Home News Columnists Ian Robson

Judge ‘n’ Jury

May 3 2009 by Ian Robson, Sunday Sun

YOU have to applaud a crackdown on alcohol-related problems in Consett.

Or do you? For a week now police have been able to impose £80 fines, take photos and fingerprints, and move people on.

That’s fair enough but what’s really going on ’ere, then?

So-called offenders will be issued with instant fines but will not have a criminal conviction and cases will not usually end up in the courts.

In other words police are setting themselves up as judge and jury.

They are taking names, keeping identification, and imposing fines without bothering to prove anything in a court of law.

That’s what worries me.

Police say yobs who think they can do what they like will have to think again.

Who is there to stop the police doing what they like?

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