Total contempt

THE contempt that the lawless minority show for the law-abiding majority is revealed by the shameless letter that a serial young offender wrote to the occupiers of a West Yorkshire property that he had burgled.

By The Newsroom

Published 24th Nov 2011, 06:00 BST

Leaving aside the literacy imperfections, this letter is indicative of the breakdown of respect in contemporary society, with the 16-year-old tearaway not even apologising for his actions and admonishing the occupiers for living in a “high risk”, even though they may have had no choice in the matter.

Though the burglar’s perspective on crime prevention might prove useful to the police, his lack of remorse undermines the credibility of those liberals who believe that restorative justice programmes, where offenders meet victims, is preferable to locking up young criminals.

Yet, while the current levels of reoffending suggest that custodial punishments are not effective in deterring crime, what is the alternative when there is a criminal underclass, like this teenager, who show no inclination of wanting to obey the law?

West Yorkshire