Before the 2nd World War we had a population of less than 40 million people, now the figure is over half as many again, more than 60 million. If all of this huge increase comprised only honest law-abiding people it wouldn't be so bad, but crime per thousand of population has increased considerably since the war years. So we will have a much greater number of prospective criminals stalking about in the dark, in a much larger population of possible victims.
There were also very few cars and other vehicles about before the war, and driving at night was unusual except in towns and cities. So there were very few accidents at night, and car crime was almost unknown. Compare this to today's situation, where turning out the street lights takes on a whole new dangerous aspect, with both increased car crime and accidents due to poor lighting both becoming far more likely.
They are turning the lights out now because it is a lot less noticeable during the summer, and they hope that by the time winter comes we shall have got used to groping about in the dark. But winter brings bad weather too, so this will mean more accidents in snowy and icy streets, especially to older people. This will in turn put another burden on the local NHS. No doubt County Hall will feel the backlash at the next county council elections.
Winter is quite drab and dark enough as it is, without turning out the lights. What about the Lib-Dem fairy lights around the Market Square, will they be turning out half of them as well? We only get the benefit of them in mid-winter as it is, for a few hours in the December late afternoons.
On to serious matters nationally, the News of the World hacking revelations get worse every day. It started with the Millie Dowler phone hacking scandal, and gets worse as time passes. I'd certainly join Tom Watson, the former Labour minister, in accusing the NoW of entering the "criminal underworld" by "paying people to interfere with police officers and doing so on behalf of known criminals".
The talk has been about breaking journalistic ethics, but it makes you wonder if these are a thing of the past. The pressure is high to get any news, the more sob-story or scandalous the better, and get it now, now, now!
I would wholeheartedly agree with boycotting anything published by Murdoch's organisation, whether it's the News of the World, the Sun, or whatever. I certainly think this BSkyB takeover should be stopped by the government until this matter has been fully investigated by an independent inquiry. Letting the NoW and the Police rake through their own manure is lame, to say the least.
As for these criminals who snatch kids off the street to murder them, I wouldn't send them to jail at the tax-payers expense for years of luxury living. I believe they should be sentenced to assisted suicide, the more assisted the better.
