Mad as a box of frogs...

... about something I heard on the BBC 6 o'clock News on Radio 4. Apparently Derby Police Force have paid for 100 seats for tonight's showing of the new James Bond movie (Quantum of Solace) so if they encounter any kids behaving badly whilst 'trick or treating' they can give the offender the opportunity to see the film for free, thus getting them off the streets and into the cinema. This is apparently called a 'diversionary activity'.

People who know me will probably shudder as they envisage the scenes in the Chateau Angevin kitchen whilst this report was going on. It's just as well the radio doesn't have a mike, such was the level of shouting I am pretty sure it would have shattered. What on EARTH is going on here? The message this gives children is 'Make enough trouble and see what pops out of the woodwork to bribe you to behave' - the sort of situation where kids can scare old people in their own homes under the pretext of trick-or-treating and be REWARDED for it makes my blood boil. Were I in charge, the OLD PEOPLE would be given the free cinema seats, not the little yobs intent on causing trouble.. oh no, THEY would be frogmarched down to the copshop post-haste, put in the slammer for the night and made to do homework. Trick or treat that you little pests. In fact, compare the lie-down-and-walk-all-over-us attitude of the Derby Police Force with the action of their Essex counterparts who have also co-incidentally been on Radio 4 today

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/may/30/ukcrime.youthjustice

Now that is more like it. And stuff the civil rights mob - the thing these well-meaning but misguided people need to keep in mind is it is necessary to behave responsibly towards society before that society can realistically consider the individual's 'rights'. Rewarding pests teaches them only that prolonging their bad behaviour might get them even more rewards; scaring the pants off the little beasts might actually make them think twice about doing it again.

Citizens of Derby, should any of you be reading this, I hope you make a massive fuss about this. It is ultimately YOUR money being misused here.