Government wants its cake and eat it:

British people are the least likely in Europe to be "have-a-go heroes" and get involved if they witness a crime, research from a think tank claims.

The public policy group Reform says that Britons have become "passive bystanders" in the fight against crime.

Well go figure on that one, how many times have citizens stepped in and held some offender - usually a feral scrote only to be arrested by the police when they arrive?...

It says the UK has the world's most expensive justice system but people abdicate responsibility to politicians, police and the courts.

The government said the justice system had been "transformed" since 1997.

Oh it has been transformed all right, transformed into a chancers charter thanks to the human rights act, estates have been transformed into virtual no go areas, transformed into free for all sink estates where taxis refuse to go after dark...

Expense it may be, effective it is not.

The report quotes a survey which studied public perception of anti-social behaviour in six European countries - France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.

It found six out of 10 of the people questioned in the UK would be unlikely to challenge a group of 14-year-old boys vandalising a bus shelter, more than any other country surveyed. In Germany, six out of 10 said they would challenge the group.

Yes, having a bullet or knife from ones anatomy can be a tad painful I have heard.

Hold your nose for a large dose of New Labour bullshit:

Home Office Minister Tony McNulty and Justice Minister David Hanson issued a joint statement, in which they said the government's approach to law and order had both made communities safer and also offered support to victims of crime and witnesses.

"Through the Policing Green Paper and the Casey Review we are already implementing many of the measures the report suggests to ensure justice is done - and seen to be done - on a local level.

"By the end of the year every police force area will produce crime maps which will allow the public to see where and when crime has happened and learn how crime is being tackled by their local neighbourhood policing team.

"In addition, public confidence in the criminal justice system has increased significantly in recent years and we are working hard to bring more offenders to justice and to improve services to victims and witnesses.

Total fucking horse cock.

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