Constituency Walkabout
I spent much of today walking around Yardley talking to local residents. I always find this a very useful way of finding out what the real problems are.
One local resident was run over by a thief who stole his car and then used it to run him over. Someone was caught driving the same car the next day. The police are saying that this particular person cannot be prosecuted for handling stolen goods (actually steering them through Stechford) because it would be "abuse of process" according to the CPS. It is not possible to prosecute the driver for stealing the car as it cannot be proven that he actually stole it.
That raises an interesting question as to what the abuse of process actually is. Issues like this, however, are important because of the wider impact they have on society.
I am also looking for alternative mechanisms for dealing with vandalism and graffiti. If we could make some progress with the civil law rather than criminal law that would be helpful. Two issues for next week.
Comments