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

[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]

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