27
May
2014
By Calvin at 09:31 GMT, 11 years ago
On 22 May I ran a story entitled ‘Whitehaven’s unnecessary crimes’, which highlighted the problem of motorists in Cumbria (England) not locking their cars and leaving things of value in them. Well, just like waiting for a bus for too long and then three come along at the same time, I’ve just found this little gem from the city of Bundaberg, Queensland (known locally as Bundy) highlighting exactly the same problem, but in a more direct Australian way!
It seems like Acting Inspector Erwin Hoffmann of the Bundy police is at his wits’ end with the problem of theft from motor vehicles.
The news article tells us that the local police have tried both the carrot and stick methods to reduce the 12 month old problem with absolutely no success. Apparently local laws allow the police to issue a $30 fixed penalty ticket for leaving a motor vehicle insecure, which didn’t work and they’ve also tried to encourage car locking by entering the details of car owners who have locked their cars into a monthly prize draw to win tickets for the cinema – all to no avail!
Inspector Hoffman, in a moment of obvious frustration, tells the news reporter that “people are being stupid; they might as well take all their gear out of the car and leave it on the bonnet”
Seems like I’m not the only one who gets hot under the collar about the issue then!
Source: The Chronicle (on-line) http://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/bad-habits-to-beat/2270666/
