Modern Vespa

It's more a funding thing than anything else. In my spare time I look after a park and the funding for most parks has dropped by over 50% over the past few years. I assume something similar has happened to all all "services" including the police.

Not sure if lack of police is really the issue though. It's more a question of allowing the police to go after these guys in the knowledge they won't lose their job if the youths crash and kill themselves. I believe things will soon be changing here though.

Not being able to do their job leads to frustration for the police and perhaps a general lack of respect from the public which tend to involve the police simply because insurance forms require it rather than feeling their case will be solved. Obviously this isn't good in a profession which relies on job satisfaction to attract staff. Saying that we got burgled over Christmas and the youths involved were caught by the police robbing another property and got approx 7 years each. I was pleasantly surprised they were caught and also surprised by the length of their sentence.

It also doesn't help that there really isn't much for youths to do. There used to be youth clubs but many of these have closed due to costs. Things that are available tend to be costly. As gang culture takes over a lot of the poorer estates then kids start to feel they want a knife just to protect themselves. Then one thing leads to another.

All public services have been squeezed of finances in recent years, Education, Health, Police and Fire services to name a few.It was sold to us as prudent housekeeping in order to comply with so called austerity measures.
I wasn't handled very well considering the results we now observe.

It makes me grateful I 'got out' at about the right time. I'm ashamed of the face the UK presents to the world.

It's guys like you, Ash, who can hopefully make a difference via the youngsters. I applaud your efforts.

Awww shucks thanks Jim, Love you too man!

Anyone who works toward the betterment of our youth has my appreciation. Often, they are sadly undervalued.

Sign me:

Scoutmaster Jet Peddler

I read on the Vespa Owners club Facebook page that a couple of guys where travelling to Belfast for the huge Vespa get together.

They stopped off in London. Stayed the night at an Ibis hotel with secure, monitored underground car park and both had the GTS stolen.

Insane

Well I don't want to be rude, but if you vote for parties that say they will go with austerity measures, then that means less for the public. That's called basic comprehension.

I don't think even with educational cuts people are stupid enough to vote for that and then imagine nothing will change. If they do, that is really on them.

As a lawyer, I find myself looking explaining that more law per se does not do anything, and the court system will not remedy all social ills. And if there is less money? Well you join the dots.

fecking "prudent house keeping"............ I am containing my expletives
who the **** could have possibly bought that

Oh and according to the BBC news scooter crime in L'don is down 33% this year as announced by the met.
(this is not me being sarcastic, it was actually reported)

So nothing to worry about peeps

I don't take you as being rude but possibly ill informed. Who are you saying has voted for parties that say they will go with austerity measures? The voting public or me in particular?

Hi Ash, I don't mean you! But as someone who is dealing with justice and policing every single day it really starts to grind when people moan about public safety while simultaneously voting for parties who will make drastic cuts.

What do people expect? I think we are very childish about politics in the UK; managing crime is costly. I do understand that people vote for me and mine and that is natural, but really then you have to understand the state will provide very much less by way of service.

Some justice https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-44496986

I'm glad the bastards are getting put away.

However, they got convicted for knifing people. It would have been nice to see a few more years tacked on for scooter theft, or burglary or the like.

This little read is fantastic!!!! Hopefully the link works for you all.

https://scooterlab.uk/40-scooterists-pay-scooter-thief-a-visit-news/

It's about time! I enjoyed that.

Good idea to a point. As long as things don't turn too violent. Hurts on both sides could be a result.

Awesome. Hopefully people will unite to stop these guys. Their stealing cell phones also if i remember correctly. Most everybody has one of those. Peaceful protests really do help.

It was all done in a mature fashion, more of a name and shame and show you picked the wrong scooter this time.

Have just been talking to one of the guys that attended who runs the Vespa owners club over here.

The delivery guys did this in London but it wasn't quite as peaceful.

Its ok when it one or two scallys

BUT
Its seems in London its more organised
Up here if a scoot gets pinched its for a one off joy ride or for parts

London seems like a very different motivation and the thieves are all tooled up.

look at what happened to the Manchester lad who used his car to get his scoot back. (SLUK artical) Within 20 min the thief had called his mates (fecking mobile phones) and a gang of armed thugs were on the scene.

At least the police are going after them now they have hit one or two "important" people.

London = New Brazil?


https://www.facebook.com/danslack1/videos/10156512194279122/

Don't be stupid!!!!!!!!

Yeh it was something very wrong, but get a grip.

I got asked to take my open face helmet off today (Brighton) when putting £9 of petrol in......never had that before.

Huh? WTF for? So the camera could get a good shot of you? Hell I lived in downtown Detroit in the 80's and it wasn't that bad. Not saying it was great, but still...

