Several years ago this government changed the way crime statistics were collated. In addition to this, last year of the 1,327,000 offences which came to the attention of the authorities, 624,ooo did not come to court.Watch now how the emphasis of statistics will count court cases and not offences. Be under no illusions. These cautions inter al, were most assuredly not all first offenders or acts of minimal impact on the community. Those sort of offences are hardly detected by the radar today; so high are the cut off points for the settings of that radar that the desires of many that we might try out zero tolerance are just a forlorn hope.
Careers Teacher is one of the many hats I wear. Perhaps it is time for me to add criminal to the list of recommended options for pupils who want to get on in life. Crime pays.
LINKS: http://www.rss.org.uk/Docs/Building%20Trust%20on%20shaky%20foundations.doc
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk/3732244.stm
