Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

A 12-year-old boy was charged with assault and taken before the courts - for throwing a cocktail sausage.
The boy was accused of throwing the pork snack at a 74-year-old man in Woodhouse Park, south Manchester, which the boy's mother described as an "utter joke".
She told the BBC: "They came to arrest him in my house, they took him into a police van. They took him to Elizabeth Slinger [police station], put him in a cell, took his photographs, his fingerprints, then interviewed him. "And then they decided to charge him with common assault - with a sausage.


And then the following from the Daily Mail today…

Dad told to write to MP as he cradled his thug-battered son
By LUCY BALLINGER
A father who phoned 999 when his son was knocked unconscious by a drunken thug was told to write to his MP rather than bother the police.
Businessman Pete Bayliss called after his 22-year-old son Chris was taken to hospital with a broken nose and other injuries. But police said they were too busy to investigate the attack.

Dad told to write to MP as he cradled his thug-battered son | the Daily Mail

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

oh my goodness, the second one is just pathetic

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

both instances are classic examples of "The Law Is An Ass"

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

The second case is disgraceful but I'm not so sure about the first one...imagine a 74-year old walking through the park when a kid suddenly throws something at him (which apparently he thought was a stone at first). At the best, a very unpleasant experience, at the worst, it could have given him a heart attack. OK, maybe the police should have just given him a good talking to but it seems they have done this in the past, as the lad has had warnings from them before over other incidents...obviously, with no effect. Perhaps his mother should be more concerned over her son's behaviour, than anything the police have done.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

Agree with you Wynonie .. next time could be a heavier missile, and you have given us a little more insight into the background, so think they were well within their rights to get him down on the records as a future troublemaker. How disrespectful he was.

The second, yes, well, on the face of it that does seem a little 'uncaring' of the police and a serious assault, which should have been treated as such.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

Typical though isn't it - the mother is blaming the police for her own bad parenting! A twelve year old should really know better than to throw their food around.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

I think readers are missing the point - the purpose for highlighting the two cases was to establish a basis for comparative evaluation. It is readily obvious that the matter involving the youngster is far less of a priority than that of the chap rendered unconscious. It is scandalous that the police have considered it insignificant to investigate the latter.

So far as regards the youngster, only a fool would consider it a proportionate response to the crime. One has to take into account the age of the offender, the severity of the crime, the appropriate use of resource and so on. Can any readers on here actually say that they did not engage in similar activites as youngsters, but have since put that down to youthful indiscretion. To have police officers, the CPS, court staff and the rest engaged in assessing this affair when the streets are littered with violent drunken yobs, rapists and murderers is farcical and a complete waste of taxpayers resource.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

Yes, but it's not an either or situation.

These are two separate incidents in different towns and different times. It may seem that the first case is overkill but we don't know the history of the boy and from the back story that Wynonie said, he probably needed a bit of a scare to stop him turning into a thug. And, yes, I can honestly say that I NEVER did anything like that as a twelve year old.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

Never mind a post code lottery for medication it seems we have one on policing as well. There may have been something in the 12 year olds past to haul him up but the police not wanting or maybe not having the time to investigate is a shameful shambles.:mad::mad:

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

I have to agree with the first case... today a sausage tomorrow a bottle or petrol bomb:

should have left him in the cell longer:

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

Don't think anyone is missing the point. Cashman seems to hve got it. Perhaps you didn't make the point clear enough. Or perhaps you are disappointed that those who responded did not see things exactly the way you saw them. You can't pose a point for discussion and expect the response that you would give. Well, maybe you can but it doesn't work that way. Once you start a thread it is out of your control; people will respond the way that they feel.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

I despair sometimes. I had a visit from a policeman today, well, I say man - he looked about 19. It seems a neighbour's car was broken into at the weekend (nothing taken from the 10 year old banger) and he was investigating. He actually knocked on my door to ask if I'd seen or heard anything.

Now that's all well and good but, a year ago, someone I know rang the police on a Sunday morning because he had seen a man with a rifle shooting ducks on the local lake and also firing into the surrounding trees. The place is a popular walk, and also a fishing spot, for locals and visitors and the gun-slinger was making it a war-zone. What did the police do? They turned up 3 days later, asked a few questions and disappeared, no follow-up.

Both incidents concern Cheshire Police. One could have been very serious, the other was definitely not. It beggars belief.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

According to the police, the sausage throwing incident was the latest in a series of cautions the lad had received. Place the even in context and you can understand why the offender was arrested.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

I can see what you're getting at in your comparison of the two cases. However, because the police were wrong not to respond to the serious complaint in the second case doesn't necessarily mean they were wrong to arrest the lad over a comparatively minor misdemeanour in the first case.

