British Justice System...........what a joke

[Lee Is Bob]

Originally Posted by Envy

STFU n00b

Who me

[Tank]

Pc killer ruling 'disrespectful' - from BBC News


A decision to overturn the whole-life term for Pc Ian Broadhurst's killer was "shockingly disrespectful to his memory", says the Police Federation.

In a letter to the Lord Chief Justice, chairman Paul McKeever said the judges who granted ex-US marine David Bieber's appeal had "blood on their hands".

Bieber shot Pc Broadhurst in the head in Leeds on Boxing Day 2003, despite the officer pleading for his life.

Last month, Bieber was told he will now serve a minimum of 37 years in jail.

The original whole life tariff imposed would have meant Bieber dying behind bars.

The Court of Appeal said the facts of Bieber's case, "horrifying though they were", did not justify a "life means life" sentence.

'Travesty of justice'

Mr McKeever spoke of his outrage in a letter to the most senior judge in England and Wales, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, one of the three judges to overturn Bieber's minimum sentence.

He said the 140,000 officers he represents were "appalled and disgusted" by the ruling.

He wrote: "This decision is an insult to all police officers and is nothing more than a green light for those evil thugs who have a complete disregard for life itself and think nothing of killing a police officer."

He continued: "Granting an evil, calculated killer any kind of dispensation is criminal and leaves the judiciary with blood on its hands."

"I... urge you to do whatever is needed to reverse this travesty of justice."

He went on: "This is shockingly disrespectful to his memory and illustrates the utter travesty of our criminal justice system, where the rights of a cop killer outweigh the rights of a fallen officer's family, friends and colleagues."

Bieber was found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court in 2004 of the murder of Pc Broadhurst, 34.

Pc Broadhurst, who was unarmed, was shot in Leeds during a routine check on a stolen vehicle.

Bieber was also convicted of the attempted murders of Pc Broadhurst's colleagues, Pc Neil Roper and Pc James Banks.

He became one of only 25 people at the time to have been given a whole-life sentence in England and Wales.

In October 2006, the Court of Appeal rejected Bieber's appeal against his convictions, saying the evidence against him was "overwhelming". (whats the difference between now and the last appeal, surely the evidence hasnt changed??)

Absolutely unbelievable!! and a top cop agrees with me. nice one Mr Lord Chief justice, someone call that fuckwit n tell him to start saving for more Police Officers Funerals.

[deepsepia]

Originally Posted by thelancinatorZ

They do the same thing here in the US. Why? Revenue generation. It would seem that more and more police forces (from local to the state level) are being used almost strictly for revenue generation. Between speed traps and DUI (driving under the influence) checkpoints here it has gotten ridiculous and very blatant that for the police it has become generate revenue first and serve and protect becomes secondary.

For what its worth, in 2006, there were 17,000 murders and "non-negligent manslaughter" in the US. That same year, there were a total of 42,000 people killed in or by cars. Your risk of dying in a car accident is much higher than of being murdered -- and if you're not buying or selling drugs (which accounts for most murders) its probably ten times as high. [ data from: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/data/table_01.html and http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx ]

So all other things being equal, police should devote more of the effort to auto safety issues than to violent crime.

[TheLancinator]

And of course that statistical comparison has nothing to do with the fact that there are tens of millions of vehicles on the road in the United States and there are maybe (and this would be a guess since there are no hard numbers to predict who will commit a violent crime) less than 100,000 people committing violent crimes?

Nor the fact that a single DUI conviction brings the municipality or state in several thousand dollars in revenue?

[deepsepia]

Originally Posted by thelancinatorZ

And of course that statistical comparison has nothing to do with the fact that there are tens of millions of vehicles on the road in the United States and there are maybe (and this would be a guess since there are no hard numbers to predict who will commit a violent crime) less than 100,000 people committing violent crimes?

Nor the fact that a single DUI conviction brings the municipality or state in several thousand dollars in revenue?

The statistical comparison has a lot to do with that fact. Doesn't change the fact that if the police are to invest their resources where the data say that they should invest those resources, speed traps and sobriety checkpoints are "good bets".

