Jeez. Twice in one morning I find a case of Brits acting in a loopy manner, trying to prevent crime not by posing an effective threat to criminals, but by restricting legitimate activity that might be tempting to someone.
First off, there’s the story of a British school that forbade video and digital cameras from the Christmas pageant because of fears the pictures might end up in the hands of pedophiles. Next up, we’ll ban all digital images of children, of course. And digital cameras. And paintings. And …
And then there’s this little bit of advice from the London police, which basically says “Don’t use cell phones in public because someone might steal them. I mean, sure, it’s one thing to be streetwise, but, damn.
Of course, given that England and Wales have the highest crime rate among developed nations, maybe there’s something to that warning.
Or maybe it’s just easier to tell people to hide their cell phones (and their children) than to do something about crime.
(via DaddyWarblogs and especially InstaPundit)