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SOMETHING TO MAKE YOU SMILE AS WE ENTER OUR FIRST WEEKEND IN LOCKDOWN.
Amid the clamour of appeal for Government support, however, the plight of one group appears to have been cruelly overlooked.
Criminals.
The Prime Minister may only have announced the nationwide lockdown on Monday night, but already families from across the law-breaking community are feeling the pinch. Burglars, for example, have seen their takings collapse.
“It’s a nightmare,” says Barry Knuckles, president of the National Union of Housebreakers. “Now that the entire population is at home 24 hours a day, it’s impossible to burgle anyone. They’re never out.”
Speaking on the Today programme, Mr Knuckles urged the Government to provide financial support for his members during these tough times. He called on the Chancellor to cover 80 per cent of the value of all the laptops, jewellery and flatscreen TVs that Britain’s burglars would normally have stolen and sold on. So far, however, he has yet to receive a response.
“The political class are completely out of touch with the concerns of decent, hard-working criminals,” he says.
But burglars aren’t the only felons struggling to meet the challenges of the coronavirus age. coronavirus age.
“It’s all very well for people who can work from home, like phishing scammers and identity thieves,” says Dave Fingers, chairman of the Association of British Muggers and Bag-Snatchers. “But how are you supposed to pick someone’s pocket from two metres away? Some of our lads have tried using those little hooked rods you get in fairground hook-a-duck games, or those funny reacher-grabber tools that old folk use for picking up stuff they’ve dropped on the floor. But it’s hopeless. The Government’s got to think again.” (Extract from an article in the Telegraph Sat 28 Mar)
On a more serious note however there have been reports of criminals changing their methods and resorting to more serious attacks on people, for example not only are front line NHS workers being abused by people accusing them of spreading the virus but they are being targeted by muggers for their ID badges.
Not all criminals are staying at home, and they are becoming more desperate and taking more risks as time goes on.
Please stay vigilant and report suspicious behaviour to the Police by calling 101.