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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
BaxterDawes · 04/09/2015 21:33

What a scum bag. Who would do this? It just beggars belief.

I think he should get a short custodial sentence.

partialderivative · 04/09/2015 21:51

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.

Amazing! So close to blaming the victim... but not quite

Lurkedforever1 · 04/09/2015 22:13

Theft in my mind isn't about monetary value, it's about physical value if we're going to use the damage as a reason for sentencing. If I go and pinch someones work van, that is crucial to their life as its responsible for everything from main income to their dp getting to work, kids to school etc, then even if it's only worth £1k the real impact is a lot more than nicking 50 brand new Mercedes from the manufacturer. But you can guarantee the former would get nothing more than a slap on the wrist, and yet the second would get you prison in all likelihood.

Tywinlannister · 04/09/2015 22:35

I bet he thought it was such a minor thing... He'd probably done it loads of times before. So, because of the 3 times my car has been keyed, I am actually really glad he got caught and publicly shamed!

Community service should be things like clearing fat balls from sewers. Grin

Tywinlannister · 04/09/2015 22:36

whatwhat you poured coke on them? That's hilarious!

tiggytape · 04/09/2015 22:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BolshierAyraStark · 04/09/2015 22:53

The man is an envious little fuckwit, so glad he was very publicly shamed. Prison time is absolutely appropriate.

LittleRedRidingHoodie1 · 04/09/2015 22:55

If someone keyed my car I'd expect them to pay the full cost of repair. I don't give a shit about their circumstances. If you can vandalise then pay for it .

derenstar · 04/09/2015 22:55

I've just watched the video. He didn't look that poor to me, he had his baby in an expensive Stork pram! The look on his face when he did it was just plain spite, nasty piece of work. My wonderful friend had her evoque keyed recently, completely out of spite and jealousy I'm sure. The person who did it had no way of knowing the horrid things she'd been through this year, from losing both her parents, redundancy and several failed IVF cycles. She bought the car as a well deserved gift to herself and less then 3 months after some utter fuckwit keyed it. It makes me so cross!!

However, I agree with others that a custodial sentence would be pointless for that excuse for a human being. I'd always thought that vandals who carry out such acts should be made to help put them right. A scheme which would have him carrying out the respray and polish as well as as a grovelling apology too the owner would be better all round I think. For what it's worth, I'm definitely getting a dash cam if I'm ever fortunate enough to be able to afford a posh car.

DisconcertedAndRetired · 04/09/2015 22:59

Would someone go to prison if they stole 7K in cash? If so this guy should go for twice as long. The pointlessness and malice make it that much worse.

tiggytape · 04/09/2015 23:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

whatwhatinthewhatnow · 04/09/2015 23:13

Yes I did Tywin and I carried a supersoaker in the car afterwards in case I ever caught the little shits that threw eggs/snowballs/spat at it! I don't live too far from Hackney either. No wonder the guy has a dashcam with such cretins about.

ReallyTired · 05/09/2015 01:07

My brother had his nose broken in a completely unprovoked attack which was captured by CCTV. The perpetrator was given 100 hours of community service and ordered to pay £500 compensation. Is my brother's nose less valuable than a fancy car?

Although the act of keying the car was spiteful, I don't suppose the man thought about the cost of the damage. I have to admit that I am surprised it costs as much as 7k to fix the scratches.

We need to think what jail is for. This man might be nasty, but there is no evidence he is dangerous. Plenty of evidence shows that community work is more effective than jail.

ReallyTired · 05/09/2015 01:53

I feel a suspended jail sentence coupled with community service us more appriopiate than actually sending him to jail, unless there is a history we do not know about. I doubt that it was a pre mediated crime.

It is nuts that we have a system that values property more than people.

MadeMan · 05/09/2015 02:05

What a dick. Just because he can't afford a car and has to drive a pram.

Baconyum · 05/09/2015 02:22

Not rtft but no as I'd rather prison spaced were reserved for those that are dangerous. Murderers, rapists etc down to those found guilty of assault.

But yes should be punished Inc covering the cost of the damage over time.

Baconyum · 05/09/2015 02:24

"It is nuts that we have a system that values property more than people."

