when I wonder if the good the media can do outweighs the awful, awful things they help create in the public mind.

[mr-h-r-hughes.livejournal.com]

APPLAUSE

[w00hoo.livejournal.com]

I heard this on Radio 4 driving in this morning. Along with the apparent 'fact' that we have overcrowded prisons because we expect the police and courts to deal with problems that European countries deal with on a local level. I guess by 'having a go' and then not bothering the police with it.

The media are showing themselves in poorer and poorer light of late as far as I'm concerned, far too interested in making the 'big story' when there isn't really one there. Like the furore over the draft letter yesterday and ignoring the point of the word 'draft'.

I wonder how many people have died in house fires since last Tuesday around the country?

[mr-h-r-hughes.livejournal.com]

In the media everything has to be either THE GREATEST THING EVER or THE END OF CIVILLISATION all of which gets even worse when filtered through the minds of people who seemingly have the brains of irresponsible, spoiled toddlers. People are addicted to drama.

[bluesman.livejournal.com]

I couldn't agree more.

Luckily, here in America, where even non-citizens like moi have the constitutional right to bear arms, you have a right to grab the shotgun under your bed and blow an intruder's face off the front of his head, as long as you have told them first to get out of your house because you are armed. I know several people who would have no problem with killing an intruder, and then calling the police.

And while in California the law might be namby-pamby about the whole thing, lawsuits, etc, don't burgle someone's house in Texas: the house owner will shoot you, display your head on their living room wall and barbecue your corpse and spread chili on your worthless burgling arse. I love living here.

[theo]

To my mind, two causes:

A national increase in risk aversion flowing from state policy of discouraging personal responsibility and a media policy of exacerbating fear.

A decreased social engagement flowing from a state policy of discouraging personal responsibility and a media policy of diminishing awareness of human kindness.

If the state insists on taking responsibility away from me how can I develop my own, especially when I am told repeatedly that other people are scary and receive no evidence that they might be otherwise.

[nyarbaggytep.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly. Only more articulate than I could be!

[littleonionz.livejournal.com]

When you go to europe the freedom and self determination of individuals is noticeable, in short; we suck.

[ladkyis.livejournal.com]

NO we don't suck, the media perception of us sucks. People who have children should be bringing them up to be responsible for their actions. The education system should be teaching our children - my grandchildren that there WILL be consequences to their actions and they WILL be responsible for those consequences, no matter that they come from a broken home and were mentally abused as a child.

Oh goodness me my generation has a lot to answer for...