[Politics] Police should give anti-social youths "a taste of their own medicine", says Home Secretary.

[MarkMono]

Where my granddad lives, they use them as weapons.

I suppose the time they spend plotting how to get their neighbours ASBO'd is time in which they're not commiting crimes. I suppose.

[TSR]

Originally Posted by MarkMono

I just can't get past how wasteful and pointless "We're going to watch people all the time so they don't commit crimes" is

it's not permanent - only 4 days

[MarkMono]

I'm perfectly aware of that, which makes it, if anthing, even more pointless.

[metallideth]

Originally Posted by djtoast

the problem here though is that you're removing the checks and balances, as it were... normally the police have their actions scrutinized by the courts, in this instance the police are "punishing" people themselves, which is never something that's allowed outside of oppressive dictatorships... somebody who had been convincted of prior offences but had "gone straight" is open to harrassment; the police suddenly have the opportunity to operate almost as raqueteers.

Already evidenced, perhaps, in the huge increase in on-the-spot fines for dealing with relatively minor offences since New Labour came to power.