The world gone mad!

'Going equipped'!

Few can have missed the news story reported over the last few days concerning Sarah McCaffery the young lady from Tyne and Wear who was fined for eating an apple whilst driving. Ms McCaffrey was issued with a fixed penalty fine of £30 for her 'offence' but objected and opted to go to trial, where she was found guilty, fined £60 and ordered to pay £100 costs.

Northumbria police and the CPS spent over £10000 in their endeavours to secure this conviction!

This morning a report has emerged of a man who was fined by Greater Manchester Police for playing his car stereo system too loudly.....apparently the decibel level was only half of the possible full volume.

Doubtless we will be subjected now to a string of such stories from the media, never an organisation to miss the opportunity of 'jumping on the bandwagon' and inflaming popular opinion.

That said I have to admit to being somewhat dismayed by this story.

I have in the main spent a lifetime as pro police and an advocate of our justice system but the case of Ms McCaffery seems utter nonsense. In the first instance I find it hard to accept that eating an apple at the wheel constitutes a serious case of 'not being in control of her vehicle', though I do accept that it is not absolutely ideal and in the second instance I do not understand why, if the local constabulary considered it appropriate to stop this young lady for her misdemeanor in the first place, she was not given a friendly warning. Lets face it....who doesn't on occasion eat/ smoke/ drink at the wheel? The fact that we 'all do it' does not of course make it right but it begs the question why we have not all been hauled infront of a magistrate for such crimes.

Finally, the most appalling result of what was perhaps an over zealous young officers actions, is the fact that the police force in question, rather than handling this case with common sense, then proceeded to spend £10000 of public money in acquiring evidence against this most heinous of criminals to ensure a conviction!

Has the world gone mad?

I truly never thought I would see the day I would utter this opinion but are there not real criminals, the murderers, rapists, armed thugs and drug cartels to attend to? £10000 may well be a 'drop in the ocean' where the fight against such serious crime is concerned but surely securing a conviction against Ms McCaffery was not the most intelligent use of resources.

Common sense it seems was sadly lacking in this instance, the constable who made the initial decision may well have thought in his wisdom he was acting correctly, indeed he was acting within the confines of his remit but was there not a sergeant or inspector etc. 'back at the station' who could have taken action to avert this debacle before the CPS, a helicopter, a spotter plane, a squad car bristling with technology and the courts became so expensively involved?

Well done PC Butler, you should go far!