Public Address

David Slack at Public Address makes his case in favour of the Police going into pubs to look for drunk people.

I’m still entirely unconvinced. Even *if* one accepts that alcohol plays a part in say 25% of criminal offending, it is still a long bow to believe that going into pubs to look for drunk people will have any sort of effect in crime. I wonder for a start how many crimes done under the influence happen after a pub session, rather than a private party.

But more to the point, even if say 25% of criminal offending is done under the influence, that does not mean 25% of people drinking in pubs are going to commit a crime. Take for example Wellington bar Dockside. On a Friday night one can have 300 people there. As the night goes on one could make a case that half of them are intoxicated. But how many will go out and break a law? Probably none? In the meantime the Police tell Mrs Jones they can not respond to her burglary because all their staff are out in pubs looking for drunk people.

Also on Public Address, Russell Brown is back blogging. Russell seems to think it is a good thing he can go on holiday and still have Judith Tizard as his local MP. Shudder!

But Russell, despite having a professional interest in media standards, has somehow overlooked making any comment at all on the CBS memo scandal report. This is the most devastating critique of a media failing in recent history, but it doesn’t even get a mention.