Watching Panorama, a current affairs programme on the BBC last night, I was made aware of a law called " Joint enterprise". The Law has been around for a while, but the police have only recently been rigorously enforcing it to curb the growing gang violence in the UK. Basically the way the law works is if a person in a gang commits a crime, even those members who do not physically participate or strike the fatal blow, but simply lend encouragement and approval to the crime, are as guilty as the chief perpetrator and will receive similar prison sentences. This effectively means that your friend could murder someone, and because you didnt stop him, you could be tried for murder. On the programme they interviewed a young guy who did just that. He watched as he friend stabbed someone to death.He was given a 15 year jail sentence. The biggest problem with this law at the moment is that not enough people know about. If I hadn't watched Panorama, I wouldnt have know about it. The police should have a national campaign and place "adverts" on TV. I know the Metropolitan police( London police force) are actually sending detectives into high schools, to ensure teenagers are aware of this law. A lot of people dont agree with this law. But whichever side of the fence you sit, it clear that this law will serve to be a deterrant to youngsters joining gangs. What do you guys think about this law? Will it help reduce the number of gangs in the UK? Do you think the Americans should adopt such a law as well? Here is the BBC's definition: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/law_in_action/8126388.stm
Wow I missed this Panorama entirely, this could present some problems, maybe even make the situation worse, the whole in for a Penny in for a Pound thing could apply, hey I could be prosecuted anyway... maybe I will join in with the stabbing/violencel, just look at the Nigerian kidnapping death sentence, just means if they kill there hostage it's the same as handing them back, none of it really makes sense. Surely we have better answers, people are paid to come up with better ideas than this stuff surely.
If you can be bothered, you can watch it on the BBC website. Here is the link: ***********22229c]http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search/?q=panorama[/color] ***********22229c][/color]
I will tommorow when I get on my mums laptop, mine keeps stalling trying to watch a U tube vid, think it needs restoring to manafacture settings again!
Sking,do you think the Old Bill would sort out the gang problem in the estates? From the tabloids I had read when I was in London it appears they have a soft touch.
I believe several states have something similar, though not applicable solely to gang related violence. I know Texas has the Texas Law of Parties that states that a person can be criminally responsible for the actions of another if he or she aids and abets, or conspires with the person committing the crime. They don't have to prove the person had any intent to commit or participate in the actual crime, merely that they knew of it and either did nothing, or conspired with the person who actually committed the crime. The death penalty activists have been trying to get it repealed for years, but last I heard they were denied again. They believe it was never meant to apply to capital crimes for which the death penalty is the punishment. There are around 400 people currently on death row in Texas and approximately 80 of them were convicted under the law of parties and have been sentenced to die for murders they didn't commit. Do I think this cuts down on the number of murders in Texas, yes and no. For the average law abiding citizen like myself, it makes you think twice before crossing the street against the light when you live in a death-penalty state. But then Texas and Oklahoma are pro-self defense and you can legally carry a concealed weapon, so caution is always merited since for all you know the guy driving the ice cream truck is packing. For the repeat criminals, gang members, and psychopaths, I don't think it makes a difference. But I do suspect it leads a lot more people to rat out their friends to make a deal, so maybe it does have a positive effect in a round about way?