THIS

YeOldeTrout · 05/09/2015 08:43

Compensation paid to the owner would be an appropriate punishment (to add to community service etc), to reflect the property value of this crime.

Jail needs to be reserved for worse crimes/people who pose ongoing threats.

ReallyTired · 05/09/2015 09:57

The problem with compensation orders is enforcing them. I was a victim of a crime and the criminal has been ordered to pay me £2000 compensation. I experienced flash backs and I am still suffering. I don't want to go into details what happened, but it was a magnitude worst than having an expensive car keyed. The chances of me ever seeing a penny are slim because he it owes someone else 18K.

The person who he owes 18K has been left in a wheelchair paralysed from the neck down because the criminal could not keep his temper. The criminal in question has been in and out of jail like a yo yo. The prison service has not been effective at reforming him at round £400 per week.

Having your car keyed is not nice, but its what insurance is for.

"Compensation paid to the owner would be an appropriate punishment (to add to community service etc), to reflect the property value of this crime."

Is that really practical? Why is property worth more than people? Does that stop the person from reoffending? How do you integrate such people back into society? Surely we have moved on from a biblical approach of an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth?

Rather than knee jerk reactions from mumsnetters or politicans we need to think what would work. Its an area where input from probation officers and research would be useful. I don't believe that the US where the justice system is more punitive has better crime rates than us.

IHeartKingThistle · 05/09/2015 10:16

Yesterday there was a court case for a road rage incident. A man followed another car into a car park and rammed it with his own car repeatedly at high speeds. The girl in the car suffered a miscarriage 2 days later. HE DID NOT GO TO PRISON.

Keying a car is horrible but I can find many more things to get worked up about.

Isthiscorrect · 05/09/2015 10:29

I realise this is slightly off topic but I wouldn't want the resentful fuckwit who keyed my car to be the one to repair it. I would much prefer a proper job. Likewise I really wouldn't want the repair garage manager presumably inexperienced in Handling criminals with violent tendencies to be the poor soul to have to manage said fuckwit.

Birdsgottafly · 05/09/2015 10:34

""What a scum bag. Who would do this? It just beggars belief.""

Those of you on FB may have seen the video of the man slashing every tire on a people type carrier, for a man who is severely disabled.

There have been instances were gangs have broken into and vandalised SEN Schools/Provisions. Urban Farms have been attacked, all without Prison Sentences. In one case were animals were killed the RSPCA spent a lot of money trying to get a custodial sentence.

Lots of inner city projects get destroyed, with no motive other than malice and no custodial sentence.

So, unless it's a average sentence, the perpetrator of this crime shouldn't be treated anymore harshly, unless you consider 7k, which is covered by insurance, more important than someone being left housebound, or animals being killed, vulnerable people left devastated etc.

PollysHoliday · 05/09/2015 11:31

I wonder what previous offending history this criminal has? His previous convictions are likely to have featured strongly in the sentencing decision.

My new car was keyed while in a car park this summer. I've had a pretty tough year, on top of which I only have a new car because my previous car was written off by an idiot in a transit van in the spring.

VodkaJelly · 05/09/2015 14:00

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.

I find this a pretty shitty assumption. DP and I bought a sports car a few years ago, it was about 8 years old so not even new but still cost about £7000. We had to take a loan out to buy the car work to pay the loan. After a few months I went out of the house and found paint stripper poured all over the car.

Yes, it did make me frightened and intimidated as we didnt know who did it or why. We had no enemies where we lived as we keep our selves to ourselves and live quietly, we hadnt upset anyone and to this day still dont know who did it. It was a ball ache to get it sorted as I had to take time off work to get quotes at not local garages etc, ring up the insurance all the time etc.

When I took it into the garage there was a brand new range rover in getting a respray as every panel on the car had paint stripper on it. The mechanic told me that this was the second time the range rover had been in as the same thing happened to it the month before.

Some very jealous and spiteful people out there and I actually think it was right he was sent to prison.

Oh and the police couldnt give a shit about my car, just got a crime number for the insurance.

Pico2 · 05/09/2015 14:15

I'd guess that he has previous convictions. Otherwise it seems unlikely that he'd get sentenced to prison for keying a car.