WHY VANDALISM PAYS
By ATWadmin On October 31st, 2007
I was pretty disgusted, though not surprised, to read that "youths" who smashed up the roof and windows of a Church in Belfast have been let off any possible prosecution. What is remarkable about this is that the incident was fully photographed, with very clear images recorded as to who was doing what. Yet the vandals will get off scot-free! I can fully understand why the rector of the Church which was vandalised, Rev Charles McCartney, has said he intends to appeal their decision.
"If the prosecution service don’t do this, then it sends a message to the young men involved that there’s nothing the police can do," Rev McCartney. "It says to the local people there’s no point ringing the police, it also says to the police themselves ‘what’s the point in taking a case’.
That’s the point, there is no point! This is exactly the way things are meant to be. We have a Judiciary and a Police Service which is much more interested in helping those who have committed crime, wanting to understand them, to feel their pain. They have little thought for those at the receiving end. If you want to stop them wrecking your church roof, put up barbed wire and then expect to be sued for damages.
So sad and so utterly predictable. It sends out the message to the yobs, loud and clear:
"You have NOTHING to fear from the criminal justice system. Continue your yobbery!"
Peter,
Yes, and thats why it gets worse. We are not stopping the rot, we are actually encouraging it.
Put up barbed wire and not only will you be sued for damages they will make you take it down. They can get around cctv by wearing baseball caps, and basically do what they like. I’ll bet the appeal goes no where.
Typhoo,
Bet you are 100% right. We need a massive restoration of the rule of law and I do not think this will happen for at least a generation, plus we need out of the HRA as that subverts everything anyway!
Bet you even further the 8 republican dissidents are out before you can click your finger. Why even go to the bother, is it to make things look good, and then do nothing – everyone knows the outcome. Free to go!
Right again Typhoo – there is no rule of law left, the law-breakers get away with murder (literally) and the law looks like a beaten docket.
The civil law might be more use than the useless criminal law.
The church should sue the parents of the yobs for the cost of repairing the damage. At least it might give them something to think about and who knows, if they succeeded, a precedent would have been set.
A strange story. I can’t imagine a prosecutor not dreaming of prosecuting this type of vandalism.
Peter
And what do you think would happen when the parents ignore any payments demanded of them. If the authorities are unwilling to prosecute for the criminal damage they are hardly going to be tough on defaulting civil payment cases.
It’s incredible that the media image even has their faces distorted to protect their identity. So not only are they spared legal punishment but also any public censure for their crimes.
Colm
It would be up to the church to enforce the damages awarded. There are clear procedures for doing this, including distraint and attachment of earnings.
I heard the vicar on the radio saying the boys and their parents had admitted it. Despite that, the CPS decided not to proceed with charges. Pathetic.