On the 13th of July I invented a most realistic scenario about 'burglar Jimmy Bloggs' and the several thousand offences he is simply unable to commit if locked away for five years.Further to that, if he is a druggie - which he may well be - the estimate for offences committed is very much on the low side. The scenario is far from uncommon.
But let us stick around 2,000 as a working total.
In any home the average number of occupants is above two, so his acts will have affected well over 4,000 people a large proportion of whom will have been aged, infirm, disabled. Moreover, in the single dwelling homes even more than the others, there will be a significant proportion who will feel unable to remain in that house and will choose to move.
In all cases: the householders feel violated; it causes massive inconvenience; it means inviting police all over your property and the victim will have to spend considerable amounts of time getting back to normal.
In most cases: it may affect future insurance cover; may require a variety of workmen onsite to repair damage and possibly to change locks; it causes endless paperwork and may well take months to settle down.
Householders feel obliged to spend their hard-earned cash on security systems.
It is little better in the case of non domestic crimes where it may be the final straw for some businesses working on the edge of a precipice and will often be a direct cause of unemployment.
I am not sorry! Bloggs should be facing an extremely heavy sentence in the region of ten to twenty years.
Ordinary people deserve the protection - his interests are trivial in the larger picture.