Yes, throwing a cocktail sausage at someone has comic overtones, doesn't it? Not so comic if you're an elderly person on your own and a youth unexpectedly hurls a missile at you. Could be quite frightening I would imagine. It obviously disturbed the gentleman concerned enough to make a complaint, so perhaps the police were right to arrest the lad.

I also never threw missiles at elderly people when I was a kid, but then again, I'm just "a fool". :rolleyes:

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

Well that makes two of us, Gayle.

Incidentally have you noticed something horribly familiar about the somewhat stilted, overly formal language that this poster uses.

It couldn't be...could it? :eek:

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

You cannot compare the two cases, 'cause one was the assailant, one the victim .. entirely poles apart, and has to be discussed separately. The fact that thedorchester is doing this, negates the lad's 'bullying'. I am sure if Cashman had just been presented with the boy's case and nowt else, he would have had an entirely U-turn view of things.

I suspect that there was build up to the throwing incident and abusive language, etc., something we cannot condone.

If my lad had ever done anything like this, even on a silly whim or prank, he would have had the sharp end of my tongue or flat hand. Like other posters, I would never have dreamt of abusing an elderly person/adult in this way.

Eric, we are not that thick not to understand the reason behind the thread and what the poster was trying to say, but the analogy is way off beam. It's just a 'get at the police' theme really, nothing to do with the two cases.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

Westender is right. There is a two tier system and the emphasis is on generating convictions, not on tackling crime or the underlying causes of it. Now cautions are considered convictions for purposes of statistics, which is why the number of cautions at police stations is rising rapidly. Moreover, the ability to defend against allegations is being made increasingly difficult as a result of legislation which is being rushed in. For example, legal firms shall soon have to be placed on a panel and then tender for work - the criteria, is set up in such a way that only the larger firms shall be able to bid for work. The downside for the alleged offender is that the fees for such work are being scaled back significantly, the thesis that increasing work allocated to a reduced number of firms shall offset the reduction in fees per case. The net result is that solicitors representing offenders shall be reluctant to undertake a comprehensive review of the case since it is not financially lucrative so to do. The net result is that an increasing number of offenders are likely to plead guilty to crimes since there has been insufficient input as regards the preparation of the case.

It makes a mockery of the principle of law enforcement.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

what is the world coming too
my boyfriend got beaten up we rang the police there and then and as im pregnant i was terrified i told the police he was being beaten up and my boyfriend was lieing on the floor i thouyght he would die all the police said was we will send somebody to see you tomorrow
i had to carry my beaten boyfriend home myself they wouldnt even send out an ambulance because he could stand up. (onli just tho)
it makes me sick how they work

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

'The victim, who believed he had been hit with a stone, told police it was the latest in a series of incidents in which he had been intimidated by local youths.
Charging the boy was the only option because he had previously been issued with three reprimands, a GMP spokeswoman said.'

BBC NEWS | England | Manchester | Boy is accused of sausage assault

Perhaps this boy's parent's time would have been better spending their time punishing their child themselves. After all if they had done this after the three previous incidents, were their child was warned about his behaviour, none of this would have happened, and they wouldn't be bleating to the press about the unfair treatment dished out to their little darling.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

Finally, common sense has been restored.

A judge criticised police and lawyers yesterday for bringing the case, which has already cost thousands of pounds in taxpayers' money.

District Judge Tim Devas told the youth court where the boy appeared: "I was brought up in the era of Just William. You may not remember it but this incident sounds similar.

"Clearly there are certain things that should be done with a 12-year- old and you shouldn't be bringing them into the court system unless it's absolutely necessary.

"If he has done what was suggested it is very bad behaviour.

"But is it in the public interest to prosecute a 12-year-old boy who threw a sausage?"

The sausage apparently hit the man not on his head, but his shoulder. What makes this matter even more horrific than appears at first sight is the fact that the boy has learning difficulties and attends a special needs school. Whilst it is likely difficult to entrench in the mind of any twelve year old the concept of right and wrong, it is even more difficult for someone with learning difficulties.


A spokesman for the CPS said police charged the boy 'without reference' to the CPS

The same paper reports the following:

In a case last year, Judge Jonathan Finestein criticised a decision to prosecute a boy of ten for calling his schoolfriend racist names in the playground.

