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Original poster

Keying £100k Aston Martin

77 replies

drifter2015 · 04/09/2015 16:14

AIBU to think this man deserves prison time?

uk.news.yahoo.com/hackney-as...1.html#xADwGfs

I've been reading on other forums people saying "prison for keying a car?" and "as a single parent he shouldn't go to jail" but the way i see it is that its the amount of damage, the damage he did is no different from burning out someones 7k car, or knocking down someones 7k conservatory?

OP posts:
MiddleAgedandConfused · 04/09/2015 16:36

I know it's illogical, but I feel stealing £7k from a vulnerable OAP is a more serious crime than keying a £120k car. It must have been painted in gold to have cost that much to repair.

MiddleAgedandConfused · 04/09/2015 16:38

My husband had some kit worth this much stolen a few weeks ago and the police have refused to investigate it, even though we can prove beyond doubt who took it. Confused

Backforthis · 04/09/2015 16:39

He's 48 years old, not some stupid teenager. I think he's a waste of space and the child hasn't got a chance with him as a parent. Heavy community service would be appropriate.

As for why the prosecution over this car, the driver had the man on camera clearly identifiable and causing the damage. It's an easy case.

LittleRedSparkle · 04/09/2015 16:40

Agreed - some hard core community service would do this MUCH better than prison

lets have some river dredging, old peoples gardens sorted etc
Prison is not the answer

(no one - except the owner- would give a brass monkey for a 15year old micra, even if it was caught on camera, sad but true)

Madbengalmum · 04/09/2015 16:40

Doesnt matter what kind of car it is someones pride and joy and a disgusting act of vandalism.... Mindless.
Should be made to pay for the damage whether he can afford it or not, even if its £1 a week. Why should this man have to claim on his insurance!
Also community service, maybe cleaning graffti or someones elses mindless acts

Original poster
drifter2015 · 04/09/2015 16:40

PacificDogwood, I see what you mean but doesn't that send out the message that its OK to steal/damage people if they have done well for themselves?

OP posts:
Crispbutty · 04/09/2015 16:40

"I am surprised given the massive gap between rich and poor that this doesn't happen all the time"

I couldn't afford a matchbox toy car at the moment but I would never dream of keying any car. Rich and poor has nothing to do with it, but being a complete arsehole does.

Shockers · 04/09/2015 16:42

It was a deliberate and malicious act that he knew would cost a fortune to repair.

The whole point of this act was that it was not done to a Nissan Micra - he wouldn't have given a NM a second glance.

Original poster
drifter2015 · 04/09/2015 16:42

I hate the whole "£1 a week" bullshit, why should the driver or insurance company be left waiting all that time to get the money back,

OP posts:
MiddleAgedandConfused · 04/09/2015 16:43

JeffsanArsehole - I agree with you. Prison is about getting people off the streets who are a threat to society and dangerous. Financial crimes could be punished in other ways.
I also think that people should have to cover the cost of their time in prison if they have the funds. Why should the tax payer foot the bill? I realise that this would only apply to a small number of inmates, but any money that could be recovered would be great and may be go some way to compensating victims. Or you could do the same as they do with students - recover the cost through tax when they get out (if they get a job).

Original poster
drifter2015 · 04/09/2015 16:43

And you dont have to be rich to be driving an Aston Martin, maybe his a middle earner who loves cars so have chosen not to have holiday/share a house/not eat out to afford it?

OP posts:
MrsTerryPratchett · 04/09/2015 16:43

On a different note, I used to take Aston Martin breakdown calls years ago. Couldn't have been a nicer group of people. Kind, polite, patient, lovely. I'm sure most of them, lovely as they were, wouldn't think that because they have nicer stuff, people who damage it should be punished more severely. Because it is close to saying that the State should favour rich people over poor people, isn't it?

Squooshed · 04/09/2015 16:44

The whole point of this act was that it was not done to a Nissan Micra - he wouldn't have given a NM a second glance.

Yet I'm sure Micras get keyed all the time.

Madbengalmum · 04/09/2015 16:45

Drifter, the man will get the repair done, as i am sure he doesnt have to wait to be able to afford it!
Dependent on the offending individuals ability to pay it back, he may be given a fine of £1 a week or so until it is paid especially if he is on benefits and prooves he cant afford any more, so bullshit as you call it is irrelevant.

