Same old Britain..

[Lost Cause]

According to the "New Statesman" magazine, new rules will allow any crime with a max sentence of two years or less to be tried solely by a judge! Quote, "London is now more dangerous these days than New York."
It isn't raining..it's them pissing on your rights again!
From the home of George Orwell, the average British subject is photographed an average of three hundred times a day. Not shocking when you have two million cameras in your country. Freedom? Never heard of it!

 

[T.H. Oughts]

Yes, I hear London has the most street camera in the world.... maybe the local council member is a voyeur hoping to get lucky with late night shots.

 

[Closet Desire]

same old what?

No judicial system is perfect but one should be careful about making it so black and white.

Yes, we have cameras all over the place and, frankly, their effectiveness is questionable. However, let's objectively consider some of the following facts about American justice.

1) One can read everyday of cases being overturned where the accused faced a jury of his/her "peers" and was convicted only to have DNA evidence prove beyond a doubt that the person was innocent.

2) Do you really think that a jury of lay people are qualified, ie capable of understanding, the increasingly technical nature of evidence and testimony? For example, was the jury in Texas reallly capable of determining if Yates was clinically insane?

3) Many states now have a 3-strike rule for habitual criminals, but a case up for appeal in California concerns an individual who shoplifted half a dozen videos from a store. His sentence? 20 years to life. Does that really make sense?

4) Convictions for use of crack carry up to life sentences for repeat offenses. Crack is a choice of those in low income brackets. Cocaine, the choice of stockbrokers, lawyers, and bankers carries a much, much lighter sentence even though chemically it is virtually identical.

5) The US ranks third in the world for the number of executions carried out. Only China and Iran rank higher. In fact, Texas and Oklahoma by themselves rank third as well. Sort of ironic for a country that fights about whether the ten commandments should be in the courtroom--something about "thou shalt not kill."

6) Many criminal cases in the US are already decided without a jury and the accused always has the right to waive a jury trial.

7) A jury is no guarantee of justice. If you are black man charged with killing a white man or woman you are more likely to be sentenced to death than if the roles are reversed in the same case.

Finally, yes, you are more likely to be a victim of a violent crime in London than New York BUT you are not likely to be killed or seriously injured.

No, I'm not a die hard Brit but an American who actually has experience with the wheels of justice in both countries.

 

[freescorfr]

On a less professional note from Closet, I recall well being interviewed in the Parade in Leamington Spa, prior to the decision to install cameras in the street.
That was in 1995. Yes, we have many cameras and they have contributed to a significant decline in criminal activity in cities. I have not heard any public outcry and I certainly don't believe my freedoms are compromised.

 

[miles]

Is it any wonder that this once-proud leader of the West is crumbling into so many crumpets?

Their leader is a corrupt, dim bulb. But then again, the poor twits did elect him, didn't they? He probably cheated his way in. That's what Yahoo news says.

 

[bluespoke]

Is it any wonder that this once-proud leader of the West is crumbling into so many crumpets?

Their leader is a corrupt, dim bulb. But then again, the poor twits did elect him, didn't they? He probably cheated his way in. That's what Yahoo news says.

At least we elected the winner!

 

[Lost Cause]

At LEAST we still have the right to a jury trial! Believe me, I'm not gloating. It's just a matter of time before it's here. After a decade or two of "Judge Dredd", we won't remember the jury system. Eventually, the sheep will only know that if you're picked up, you're guilty of something. "show me your papers" Sieg Heil!

 

[Pechorin]

Lost Cause

Give thanks that London isn't as dangerous as Jerusalem or Gaza or Chechnya before going back to your book of crime statistics.

 

[Lost Cause]

I don't give a fuck about any fucking city other than those in my fucking thread! Geez! A.D.D. is epidemic it appears. Any other city is merely a future mideast glass parking lot to me so, make yer own thread about the poor fucks in those other cities. London and New York are still the financial seats of the West. They both have the most strict gun laws..hee..hee!

 

[p_p_man]

I don't see any problem with street cameras.

And in the latest case of the missing schoolgirl Milly their positive attributes were highlighted when she was shown on TV during the week leaving school, going to the railway station and boarding a train. The films showed what she was carrying, that she was eating a snack and that she was alone.

Small bits of information we would never have had before the days of CCTV.

 

[android1966]

The only people who have to worry about cctv camaras are those who have committed crimes.
If a murder or robbery takes place or a bomb is planted then it's an obvious bonus to have pictures of the criminal.

As for London being more dangerous than New York I'd question how those figures proving this are collated. New York (with a smaller population than London) was proudly announcing a year or two back that they had got murders below the one thousand mark. London has just over three hundred murders a year.

With the trial by a judge thing, it has always been the case that minor crimes are usually dealt with by magistrates or minor judges. Surely the same is also the case in the US. Do you mean you have to assemble a jury every time someone spits on the sidewalk or runs a red light? However in the past someone in the UK going before a magistrate could chose to go to a higher court with a jury no matter how trivial their offense was. Basically this was slowing down the justice system.

Personally speaking, I was a bit of a bad boy (in my youth) and "going in front of the beak" was no problem. I was always guilty anyway, and knowing the maximum sentance I could get from a magistrate was a thousand pound fine or two years I never wanted to go before a jury where for the same offense I could get far worse.