It's one of those supermarket/petrol stations and was really busy plus it looked like it was 2 women serving on their own, so once in there kinda understood their point of view....but still lol

Ah.... OK makes sense.

In Detroit what they did was those bullet proof carousels you would put your money in to. Smokes and booze behind the counter would be transferred to you through the bullet proof carousel. Having moved there from Montreal then Windsor Ontario it was a bit freaky as first.

Yeh luckily UK= no guns 99.99% of the time, can't imagine that level of security and detachment.

In other words, to no effect whatever. I suppose if it makes the victims feel better it's a good thing. But I'd like some actual justice. Come to think of it, I was once robbed of a Ducati 750 Sport. It was recovered but damaged. Later on, don't ask me how, the police caught the guys and made them pay restitution plus. I have no idea how they induced them to pay, but they sure did. I got a check for the full amount, plus extra small checks at odd intervals for the next decade or so.
Let me be clear: I'm making no political statement. Just an observation: when bad behavior goes unpunished, or worse yet is rewarded, guess what? You inevitably end up with more bad behavior. I see it all the time, in all different places. In many ways, humans are no different than dogs or cats. Well, dogs. If you reward them for something they are more apt to do that thing. If punished, they are less apt. Again, I'm advocating nothing. Just making an observation.

Looks like that trucking crew were ready to take on the miscreants.

Scaffolders, look at them wrong and they do that, but blummin good on em for stepping up!!

Come on we have been here before. Surely what we want is to grow up in a society with a decent level of morality not one where people are controlled through fear of reprisal. If not then I recommend relocating to Saudi Arabia. I won't suggest how to achieve this utopian vision as that would definitely be too political.

I respectfully, and strongly, disagree. JenniferJupiter is spot on.

No one is advocating cutting off hands or poking out eyes here. A society without laws (and reward and/or punishment for following/breaking those laws) is hardly a society at all.

I agree, JP. Nobody has suggested it has to be an either/or situation of no justice or chopping off hands.

RR the new Venezuela. Bullet proof plexiglass and bars in-between you and the cashier. I spent one day there and got the hell out of dodge,

Venezuela is what you get when you have lawlessness. The opposite would be Singapore, where everything is clean and everyone is safe. But at what cost to liberty? I defend nobody who vandalizes autos for fun, but caning seems a little harsh to my western sensibilities, and although I dislike concrete covered in chewing gum as much as the next person, outlawing chewing gum also seems a little harsh...to me.

It's weird. I know i lean libertarian. I judge nobody, and care not what you do in the privacy of your home. But with great liberty comes great responsibility and when you screw it up for everyone else there ought to be a dis-incentive for doing so. IMO.

There are a lot of things that I abhor, would never engage in, and believe have a negative effect on society (e.g. smoking, rap music, pornography) but would defend to the end. Banning cigarettes from bars, for example, seems about the stupidest thing in the world to me. It's nice for me, personally, but I completely disagree with it. About the only thing I would really like to see banned (and it isn't banning so much as enforcing existing laws) are those ridiculously over-loud open pipes on Harleys. I was at the park one day when some miscreant insisted on throttle-tuning his HD at the stoplight. Ducks took flight and a toddler burst into tears. Actually this scene plays out regularly in my small town, but this time I looked over to give the bum the stink eye...and it was my 70 year old father-in-law.

JJ the polar opposite from Venezuela is Bhutan. What a breath of fresh air. If you ever get the chance to go there'd. It can be done. It's a small country and it's easier. Hopefully people learn from their mistakes. Very sobering when i went into a church in Rwanda. They had a huge pile of shoes that were worn by people that were massacred in that church for no real reason (to most people that is). It's a reminder to what can happen when the government fails. The world also failed since the news outlets didn't report it. A female reporter from CNN and the BBC says that was the one regret and a big one, was that she didn't demand that it be reported.

Sure. I didn't mean polar opposite. i was comparing relatively large, developed nations. I haven't been to Bhutan, but I've worked with refugees from there. I'm given to understand that it is largely homogenous, and almost everyone there is religious, either Buddhist or Hindu. So I imagine they'd be pretty peaceful. Still, as with Singapore, a lot of things there are verboten. A LOT of things. I mean, didn't they wait until nearly the 21st century to lift the national ban on TV and internet? And isn't homosexuality still against the law? With that level of government control I'd expect a pretty well-behaved citizenry.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-45068663

10£ for a GPS tracker. You'll need to add a sim card and wire it in though.

https://www.gearbest.com/gps-accessories/pp_009363905538.html?lkid=16542219

London police warn moped criminals: 'We can ram you off bikes even without a helmet'

Video is awful until you remember they're scum.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12165487

Links for those that may have this video blocked based on geolocation.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/23/police-will-ram-moped-criminals-bikes-even-arent-wearing-helmets/