Except, They Ain’t Actually Crimes

The number of alleged crimes involving Facebook and Twitter has increased nearly eight-fold in four years, according to police figures.

There were 653 people charged in 2012 out of 4,908 offences reported to 29 forces in England, Scotland and Wales.

Police chiefs said the figures demonstrate a new challenge.

What we are talking about here is the chatter that used to take place out in the real world, over a pint in a pub, for example. They are foolish utterances –  or in some cases, deeply unpleasant ones. But they should never be treated as crimes. The only challenge the police –  and politicians have –  is to fuck off out of it and allow people to say what they want without the dead hand of the state prosecuting them for being indiscreet with their opinions.

Last week, interim guidelines were issued, aimed at reducing the number of charges in England and Wales, after a string of controversial court cases.

That this is even necessary is telling of a society that has lost sight of the plot. Common sense died a long, long time ago. Hurting someone’s feelings; offending them; these should never have been treated as crimes. The common sense approach to such whiners is to tell them to grow a pair and stop wasting police time.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer QC has announced new guidelines on how people who post offensive messages on Facebook and Twitter should be dealt with.

He admitted the CPS made the wrong “judgment call” in the case of Mr Chambers.

Something the rest of us were able to determine without an expensive prosecution and subsequent appeal.

11 Comments

  1. XX Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer QC has announced new guidelines on how people who post offensive messages on Facebook and Twitter should be dealt with.XX

    Wonder if he is on Facefuck?

    Must look it up.

    My messasgge to him, any wa “Go fuck yourself sideways with a dried walruss prick wrapped in NATO wire, you pansy bastard!”

    Wonder if THAT would “get left up”?

  2. police chiefs say they face a new challenge, well now all my obscene messages will be in code }”” =+%**w80_-.. so work that out you thick stupid copper dummies, no wonder Camerperson wants to dump thousands of you useless idiots.

    • Hmm. You could find yourself in worse trouble than in straight speech.

      It was always so in Holland and Belgium, and I believe the E.U have taken it on-board as part of their “anti terrorism” laws. But to comunicate in “code” is an offence.

      My Half Sister in Holland fell foul of that, because we sent her post with “Merry Jule and a bloody good new year” written in Wiking runes on the back of the envelope. (1000 Guilder fine! And she was the RECIPIENT!)

      That was before this “terrorist” crap, so I would be evven MORE careful now.

      I don’t fancy a holiday somewhere on some piece of Cuba.

  3. It was the Thatcher regime, that fine defender of rights and freedoms, that was behind the original communications act that criminalised “offensive” speech and Labour extended it further. One of the more appalling recent cases was the jailing of a Muslim who said of some soldiers killed in Afghanistan that they should “go to hell”. Some troublemaker informed the mother of one of the soldiers, who logged onto the Facebook page and was duly “offended” what she saw there. Considering that it was small beer to the kind of speech that squaddies engage in, it seems even more preposterous that the author of the remarks was sent to jail for three months, for what most fair minded people might consider was fair comment.

    • “for what most fair minded people might consider was fair comment.”

      I would, certainly, not consider that ‘fair comment’ BUT he should both be able to say it AND be prepared to be verbally dumped on from a great height in return.

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