Anyone who has taken the time to read my previous posts and comments, will know by now that I am a cynical bastard, completely disenchanted and out of step with modern life, in this country at least. This is something I freely admit, although it doesn't make me in the least bit happier or more contented, far from it.
Recently I've had to take a self imposed break from blogging. I originally started putting my thoughts out on this site, in the hope it might be a cathartic experience, however, if anything it's made me more bitter. The trouble is in searching for suitable subject matter, I find I'm reading more newspapers, visiting the BBC news website and watching television news far more than normal and as a result I now spend my days in a permanent state of moral outrage.
This week knife crime seems to be high on the agenda of every news outlet. I'm not sure whether things have suddenly got a whole lot worse over the last seven days, or whether this is just the media's current hobby horse, although there has been a particularly disturbing case reported this morning about a four and a five year old who have died from stab wounds in Surrey. Of course this isn't a typical knife crime story, which generally involves a teenager being stabbed to death in some grossly disproportionate response to a trivial dispute with one of his peer group. I guess another couple of weeks and the papers will have reverted back to stories of uncontrolled immigration and falling house prices.
One thing that did stick in my mind, was a quote (not misquote I hope) from a spokesperson for the Prison Reform Trust, who stated that they felt the imposition of lengthy prison terms for those "that only carry knives, as apposed to actually use them" might be counter productive amongst young people. I can't catch my breath....Firstly I'm starting to really dislike the use of the term "young people". It's almost as if calling someone a child or even teenager, when they fall into the relevant age group is somehow derogatory. Unfortunately it's slipped into common usage amongst the liberal elite. Secondly, the whole point of banning the carrying of knives and punishing people if they transgress, is as a preventative measure, so that we don't have to deal with the ensuing serious assaults and murders, when every dispute and minor fall out becomes a life or death struggle. Unfortunately, the handing out of reprimands, warnings, final warnings etc, has very little if any effect in addressing offending behaviour, in my experience. I'm sure the Home Office could supply statistics proving otherwise, but frankly I'm always deeply sceptical about the torrent of lies, damn lies and yet more statistics with regards to crime levels and offender behaviour. The facts are just too easy to manipulate.
For example, when is a robbery not a robbery? Easy, when there is no realistic likelihood of anyone ever being charged with the offence. When it comes to recording of crime, robbery is treated very seriously and pressure is heaped on police forces to clear up their undetected crimes which fall into this category. Remember, most of the time, we're not talking about a Sweeney style "over the pavement" blag, armed to the teeth with sawn off shooters. So what to do when a fifteen year old has had their mobile nicked after being punched to the ground by a group of other "young people"? Simply record it as a theft from person and a separate assault. You can have any number of these offences recorded and they won't impact in the slightest on your robbery figures.
Going back to the knife crime situation and crime in general, what society is crying out for is a proper deterrent. One fact is crystal clear, the only means of dealing with offenders, which gives a cast iron guarantee that they will not offend against vulnerable, innocent, law abiding members of society, for the duration of the sentence, is prison. We also need to be clear and unambiguous in the messages we give out to potential offenders i.e if you do x,y or z, this is what's going to happen to you and you won't like it one bit. Nothing deters people better than the thought that if they transgress they will get their just deserts. This should hold true regardless of any attempt at mitigation put forward by the defence e.g drug "issues" (another phrase I despise), the lack of a father figure etc. Isn't it amazing that everyone who is about to get sentenced has just started a new job and has turned over a new leaf since the birth of their child. Offenders by nature tend to be excessively egotistical. Thus they offend because the likely impact of their actions on others doesn't even enter into their heads. They should therefore have the facts spelt out to them repeatedly; that if you choose to offend, the consequences for them personally will be deeply unpalatable and they should be reminded of this throughout the length of their sentence. Unfortunately, this isn't going to happen. Anyone who has had the misfortune to walk across the public concourse of their local magistrates court recently will know what I mean. The whole place resembles an offenders' social gathering, a chance to catch up with old friends. You won't see anyone with furrowed brow pondering on what led them there, or worrying about the coming sentence. Any fear of consequences or personal responsibilty has been removed from the equation.
Over the past thirty to forty years the prison system has been stood on its' head. Powerful elements within the Probation Service, HM Prison Service, the judiciary and the media have compaigned to convince us that prison is there to reform. It therefore has to serve the interests of the offender in leading him or her onto the righteous path. The time was, not too long ago, when such a notion would have been laughed out of court. Judges knew that prisons were there to incarcerate the rotten two percent and protect the law abiding citizens of the nation from such elements. The trouble is the rehabilitation lobby has now become something of an industry.
I've just finished reading John McVicar's book "McVicar by himself." This is a person who knows a thing or who about the prison system. Since his release in 1978, he has turned his back on his life of crime and worked in publishing. I expected him to be an enthusiastic proponent of rehabilitation. Not a bit of it. He states quite clearly that when he chose to stop offending, as when he engaged in armed robberies, he exercised free will. He did not consider himself to be an inmate or trainee, he was a convict and was there because of his own actions and this in time lead him to reassess his life and redirect his intellect and abilities in a more positive direction.
This morning, I walked through a nearby estate made up of lowrise blocks of flats and maisonettes. It's been years since I ventured into the place. I used to play there when I was in primary school, as there was an adventure playground there. Needless to say the adventure playground is now gone, grassed over in the name of health and safety, no doubt. As I enter the estate, I spy two young teenage mums, babies on their laps, sat on the doorstep in their dressing gowns (it's only 1 pm) smoking away, their children acquiring a taste for Benson and Hedges as they are forced to passively inhale. A bit further and a baseball capped youth walks past, pushing a youngster in a pram. As he passed I'm assaulted by the aroma of cannabis from the kingsize reefer between his lips. I suppose I should be pleased he is not an absent father. A bit further and I witness another young lad taking delivery of his latest fix as the van pulls up and the deal takes place through the open driver's window. However, the most striking thing is that the whole estate has now been surrounded by high, oppressive looking security fencing and CCTV cameras, giving it the appearance of Crossmaglen RUC station, circa 1985. So it would appear that because the judiciary refuse to give offenders any meaningful jail time, we all now have to live in our own private prisons.
When I think about it though it's not just offenders that are highly egotistical, we're all starting to behave in the same selfish way. We live in times where the cult of the self reigns supreme.
I recently went to a friend's son's first birthday party. I'm not up to speed with children's party games these days, so I was a bit surprised to find that pass the parcel had changed somewhat in the intervening years since I last participated. Apparently it's not the done thing now to leave one child with a prize at the end and the others all feeling disappointed. Each layer has to conceal an individual prize, so that no one feels rejected. I know the game isn't designed to teach kids a fundamental truth about life, but it appears to me that children are missing out on a valuable lesson, namely that sometimes you don't get what you want, shit happens and learning to take life's setbacks is what really forges character, the ability to lose gracefully and to show good sportmanship.
I would have pointed this out at the time, but to be honest, I was frightened that one of the toddlers was going to stick a knife in me.