Suspiciously focused crime waves
From Hansard:
"Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many fines for the non-payment of penalty notices for disorder (PND) were registered by the courts in each of the last four years, broken down by (a) the offence for which the PND was issued and (b) how many fines were paid on time in full".
Straw was unable to give the breakdown sought, but the detail on PNDs that emerges is intriguing. Here are some examples:
Sale of alcohol to a drunken person -
2004 - 0,
2005 - 11,927
2006 - 9,
2007 - 9
Possession of an adult firework by an under 18 -
2004 - 7
2005 - 4,702
2006 - 21
2007 - 31
Theft (retail <£200) -
2004 - 1,128
2005 - 60
2006 -21,157
2007 - 24,344
Those are just the most extreme examples, but there are plenty more oddities in the table.
I am, broadly, in favour of police discretion, but the ebb and flow of figures for some of these offences is absurd.
"Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many fines for the non-payment of penalty notices for disorder (PND) were registered by the courts in each of the last four years, broken down by (a) the offence for which the PND was issued and (b) how many fines were paid on time in full".
Straw was unable to give the breakdown sought, but the detail on PNDs that emerges is intriguing. Here are some examples:
Sale of alcohol to a drunken person -
2004 - 0,
2005 - 11,927
2006 - 9,
2007 - 9
Possession of an adult firework by an under 18 -
2004 - 7
2005 - 4,702
2006 - 21
2007 - 31
Theft (retail <£200) -
2004 - 1,128
2005 - 60
2006 -21,157
2007 - 24,344
Those are just the most extreme examples, but there are plenty more oddities in the table.
I am, broadly, in favour of police discretion, but the ebb and flow of figures for some of these offences is absurd.
Labels: Law and order, Parliament
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on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:46 am.
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