Money To Burn

There is one part of the economy guaranteed bombproof against any financial catastrophe or recession. It is of course the public sector. We had yet another demonstration of this in Reading on 17th February.

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Last May I described how St Mary's Butts in the town centre was closed by the police while they searched this historic thoroughfare for evidence after the murder of a 17 year old youth. Most people would accept the necessity for such measures, despite the chaos and inconvenience it caused. For one thing nearly all the bus routes in town go through the Butts at one point in their journey, so bus services were heavily disrupted.

But now on 17th February we had a repeat performance. The Butts was sealed off by the police. It was not just the traditional strips of blue and white tape; substantial wooden barriers appeared at both ends. Last May there were hardly any police vehicles present - just the forensic team in their white cover-all suits. Now there were police vehicles galore with blue lights flashing, even when parked. Apparently the jury in the murder trial were enjoying a field trip to familiarise themselves with the crime scene.

Er....couldn't they just walk to the scene with a couple of guides and inspect it while the rest of us went about our lawful business? It is barely ten minutes walk from the Crown Court where the trial is in progress. Welll, no. The problem is that the defendants are allegedly entitled to see what the jury sees, so they enjoyed a field trip to the Butts in their prison van. Hence the police presence suitable for a Presidential visit. And of course the TV crews and other media trooped along in force, so the event appeared on the evening BBC local news.

As one wag put it years ago, such exercises are all tied up with the Liberty of the Subject. While the police are occupied with such futile tasks the Subjects elsewhere can take Liberties. I can't imagine how much it cost, but I suspect the police will not be highlighting the bill in the PR puffs they issue to show how effective they are. The business of taking juries along to crime scenes is a recent innovation; the idea that you have to take the defendants as well can only be another monstrous imposition by the tribe of Human Rights lawyers. All people who are doing mighty well at the expense of the rest of us.