I know I've been away for a few hundred years, but I'm interested in our weekly newspaper, The Hackney Gazette. 1 column I always read is Police Watch by Hackney Chief Superintendent, Steve Bending. In their current 6th May Gazette edition, Steve talks about Hackney's much heralded dramatic drop in crime statistics:
"It's important there is honesty. Gun crime has increased in Hackney by 29% in the last year...Gun crime figures include offences that may not involve the use or even the showing of a firearm, so these figures need to be seen in that context. That said, while the number of occasions when firearms have been used is relatively low, it has risen, particularly in the last few weeks."
Steve then goes on to explain all the wide-ranging police initiatives that are tackling this terrible problem. Operation Spoke is interesting:
"Officers taking a zero-tolerance approach to non-endorsable cycling offences, such as cycling on a footway."
As I said, I've been away for a few hundred years & come from the cradle of western enlightenment & call me a radical, non-conformist, scientific genius, born & bred in Haggerston, but doesn't zero tolerance mean no tolerance whatsoever? Is that good? It's not is it. It's barbarism.