The revenue component is there, clearly, but the auto safety issue safety issue is also a significant politically -- MADD are quite influential, as are the insurance companies-- for whom auto accident related payouts are a big expense. If you're looking for a "bad guy" responsible for the fact that there's a speed trap near your house-- its often an insurance company . . . in some cases, they buy police departments their radar guns

[Lee Is Bob]

Has anyone read the title thread at all

[Tank]

Originally Posted by Lee Is Bob

Has anyone read the title thread at all

mehh, maby a mod wants to add......& American Police shafting the drivers..... or not they seem to be going through what we did about 4 yrs ago when speed cameras popped up all over the place quicker than you could say not another F@$king camera!

[Nemowork]

Dont ask me, our chief Constable has a camera phobia and has banned them from the entire county.

[Meursault]

I think that in many cases of murder and sexual assault it is vital to actually lock up the culprits for life, not so much for the sake of revenge or a sense of justice, but mainly to prevent them from relapsing once they're back out of jail.

[Tank]

Originally Posted by Nemowork

Dont ask me, our chief Constable has a camera phobia and has banned them from the entire county.

jammy bugger!! *throws camera's at Nemo

[deepsepia]

Originally Posted by Meursault

I think that in many cases of murder and sexual assault it is vital to actually lock up the culprits for life, not so much for the sake of revenge or a sense of justice, but mainly to prevent them from relapsing once they're back out of jail.

Its interesting-- violent criminals stop being violent as the hormones pass. . . somewhere in your 30s, even the most hotheaded guys stop being "murder-prone". If someone raised hell in his teens and twenties, you're pretty safe releasing him from prison when he's in his 40s.

Sex crimes are different. We've got any number of sexual predators who've been released in their 40s, 50s, or even 60s, and then done it again. The pedophiles really are "different" somehow, specially dangerous, and they don't "age out" of their bad habits.

This is US data, but I don't think UK age patterns are any different

[Harpoon]

Interesting....

[Meursault]

Originally Posted by deepsepia

Its interesting-- violent criminals stop being violent as the hormones pass. . . somewhere in your 30s, even the most hotheaded guys stop being "murder-prone". If someone raised hell in his teens and twenties, you're pretty safe releasing him from prison when he's in his 40s.

Sex crimes are different. We've got any number of sexual predators who've been released in their 40s, 50s, or even 60s, and then done it again. The pedophiles really are "different" somehow, specially dangerous, and they don't "age out" of their bad habits.

This is US data, but I don't think UK age patterns are any different

If i remember correctly, the situation over here is similar. Although you have to bear in mind that there's a natural filter for elderly criminals: If they have a strong violent tendency they're likely to hang around in jail a lot and thus not get the opportunity to commit more crimes. It would be interesting to see how bad the relapse rate for older violent criminals is when they are released.

[deepsepia]

Originally Posted by Meursault

If i remember correctly, the situation over here is similar. Although you have to bear in mind that there's a natural filter for elderly criminals: If they have a strong violent tendency they're likely to hang around in jail a lot and thus not get the opportunity to commit more crimes. It would be interesting to see how bad the relapse rate for older violent criminals is when they are released.

That's a good point. I think the other natural filter is that the "congenitally violent" people get themselves killed very quickly. Very hard to find a knucklehead whose been successfully picking fights for thirty years-- and yet has stayed out of prison or the grave.

When you think about it, the only middle-aged guys with the violence patterns of teen-agers are movie mafiosos. Tony Soprano is a 40-something guy, with a 20-something violence habit. . . its a wonder that he's still alive. Reading about the lives of real mafiosi, the ones who do manage to stay alive have to take elaborate precautions, every day of their lives.

[Nemowork]

Originally Posted by deepsepia

When you think about it, the only middle-aged guys with the violence patterns of teen-agers are movie mafiosos. Tony Soprano is a 40-something guy, with a 20-something violence habit. . . its a wonder that he's still alive.

He's Dead!