The government has announced it will make ‘cuckooing’ a criminal offence. Cuckooing is a term used to describe criminals taking over people in their homes and forcing them to serve them or provide facilities for crime. It is clearly an extremely nasty business and a serious infringement of people's fundamental rights. As such, it clearly ought to be illegal and, of course, it already is. The obvious offences would be extortion, unlawful imprisonment, aggravated trespass, slavery and probably many more.
Herein lies the problem. Parliamentary time is to be wasted adding a new offence to a whole string of offences which already exist, when the activity being outlawed is already illegal on several existing counts. A new crime which is already criminal is to be defined and argued over when there is no way the action concerned could ever be considered anything other than criminal already. How is a new specific offence, which is unproven in court and could fail for all sorts of technicalities once the precise definition is agreed, going to alter the behaviour of criminal gangs one jot? They're already breaking the law. They're already committing serious offences with harsh punishments. What possible benefit could a new law bring? Only a cosmetic exercise for a beleaguered government wanting to look as if it’s doing something when it will achieve nothing new.
It is time our politicians tried to stop looking as if they’re doing something and actually did things which make a real difference rather than just putting on a pointless show.
K J Petrie has a Full Technological Certificate in Radio, TV and Electronics, an HNC in Digital Electronics and a BA(Hons) in Theological Studies.
His interests include Christian and societal unity, Diverse Diversity, and freedoms from want, from fear, of speech, and of association. He is a communicant member of the Church of England.
The views expressed here are entirely personal and unconnected with any body to which he belongs.
