Mark Andrews: Soft on crime, tough on mouthy teenagers and why prissy Packham actually has a point
The Chief Constable of West Midlands Police has denied his force is failing after it was effectively placed in 'special measures' by HM Inspectorate.
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Hmmm. Well here's a question. How, when shoplifters openly go about their business in full view of the public, did his officers find the time and manpower to arrest two teenage boys for sexist chanting about a female referee at Birmingham City last week?
The force certainly sounded very pleased with its collars.
“We don’t tolerate any form of hate and it is important hate crime is reported to us," said a force spokesman.
So that's something else we can add to the ever-growing list of trendy 'hate crimes'.
Now I'm sure what the boys said was unacceptable, they were Birmingham City supporters after all. But when did it become the role of police to enforce standards of decorum at football matches?
In more sensible times, a couple of burly stewards would have grabbed the scallys by the scruff of the neck and thrown them out the ground. Then again, in today's Britain, their parents would probably sue the stewards for assault.