MiddleAgedandConfused · 04/09/2015 16:45

My tatty old car was keyed. I think people who do this are equal opportunity vandals.

MaxieMouse · 04/09/2015 16:46

The value of the car may be irrelevant but the value of the damage isn't. Otherwise a guy who steals a sweetie would get the same sentence as one who steals a million pounds worth of jewellery.

Backforthis · 04/09/2015 16:51

My friend had her new car keyed around 2002. It was a small, black, decent engined car. Nice but nothing flashy. Someone decided the fact that it was new was enough to drag a key along the length of it twice. It really upset her because it happened when it was parked right outside her flat. It's a cowardly, spiteful thing to do.

whatwhatinthewhatnow · 04/09/2015 16:56

This man is pretty unlikely to ever see £7k in his lifetime, that's probably what fuelled his stupid, jealous act. The venom on his face as he gets that key out is disgusting. What an awful example to his child.

I had my car keyed while I was in it (dark evening, I was parked and it was a very old banger, people used to attack it all the time.) I had a litre bottle of coke next to me which I poured on the teenagers out of the window, drive by style. Grin

Community service needs to be more than scrubbing graffiti. It needs to be gruelling, long, dirty and more importantly - a deterrent.

RachelZoe · 04/09/2015 16:58

maybe his a middle earner who loves cars so have chosen not to have holiday/share a house/not eat out to afford it?

Yes, someone on a medium salary can afford to buy, insure, maintain and run a v8 Vanquish just by skipping holidays and not eating out Hmm

If anyone actually did that they would certainly go in the "atrocious with money" category.

ExConstance · 04/09/2015 16:59

No he shouldn't go to prison, it would cost us nearly £400 per week and as he'd be unemployable on release lots more over the following months. He should be the one paying, not the taxpayer.

PacificDogwood · 04/09/2015 17:04

but doesn't that send out the message that its OK to steal/damage people if they have done well for themselves?

No, as others have said, it's not about value of the car/being poor or rich/having an irrational hatred of Astons Wink - it's about being an arsehole.
Prison IME is a School For Arseholes. I agree with everybody we need community sentences that bite.
Of course he (and others could pay something back bit by bit, not to the car owner or even to the insurance company, but to some kind of Community Pot, then money in which will then be used for Early Years Education (so his kid does not end up an arse)/Playgrounds/community gardens for young people to have a purpose and learn skills etc etc.
I really think we need to think a bit more creatively than 'prison is a proper punishment and he deserves it' and 'anything else is letting him off'.

I have driving old bangers and v nice cars and IME either kind can get vandalised or stolen HmmAngry
I just don't see how that would change if those responsible would be jailed.

MaddyinaPaddy · 04/09/2015 18:02

why is it more expensive to polish a scratch out of an aston martin than any other car??

JanetBlyton · 04/09/2015 18:05

Prison plus a damages order where by he works for the owner of the car at say £10 an hour until the hours worked pay for the damage.

KanyeWestPresidentForLife · 04/09/2015 18:20

So basically what you are saying OP is that when a crime is committed the sentencing should be based purely on the monetary value of the damage. So basically if you damage or take a poor persons property it is more effective and less serious because their stuff is worth less and therefore the sentence should be shorter?

Let's not forget that a crime committed against a poorer person can have a lower monetary value but a far bigger impact. A £30 theft can mean some people can be left without food, heating or the means to get to work.

Because what was the impact of this crime? I doubt he was frightened or intimidated by it or that it has had any long lasting emotional impact. I am 100% certain he will not have had to go without any necessities like food, warmth, washing facilities because of this. I would imagine it's had almost no impact on his family. Getting it fixed was probably a bit of a nuisance that his secretary dealt with.

Given that I really don't think that prison is appropriate. When you look at the harm caused by the crime in anything other than a basic comparison of monetary value it's impact was very, very small.

And for a punishment to involve imprisonment and taking a small child away from it's primary carer is just excessive retribution which will benefit nobody.

BigChocFrenzy · 04/09/2015 21:28

Monetary value often determines sentence, e.g. steal a few tins of tuna and only the shopkeeper would bother to persue the matter.
Steal 100k jewellery and go to jail.

The malice on his face is clear and his action very deliberate.

A well-publicised case of someone being jailed for keying - and this dashcam has been viewed by millions - might put off many others from keying cheaper cars.
Paying to keep him in jail a few weeks is worth that.

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