sometimes things just don't work the way they should

[steveL]

I think this is a case of knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing. I suspect that someone with a spreadsheet has decided that the cost of the necessary forensic work doesn't justify a conviction. I'm sure that paint samples from the damaged cars could have been matched with a bit of effort and money. It's not surprising with this sort of attitude that the yobs involved will be laughing at both the victims and the law. It's also, I believe, why crime figures are falling - what on earth is the point in reporting anything?

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/local/end-of-the-road-1-4777659

[Lucy Lass-Tick]

The 'outcomes' section of local crime statistics shows how much is categorised as either no outcomes available (as with anti-social behaviour, the largest bulk of crimes) or for no further action at this point in time.

http://www.police.uk/crime/?q=Hartlepool,%20UK#outcomes/2012-05

[testing times]

The basis for all of this is that when people do wrong they face some sort of punishment and that process isn't dependent on cost. In other words, a decision not to prosecute flies in the face of knowing the difference between right and wrong on which all law is based. It turns it into knowing the difference between right and wrong once cost considerations have been taken into account.
Once people start laughing at the law we are all in trouble.