Violent physical assaults are becoming alarmingly regular occurrences lately. In particular those with cowardly young offenders hitting on the defenceless elderly. Our Magistrates are so out of touch in their sentencing that it borders on idiocy. They claim legislation is preventing them. So, how about changing legislation ? I speak with Police Officers on a regular basis & they all, without exception put the blame for so much violence on the Magistrates. There simply is no penalties, nor compensation, nor other repercussions for the offenders. If a bystander lays a hand on an offender by trying to help a victim then the Law instantly puts the offender in the background & comes down like a tonne of bricks on the good samaritan. When helping a victim or defending what's yours becomes an offence then there are no winners, only losers.

Individual <" If a bystander lays a hand on an offender by trying to help a victim then the Law instantly puts the offender in the background & comes down like a tonne of bricks on the good samaritan.''

Really? Have you got any proof about that statement? Any examples?

"When helping a victim or defending what's yours becomes an offence then there are no winners, only losers."

When you say 'helping' what do you mean exactly, Individual ?
Do you mean bashing or shooting the offender?

So you are advocating vigilante behaviour then?
Shoot first and ask questions later?
We should have a possible instant death sentence by shooting for, say, breaking and entering then, or for bag snatching maybe?

It's because of people like you that we have the laws we have, Individual...

Suseonline,
Wrong, wrong & wrong again. It's because of people with your do-gooder mentality that we have criminals like that. It's because of people like you that we have gutless asexual magistrates who get some perverse satisfaction out of seeing decent people in utter dismay.
I do advocate vigillanteism if the Law makers fail to pull out their finger.
Aren't the latest bashing news sufficiently bad for you ? What perverse mind do you harbour ?

thanks to dr spock and co who fooled the gullible in to not smacking a couple of generations of kids. The end result is obvious.

"thanks to dr spock and co who fooled the gullible in to not smacking a couple of generations of kids."

Not everywhere, runner... in some places children are severely punished for failing to obey or show proper respect to their parents, are told what to do, have their movements restricted or always chaperoned, face caning, amputation or stoning for infractions (some even when there is no 'victim').

So how is it going for those societies?

"The end result is obvious."

Were things better when you could sell rebellious kids into indentured service; or maybe it is all just a little more complicated?

So where are your examples I asked for, Individual?
If I am a supposed 'do gooder', then that makes you a 'do badder'.
Fair enough.

No one who is a victim of a criminal activity is ever happy with the punishment of the perpetrator, but where do we draw the line ?
I suspect that with you, the 'line' should be nothing less than death by firing squad for all criminal activities.

What if they were innocent then?
To you, as a do-badder, they would just be collateral damage I suppose.
I hope you don't own a gun...