Yes we can say that 4 or the 5 lads in the car DID have criminal records. No need for any assumptions. The information has been released by the police.
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/criminal-records-four-vw-occupants-34510974
These were not one offs either.
Of those connected with the crash causers, most of those arrested have been charged with fire arms or offensive weapons offenses. These are not cuddly offenses
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8e08rggrko
Here's the list.
The police didn't just randomly get lucky arresting all these people who were known associates. (Note they are part of these lads immediate social circle not randoms) What they were doing was widely known - that is part of the point - community intimidation. They knew exactly who to target.
This is the culture of this community these lads belonged to. People tolerated it because nothing has been done to stop it. People became part of it because it's dominated the community.
All this talk of 'nice lads'. Well fuck me, nice lads don't assault police officers, carry weapons, steal cars or drive without insurance. If you are normalising these as nice lads, I'd hate to bloody think what you class as scumbags. This is the problem. Stop trying to SocialClassWash as a way to almost excuse it. That's a massive disservice to people in the same social group who aren't pricks.
We need to have these people stigmatised as exactly what they are. It's stigma that helps stop kids joining gangs because they are no longer cool.
We had much more mass poverty in the past. But poverty wasn't an excuse for scumbaggery. Being poor didn't mean you attacked police officers. This is not normal behaviour. You need to drive the wedge in here between the scumbags and those in poverty who don't act like this.
What really depressing here is the fact that a couple of police die and there's suddenly a massive crackdown. That's utterly depressing because that tells you about the culture of the police too - it clearly wasn't worth time and resources to protect the rest of the wider community from what was known to be going on. They are not worth it. Or all deemed to be part of it.
Worse at the crimes these lads were charged with previously only reference assaults against the police. Do you really think these were the first violent assaults they've carried out? You don't go from being 'a nice lad' to assaulting a police officer and carry offensive weapons. You can absolutely guarantee they've been the shit out of some other poor sod and threatened a bunch of others and then escalating because they know they will ultimately not be punished. And it's either not been reported out of fear or the police can't be arsed to proceed with a conviction. They've only acted on those crimes that are either easy to prove (vehicle crime) or affects police officers.
It's such utter bullshit. All of it.
Let's be clear: Poverty alone doesn't turn people into scumbags. More scumbags may be poor and they are chasing a lifestyle but this is an active choice not something you HAVE to do. Lots of people don't do this. Because they aren't scum bags.
We are NOT talking about petty theft for economic survival. We are talking organised criminal activity. There is active decision making going on here and a bravo and celebration of these scumbags going on. The 'nice lads' shit is a nonsense too. Everyone calling them nice lads is really totally unaware of what shit they've done in the past? Are you fucking KIDDING me? All those people calling them this are well aware of both the incident they died in AND their previous troubles with the police. They don't care. They see it as normal acceptable behaviour that doesn't need to be confronted and dealt with. It's the biggest, shittest case of denial you will pretty much ever get. They were in car running from the police going the wrong way - you don't get much more 'caught in the act'.
It doesn't bloody matter if they were someone's brother, son etc etc. By all means mourn them and regret their deaths. But fucking hell don't suggest they were 'nice' because that just shows up you were participating in enabling and minimising and normalisation of shitty behaviour. They were lads who went wrong and that's a dreadful tragedy and you will miss them. But don't call them nice. Because that's just fucking offensive and an out and out LIE. It's disrespectful to the men they killed by their reckless, selfish and dangerous actions.
We need to challenge people minimising in every form. And yes that includes this post. Because this is the only way you even BEGIN to stop it. Every action to refuse to tolerate it, matters.
This fait accompli attitude that they didn't have any other opportunities or choices is bullshit. It's a way of allowing this complete abdication of responsibility by lads like this. Yes your life might be bloody hard, but you still are capable of not getting in the car. You are still capable of not deciding to assault a bloody police officer. You have legal capacity. Honestly the wet weekends who come up with this crap are also part of the problem. It lets the police officer the hook too. It says oh well this is a poor area, crime happens but yeah it's expensive to police and actually we can't be arsed to fund policing adequately this area because it's only poor people.
It's only because a police officer has been killed that they've decided to draft in a bunch of extra police because they've been forced to admit that no the police are absolutely not in control within the area and these scumbags rule the roost not them. That's so unbelievably sad.
And we all sit here wondering why the major political parties have massive trust issues with the public... Like seriously?!