How Is This Not Attempted Murder?

The suspects fled to a red Hyundai car and as the police sergeant stood in the road and raised his hand to stop it Togher accelerated into him, the court heard.

The impact lifted him off his feet, said Mr Doherty, but the officer gave chase and caught up with Togher when her escape was blocked at a junction.

If you drive a half-tionne of metal and glass at someone at speed, how are you not attempting to kill them?

Heroin addict Togher, of Martock Road, Bedminster, was jailed for a total of 11 months yesterday after pleading guilty to theft, dangerous driving and assault with intent to resist arrest at an earlier hearing.

*speechless*

Judge Grainger disqualified Togher from driving for two years.

That's just adding insult to injury!!

20 Months? Is That All?

A woman who twice falsely cried rape against an ex-boyfriend has been jailed for 20 months.

Yup. Twice! They let her off the first one, of course:

Beverley Brandreth, 20, first lied that he had raped her in February 2010 when she said she was pregnant and it caused her to lose her baby.

That allegation fell apart when it was discovered she was not pregnant at the time but prosecutors advised that no charge be brought against her.

She pushed her luck too far, though:

Last November she made a second claim to police that he had dragged her into woods where she was beaten unconscious and raped, and he threatened to kill her if she reported the matter.

Her lies were unmasked again when the victim later proved he was in a DVD store with his new girlfriend when Brandreth claimed he attacked her.

He proved..? Isn't that the police's job?

We are spared the defence's babble in the local paper, but the Beeb helpfully adds it:

In court, defence lawyer Rebecca Tanner said Brandreth was "a complicated young woman, someone who has complex needs and a complex psychological profile".

She got what she 'needs'. Well, not enough of it, but still...

We get the same old boilerplate from the police, of course:

Det Con Chris Aunins said her claims "make a mockery of the experiences suffered by genuine victims".

"In investigating this false claim, officers wasted countless hours interviewing witnesses and on paperwork when they could have been dealing with a genuine emergency," he said.

"Not only that, but the man she alleged was responsible had to spend time in a custody cell, wrongly accused of an offence he did not commit.

"Unfairly, he has been put through a tremendous amount of stress when he is completely innocent."

And is that all her fault? Or...might some of it be yours?

H/T: Curmudgeon via email

I Guess Wales Are Behind The Times..?

In Gloucester, praise for a man defending his home:

Heroic father Amgad Ahmed has spoken of the moment he tackled a burglar to the ground and sat on him while his family slept upstairs.

He has been praised by a judge and given a cash reward for his bravery in "frightening circumstances" after he overpowered intruder Brian Wing when he crept into his Overbury Road home through an unlocked patio door.

In Wales, arrest for a man defending his mum’s home:

Vaughan Jones, 39, from Bargoed, in Gwent, South Wales jumped into action when his widowed mother heard a thief burgling her family home.

He called police before dashing around to help his mother Eleanor, 65, and confronted the burglar in a hand-to-hand struggle.

But the dad-of-three was left shocked when officers arrived and arrested him for allegedly assaulting the thief.

So…what’s the difference? Well, it seems the Welsh CPS at least have got the memo, if not the Heddlu:

And he was only released when the Crown Prosecution Service advised police not to press charges.

They needed such advice?

A spokesman said: 'When officers attend a live, ongoing situation they often have to take quick and decisive action based on what they are faced with to defuse the situation, ensure the safety of all involved and to maximise opportunities to gather evidence.

'Further enquiries follow, enabling officers to establish a fuller picture of what has taken place.'

Translation: ‘Look, we’re just simple souls, we are barely capable of nicking everyone in sight until someone brighter than us turns up and tells us who is the guilty party.’

Really, Welsh cops? Is that how you want to be seen by the public?

Oh, Really? Crime Doesn’t Pay?

Are you sure?

A carer who stole the life savings of a 100-year-old woman will not have to pay the money back.

No, not some fit of sympathy from a do-gooding judge. Not this time.

Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, the Crown Prosecution Service tried to recoup the money from Isaacs by forcing her to sell her house.

However, due to the recession, she no longer has any equity in her home and the CPS has withdrawn the proceedings.

Ah. Great.

Prosecutor Richard Thompson said: "Isaacs served a statement indicating her home was worth about £110,000 with a mortgage of £90,000. We sought a confiscation hearing in these circumstances.

"She was awaiting a further valuation of her property from estate agents and they valued it at £65,000. "The result is that any confiscation hearings are pointless."

Well, no. Not really pointless, as there’s always the punitive aspect of making the thief homeless.

Isaacs will not have to repay any of the stolen money now unless her financial circumstances change and the proceedings could be restarted against her.

One (for the CPS) to watch…