He called the move 'political correctness gone mad'.

Surely all those who earlier sought to defend the charge applied to the youngster throwing a sausage are now being made to look sheepish

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

In yet another example in today's press of inappropriate justice, the article below shows that those who engage in more serious matters are simply let off the hook. Enjoy.

A senior doctor who savagely beat up his wife after they argued about buying a new car has escaped a prison sentence.

Anaesthetics consultant Stuart Brown, 37, threw his wife to the floor and punched her at least 24 times as she lay at his feet.

The vicious assault on Carol Mcewan followed regular verbal and physical abuse during their seven-year marriage.

But Brown, 37, who is thought to earn £100,000 a year, walked free from court after being ordered to pay her just £500 in compensation.

Perhaps if he had thrown a sausage at her instead of raining blows it may have been taken more seriously.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

Bought himself a good lawyer and offered a freebie to the judge no doubt. :eek:

Seriously though its absolute madness this whole carry on. Its possible for me to get done for giving the bird to some driver who isnt driving carefully. Yet should I thump em I could get away with it. Thats how this fiasco reads to me.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

Ten year old Jon Venebales, the killer of Jamie Bulger, attended a school for children with special needs, should his behaviour be excused because of this too?

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

its all madness these days

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

You strike me as being a bit of a numpty. There is a world of difference between putting a young child on a train track with the intention of allowing a train to pass over him and throwing a sausage at a pensioner after a verbal disagreement. The latter does not justify thousands of pounds of taxpayers resource when there are hardened criminals parading the streets.

Are you thick or is this an act?

Do not bother responding.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

I'll respond when and where I see fit, thanks ever so much.

It was you that said, and I quote,
'What makes this matter even more horrific than appears at first sight is the fact that the boy has learning difficulties and attends a special needs school.'
Which I presume, because you raised the issue, you see as some sort of defence for anti-social behaviour.

I know plenty of children with special educational needs. All are very well behaved, and none that have repeatedly harassed and attacked pensioners.

It's always sad when someone finds themselves without much of an argument, and then resorts to silly abuse.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

I'm of the firm conviction that if one or two well aimed smacks had been applied at the requisite time the population of "special need schools" would be 30% of the present numbers ;) ;)

theres probably a very good reason that the saying " spare the rod, spoil the child" Proverbs 13:24. has been part of the English language since the time of King James ;) ;)

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

Silly abuse and a lot of upper case typing to cover up the weaknesses. If you don't have an point, SHOUT.:eek:

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

If there ever was a remote possibility (and some on here yesterday suggested there may well be) that those responsible for law enforcement are not entirely stupid, then the following story excerpted from one of the papers today serves to render such a possibility moribund.

Yet again the taxpayers are funding this nonsense. It really is a farce. Enjoy


Two female sunbathers prosecuted for flashing their breasts at CCTV camera
By JAMES MILLS -
23rd August 2007


Abbi-Louise Maple (left) and Rachel Marchant flashed their breasts at a CCTV camera after it swivelled in their direction
When Abbi-Louise Maple and Rachel Marchant saw a CCTV camera trained on them as they sat on a beach, they had a mischievous idea.
The 21-year-olds lifted their tops and flashed their bare chests at the camera before collapsing in a fit of giggles.

The young women's friends thought their prank was hilarious.

The CCTV operator, however, didn't see the funny side and called the police.

Minutes later, the two blondes were arrested, questioned and then charged with committing an act outraging public decency - an offence which carries a maximum sentence of six months prison or a £5,000 fine.

The pair, who appeared before magistrates on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges, will now stand trial before a crown court jury at a cost to the taxpayer of £8,000 a day.

Two female sunbathers prosecuted for flashing their breasts at CCTV camera | the Daily Mail

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

Yes, that is a ridiculous situation, but, it was a harmless piece of tomfoolery. Don't think you can compare it to the missile-throwing incident where an elderly man was subjected to disrespectful and possibly distressing treatment.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

The baring of the chest was a harmless stunt and should have lead to a ticking off only. With cameras every were now I am surprised more of this kind of prank dosnt happen or reported.

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

Yeah, I agree Spuggie. I could see the charge more fit if these lasses were actually baring themselves to the actual public rather than video viewers (Wh probably greatly enjoy the sight!).:p

Brian

Re: Madness - you simply could not make it up
 

A little medieval ... In Ontario it is legal for women to go topless. Unfortunately, not too many are taking advantage of their legal right. Howver, hairy, bald, potbellied males do it all the time:mad: