Missing The Point

It is symbolic of the times that every few weeks we hear that the police have been given increased powers.

According to a BBC report, Scottish Police have been given extra powers to impose on-the-spot fines to "tackle anti-social behaviour."

The Scottish Executive think that these fines would tackle crimes such as drunkenness and vandalism! What planet are they on? Issuing a £40 fine is as likely to have as much an effect on social issues as me trying to become First Minister. And since when did drunkenness become an offence?

These increased powers simply serve 2 purposes:

1. Further eroding our civil liberties
2. Revenue generation

The Scottish Executive should be diverting funds into looking at the underlying problems causing people to turn to "crime". One of the major problems is poverty. The fact that a developed country has a third of its children living below the poverty line is shameful.

The Deputy Justice Minister has even said that crime is falling and this is despite of the policies employed by the Executive. So forgot your, "We want to see more police on the streets." Use that money to tackle poverty and guess what? You’ll be tackling crime at the same time.