I am amazed that police in Dundee keep arresting a core of 15 or so under-25s who steal, joyride, and burn cars every night. Amazed, that is, by the law that allows this to happen.
The 15 are regularly arrested, are awaiting trial for multiple offences, are subject to dozens of bail orders – but cannot be remanded in custody under the new national criminal justice strategy.
They can’t be stopped.
Because they are under 25, they must be treated leniently. So they get out of custody and carry on with their destruction spree.
They know they can’t be touched. They stick two fingers up at society and the police.
To any copper reading this: you have my heartfelt sympathy.
These kids’ parents probably didn’t discipline them. This will have worsened at school where there was no punishment for bad behaviour either.
A teacher told me of an incident in Dundee where a 15-year-old boy was throwing desks around a classroom. The “strategy” was to leave the room, allow him to smash it up, then after he got tired ask what was upsetting him and could the teachers do anything to make him feel better?
The world has gone mad. The law allows it to be mad.
Under-25 crime guidelines look better on paper than on streets of Dundee
This “leniency for under-25s” idea – introduced by the Scottish Sentencing Council last year – will have been dreamed up in a lovely airy room with sparkling mineral water and a tray of quinoa nibbles.
The law-makers will have impressive degrees, wonderfully good intentions, and zero experience of the real world.
They’ll have based this leniency idea on some study that looks great on paper.
And I have to admit, the notion that everyone is, all the time, basically a good person is a laudable one. Not remotely in touch with reality, of course, but it’s nice that some people believe it.
Some people have to be shown the way to be good. Others must be forced to be good. Some have to be removed from society until they learn that stealing and burning isn’t good.
Justice has to ensure that actions have consequences.
Leniency or lunacy?
If you’d run this leniency idea past anyone in Dundee who has been a victim of this sort of crime, or just anyone with common sense, they’d have pointed out it has a rather obvious failing.
A flaw that should have stood out like it had a neon sign flashing “danger here”.
It is this: the under-25s guidelines should have stipulated a limit which ensured anyone committing multiple crimes in quick succession loses the leniency factor.
Another day, yet another Scottish sentencing scandal:
A rapists who attacked a 12-year-old girl was given less prison time because he's aged under 25.@HumzaYousaf must now scrap these disgraceful soft-touch guidelines, issued by the sentencing quango created by the SNP. pic.twitter.com/9M18iKepR6
— Russell Findlay (@RussellFindlay1) June 7, 2023
If you never tell a child to stop taking sweeties it will carry on taking sweeties.
A system works only if it makes things better. This system has clearly failed to do that.
It should be urgently re-examined and a clause put in ensuring the police and courts can take effective action against repeat offenders no matter their age.
Because the situation, as it stands, is lunacy.
We’d be as well having no law at all.
So which of our MSPs will raise this Dundee-specific problem in parliament?
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