The Brits call hooligans "YOBs". It's "Boy" spelled backward, and generally refers to "a thuggish young male".
It's suppose to be a form of a social contract. The police identify a "Young Boy Behaving Badly", speak to him firmly so he supposedly (a) knows what part of his behavior is unacceptable, and why it is unacceptable; (b) draw up a document in which the YOB promises to never never act badly in that specific way again; and (c) if the YOB once again is found to behave badly in exactly the same way, he is subject to criminal penalties.
My thesis is that if the YOB misbehaves in a manner which is not legal, he should be subject to punishment for a criminal action the first time. This may not change his mind, but at least it gets him off the streets for a while. It serves the further purpose of suggesting to his victims that if they are the object of his mis-behavior, the police will respond with alacrity.
The problem with ASBOs is that the victims feel -- and with good reason -- that their demand for equal protection under the law is NOT taken seriously.
However, the way it works is that the YOBs get an ASBO each and every time they act out, and they routinely ignore them. And the police ignore the repeated cycle of lawlessness.
In point of fact, my original article served to initiate a dialogue with a British citizen who claimed that he was a police officer and was proud to be one of the most prolific writers of ASBOs.
My thought was that, if his area of responsibility was so inundated by YOBs, the public might be better served if the police took a few of the off the streets, instead of merely giving them a stern talking-to and accepting their solemn promise to go and sin no more. The YOBs are demonstrably without honor, or any concept of honor, by definition.
The resulting exchange of email between myself and "The ABSO-Monger" continued for a couple of days. The most telling contribution was from the research I did, which found a statement from the Britsh Home Office that "ABSOs Work".
In fact, I can point to a comment by "The ABSO-Monger" in which he categorically states:
No one is a bigger fan of ASBOs than street cops. They know that they work. I have put quite a few wrong ‘uns in jail through ASBOs who were otherwise untouchable by the criminal justice system. Believe me – if you had something similar in the States you’d like them too. (In fact I’m surprised you don’t have something similar.(See also: "David The ASBOmonger on Gun Control".)
No one is a bigger fan of ASBOs than street cops.
This statement may not be absolutely correct. If anyone is a bigger fan of ASBOs that street cops, it must be the YOBs. They just love it ... it's a license to steal! Also bully, harass, mug, intimidate, rob, maim, mutilate and drive their victims to a dispair that the only relief is suicide. (I'll get to that in a minute.)
Certainly the honest British citizen is no fan of ASBOs.
Case in point:
Thanks to Kevin at The Smallest Minority.
In his October 2, 2009, article ("Get Out. Get Out NOW"), Kevin links to the tragic case of Fiona Pilkington.
Fiona Pilkington had two "seriously disabled" children. The local YOBs chose these children, their mother and their home, to be the object of their continued abuse and assault. Pikington complained to the police ... 33 times ... that she and her family were being assaulted by rock-throwing children sometimes as young as 10 years old. Their home was literally surrounded by gangs; her children pummeled by thrown rocks as they biked home from school.
The police responded sporadically, never arresting anyone, never charging anyone. One time when a policeman was spotted leaving the Pilkington home, her house was surrounded by rock-throwing children; one parent even challenged her on her doorstep.
During the last of the seven years during which this harassment went on, Pilkington made 13 calls to police asking for help. They never responded. Finally, in 2007, Pilkington loaded her severely disabled 18-year-old daughter in her car, drove to an isolated spot, poured petrol (gasoline) in her car and torched it while mother and daughter were inside the car. Their bodies were identified by DNA.
The continued assaults on the Pilkington family lasted seven years; it must have become a tradition, almost a 'cultural climate' in the neighborhood to abuse the family. The neighbors knew about it, and they didn't do a thing to stop it.
The police knew about it, and they didn't do a thing to stop it.
Her MP, David Tredinnick, knew about it, and didn't do a thing to stop it.
During the Coroner's Inquiry subsequent to the death of Mrs. Pilkington and her daughter, Francecca, questions were asked of the police:
On the second day of the inquest, Olivia Davison, the assistant deputy coroner for Rutland and North Leicestershire, repeatedly asked why
“common sense and basic old-fashioned policing” had not identified the family as extremely vulnerable. She said that their human rights were being breached because they were victims of a campaign at their home in the village of Barwell, Leicestershire.
During four hours of intense questioning from the coroner, Chris Tew, then the acting Chief Constable of Leicestershire, admitted that his force had failed to recognise that the family’s 33 pleas for help were all linked. The force classified the offences as antisocial behaviour rather than as a crime. [emphasis added] He said that things had changed in the force and by the end of this year 2,000 officers would have been trained to spot vulnerable people who were either physically or mentally disabled.
"The force classified the offences as antisocial behaviour rather than as a crime."
Let's go back to an earlier statement by David the ABSO-Monger:
No one is a bigger fan of ASBOs than street cops. They know that they work.
No, ABSOs do not work. The street cops like ABSOs because they remove responsibility from the street cops to make the hard decisions to actually arrest someone.
When children pelted the Pilkington son with rocks as he rode his bicycle home, why wasn't someone arrested?
Why were a vulnerable mother and her vulnerable children driven to the most painful suicide of all? Could it be because they despaired of ever receiving protection from the mob which the police are presumed to offer to their most vulnerable people?
Certainly, British law allows no options for them to protect themselves. Still, would they not be better off in prison because they defended themselves against a mob rather than allowing themselves to be driven to a horrible suicide? Can't a civilized nation even protect its citizens from such an extreme 'solution'?
The Answers:
Britain is no longer a civilized nation.
British citizens no longer exist; the remnant are British Subjects, who cannot even depend on honest Imperialism to enforce a minimal semblance of civilization ... of humanity.
Two years ago I used the British National Health System as a mechanism to define a descent from civilization to Socialism ... which has failed in every attempt recorded by history.
I was dismissive of British Socialism, naively assuming that such drastic measures would never become a measure to which Americans would never resort.
Today, I sadly admit that Americans seem as liable to accept draconian Governmental measures to resolve undefined "problems" as were the Brits. Considering our current one-sided debates, I despair of the ability of Americans to resist the temptation to allow our country to descent into "Nanny-Statism", resulting in the undermining of support for the common citizen.
Anti-Social Behavior Orders - coming soon to an American State near you!
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UPDATE: 08-OCT-2009: "The whole thing is madness."
Kevin at "The Smallest Minority" has an article which is the perfect followup on this. Read it here.
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