What Good Are The Police? - Fiona Pilkington Story

I've just tried to start a thread with a newspaper article but I couldn't link to the right page.

Basically the story is that a 71 year old woman prodded a teenager in the chest when she went out to complain about him throwing gravel at her windows.

She ended up in court charged with assault and was fined £50.

There are similar stories to that in the papers all the time, but this was about the most ludicrous (and sickening).

The story's here in the middle column:

www.dailymail.co.uk...

[edit on 1-10-2009 by berenike]

reply to post by berenike


No offense to any british people.. but I really hope the US never becomes like them.

And I say that while knowing that in some places we are.

A common complaint I hear of the british legal system is that it protects the criminal and not the victims.

Originally posted by Miraj
reply to post by berenike

 

No offense to any british people.. but I really hope the US never becomes like them.

And I say that while knowing that in some places we are.

I think something similar when I see the stories about the private police force in that town in Montana and the worries about the forced flu jabs.

I think we're all in the same boat - just at different ends

Good luck, everybody.

reply to post by berenike


Yup.

It's a constant battle. To keep our rights we have to be vigilant.

I've come to the conclusion that throughout history, American's rights have been guaranteed rights about as long the public opinion deems it convenient.

But Britain is far more down that road than we are, and we're following behind them.

I read this in an email the other week, I dout it's real but i dont see why it wouldnt work since cops like to arrest the innocent since where a easier target.


Bill Wilson was going up to bed when his wife told him that he’d left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window.

Bill opened the back door to go turn off the light but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things.

He phoned the police, who asked “Is someone in your house?” and he said”No”.

Then they said that all patrols were busy, and that he should simply lock his door and an officer would be along when available. Bill said,”Okay,” hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police again.

“Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well, you don’t have to worry about them now because I’ve just shot them.” Then he hung up.

Within five minutes three police cars, an Armed Response Unit, and an ambulance showed up at the Wilson`s residence and caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the Policemen said to Bill, “I thought you said that you’d shot them!”

Bill said, “I thought you said there was nobody available!”

Originally posted by Asktheanimals
If you brits had enjoyed the rights Americans do with our 2nd amendment this would have been averted long ago. When you lose the ability to protect yourself and your family you have no-one but the police to rely on. It's plain to see how well that arrangement worked. I feel horrible for this woman and her children. What a sad statement that yobs (what are yobs, btw?) could terrorize someone to the point of suicide. Since you got rid of guns you should have gotten rid of alcohol at the same time. At least then nobody could claim they were drunk and didnt remember what they were doing.

Whilst this is a shocking story, i feel obliged to make a few comments to avoid it becoming another "oh, the brits have been defenceless since they were disarmed" anecdote.

Fact of the matter is that there was never a gun culture here, unless you live in the countryside. A woman living on a suburban council estate in Leicestershire would never have had a gun, even before the hand-gun ban in the 90s which often gets trotted out as "the day britain put down its arms" by people who don't really know any different.

Guns were never necessary here because there are no bears or mountain lions trying to eat you, and we used to live in a very peaceful country where you didn't need to be armed because we were by and large law-abiding and polite. Only farmers had guns, and most of them still do.

However the rise of the underclass since the 80s has succeeded in taking inner-city levels of threat and violence into the suburbs, due to a grizzly combination of disaffection, poor parenting, materialism, low self-esteem and poverty.

Guns were not needed in the past, ironically when they were more available, and that is why most people didn't have them.

British society has changed though, and maybe we should begin to reconsider our position on personal defence.

Personally, i still wouldn't make guns more available. We need to have faith in the rule of law. Vigilantism is not the answer. We could start by reversing archaic and arbitrary drug laws which make police figures of resentment to teenagers. Make the policeman someone to be respected, not derided.

It would also help if these kids had better parenting. Controversial, but true.

Britain is headed down a dark path, but there's no reason to succumb to paranoia and fear just yet. My generation has a lot to answer for, but its not completely lost. Not quite.

reply to post by TheLoony


Hi loon, another great thread. I am still reading, and will be back to comment

Further, but again great thread.
S&F

Personally i think this story is truly horrific.

And illustrates the complete inability of 'the state' to deal with people on a personal level.

I saw the press conference live on this case and the police reaction was nothing short of appalling.

They basically said 'nowt to do with us guv' its the councils responsability......

Now this is how uk chavs should be delt with......

www.youtube.com...