So that idiot Brunstrom is at it again.
The Mad Mullah is now using his position as Chief Constable of North Wales to campaign for drugs to be legalised so his force can stop "wasting their time" (his words) trying to capture drug-dealers and can concentrate their efforts on really important things like spending tens of thousands of pounds chasing a woman who was eating an apple at the wheel, and generally persecuting innocent motorists - we understand there are now more speed cameras in North Wales than there are people.
Brunstrom acknowledges that his is a minority view (oh, well done. A minority of one, I should think, you ridiculous plonker) but believes that ecstasy is safer than aspirin, and that repealing the Misuse of Drugs Act would destroy a major source of organised crime.
The Mad Mullah. Oh no, sorry, it's a dumb
animal. Easy mistake to make.
I suppose one has to admit that he is right, in a twisted sort of way. Legalising heroin, cocaine, cannabis and so on certainly would make the crime statistics look a bit better. And while we're at it, we could make rape, child abuse, mugging and car theft legal as well, then we wouldn't need nearly so many policemen.
Of course there have been the usual knee-jerk reactions. Rhondda MP Chris Bryant said Mr Brunstrom had "extraordinary" opinions and an "obsession" with publicity. How unfair.
And Mark Tami MP said "Drug users are responsible for half of all crime, so taking the risk of legalising such a dangerous drug is foolhardy and I would not wish to gamble so much on the health and wellbeing of our children".
Peter Black MP writes "Those who disagree with Mr. Brunstrom do so from bitter experience. They have seen the damage that drugs can inflict on families and communities, they have seen young people die miserable deaths, watched sons, daughters and other local youngsters struggle to break an addiction, turn to crime to pay for their habit and suffer broken lives and their instincts are to fight against it by banning the substances that have caused this pain. I do not blame them for feeling that way."
Black also points to "contradictions in policy. Alcohol is a legal substance and yet agencies dealing with substance abuse find that it dominates their work. People are addicted to legal prescription drugs and other substances that can be bought over the counter in a corner shop. In some cases they are dying as a result of this addiction. A large proportion of violent crime is directly attributable to alcohol."
All of which may be true, but this is not an "either/or" situation. We don't have to choose between fighting drugs or fighting alcohol abuse - we have to fight both. While this is obvious to the average Grumpy Old Sod in the street, it seems to have escaped the notice of the great and the good who rule our lives. All they can see is how difficult the battle is, and their only solution is to abandon it. What a shame Blair didn't adopt this approach before he took us into Iraq.
But the Mad Mullah does have at least one supporter, Flintshire councillor and North Wales Police Authority member Terry Renshaw. He says that while anyone using illegal drugs is criminalised, people are still allowed to buy alcohol and cigarettes. On the face of it this does seem unfair. Even if 50% of all UK crime is committed by drug-users, to lump these poor druggies into the same basket as those depraved, antisocial smokers and middle-class wine buffs is a bit much, isn't it?
Renshaw described refusing to examine the issue as the "ostrich syndrome", and said that while North Wales Police were very pro-active in fighting illegal drugs use, he felt it was a waste of resources, with the more drugs taken off the streets, the more that arrived. There may be just the tiniest lapse of logic here, though - by this token, if we stopped taking drugs off the street the supply would dwindle to nothing. Yes, I can really see that happening.
Brunstrom is no stranger to controversy - in fact he seems to court it. In 2003 he was pilloried by the national press as "The police chief who wages war on the motorist as burglars have a field day", while in the same year he was widely criticised for showing pictures of 40-year-old Mark Gibney, who died in a motorcycle crash in Denbighshire. He did not get permission from Mr Gibney's family to show the images, and they have since repeatedly called for him to be sacked or to resign. Three MPs with North Wales constituencies have also said he should go.
When you think hard about it, the whole argument comes down to the cowardice and laziness endemic in the ruling coterie of this country. We don't tackle problems like immigration and crime because they're difficult, and because certain sections of the community might object. Much easier to keep quiet and do nothing, and concentrate on easier things like persecuting smokers or middle-class ladies who like a tipple every night.
And the best way to sweep something under the carpet is to deny that it exists, and scream hysterically at anyone who says it does. The Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali who comes from Pakistan, made headlines this week by predicting that some Muslim enclaves in British towns may become "no-go" areas for non-Muslims - a reasonable-enough forecast, given that there are already some Muslim areas where police do not patrol - and has immediately been hit with accusations of racism.
That's the way it's done in this country today. Can't fix a problem? Worried it might be really difficult to do what you know is right? Just pretend there isn't a problem, and attack anyone who says different. Accusations of racism will usually cover it, or Elf'n'Safety, or Human Rights.
In Brunstrom's case the problem is that half the crime in the UK is drug-related, that drugs seized from traffickers are replaced in days, that dealers are targeting children in many inner-cities, that nearly every secondary school in the country has drugs in it, and that law enforcement agencies appear to have reached a standstill.
His solution? Legalise drugs. End of problem. Brilliant.
The GOS says: We thought of making Brunstrom our Wanker of the Week, but we understand he's already in line for a prestigious award. A group of influential Middle Eastern gentlemen intend to give him the "Star of Afghanistan" award for services to international trade.
The award comes with a side order of 72 virgins. Unfortunately 72 virgins can't be found in North Wales.
Perhaps he'd like 72 innocent motorists - he could shaft them instead?
By the way, if anyone's interested the cat picture came from a website called I Can Has Cheezburger? - childish but rather funny all the same.
either on this site or on the World Wide Web.
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