HSE

An Aberdeenshire landowner gave a pensioner friend permission to cut down a dead tree for firewood. The tree fell badly killing the old man. His children, who were with him, his widow and the police all say it was an unfortunate accident. The widow does not hold the landowner in any way responsible. But Health and Safety Executive are still investigating, at great expense, and may prosecute. Perhaps if they have staff to waste on this tragic event they should transfer some to Maidstone where people are dying by the busload in local hospitals.

TOY GUNS

I have no problem with police arresting and throwing in clink people, including teenagers, who threaten people with imitation firearms in circumstances where the weapon could be taken to be real. But if it's black and orange plastic wielded outside his home by an 8-year-old it's probably better to call it a toy gun — unless gunmakers are now switching to orange as a fashion statement. Which didn't stop an officer of the Wiltshire force from ordering Samuel England (age 8) to smash his toy or be arrested. In the end that fate was averted when his stepfather smashed the toy for him. But the copper left only for 5 minutes before returning to order Samuel's 6-year-old sister Sophie not to ride her barbie car on the pavement. I blame the parents — why can't they send the children up to their bedroom to surf the internet like every other self-respecting child? Of course if the officer had for one second suspected the toy could be the real thing he would have hidden behind a hedge a mile away whilst he called in bomber command for backup. And if youngsters still play with "action man" dolls I trust the range doesn't include a copper as many of the men in blue don't qualify for such a title.

CHILD CRIMINALS

So a 10-year-old in Rawtenstall (Lancashire) got fingerprinted by police and fined £40 for writing on a neighbour's wall in crayon. Well she was a naughty little girl to do that but hardly a criminal. I'm all in favour of stopping children, even 10-year-olds, from messing up their neighbour's property. But all it needs is a good tongue-lashing, which her mother says she got, or a spanking. I'd need to know more about the girl to decide which was appropriate. When I lived very many years ago not far from that Rossendale town nobody, had I committed such a crime, would have been upset if the neighbour had punished me or made me rub it off. But now with policemen and social services alert to every touch, neighbours tend to grit their teeth and keep hands off. Seems like overkill to me.

Perhaps not entirely unconnected is a report that Jacqui Smith, Home Secretary in Gordy's new broom government wanted to toughen up police targets to increase the number of arrests for serious offences. I don't pretend to know how the targets operate but basically at present a policemen gets as many points for arresting a 10-year-old girl as for dealing with a 17-year-old lad on the streets with a knife. Given the choice which would you choose? In fairness it seems some officers would rather deal with "real" crime and feel they are being let down by management. And though the targets may apply in reality to the force, rather than individuals, they must generate pressures from command levels which feed down to men on the beat. In any case it's all academic because Jack Straw has said he can't agree to a policy which would put more people in jail because there isn't room. So the law and order aspect of Gordy's new broom is just a sham.