How police are making criminals of the over-40s: Target culture fuels rise in first-time convictions for middle aged

www.dailymail.co.uk

Record numbers of middle-aged people are being ‘criminalised’ by target-chasing police.

The number of over-40s receiving a first conviction or caution has increased by half since 2001.

It is now running at a startling 65 a day, according to new Government figures.

After decades of abiding by the law, people are being punished for crimes such as motoring offences or refusing to pay wheelie-bin fines.

Liberal Democrat spokesman Chris Huhne said they were being pursued so police could meet the targets imposed by Labour.

These give the same weight to catching a speeding motorist as to snaring a rapist or paedophile.

Mr Huhne said last night: ‘Labour have criminalised a generation and treated tens of thousands of law-abiding middle-aged and elderly citizens like villains.’

Parliamentary answers show the number of first-time entrants to the criminal justice system who are over 50 increased by 46.3 per cent between 2000/01 and 2007/08, from 16,400 to 24,000.

In the 40-49 age group, the leap was 57.4 per cent, with 32,900 previously law-abiding people being criminalised.

The increases in the middle-aged groups far outstripped the general picture. In the population as a whole, there was a rise of just 18.6 per cent.

The figures reflect the fact that many of Labour’s new spot fines for ‘crimes’ such as overfilling a wheelie bin are aimed at householders,

These are more likely than the general population to be middle-aged.

A first-time entrant is someone receiving their first court conviction or caution, as recorded on the police national computer.

Motoring offences, including things like not wearing a seatbelt, make up half the cases dealt with by the courts.

Drivers who challenge a speed camera ticket must go to court and will account for many of the punishments.

Refusing to accept a wheelie-bin fine can also lead to court. Read full article…

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