Vandals wreck model railway exhibition following break in at Welland Academy, Stamford

[Mag_seven]

Sorry but the police clearly have better things to do than respond to crine scenes that actually involve vandals.

Except that they have - arrests have been made

 

[Alanko]

I've donated. I trust those foaming at the gills have done the same.

 

[AM9]

£10000 donated by (Sir) Rod Stewart. He is urging Roger Daltrey and Jools Holland to do same.

 

[J-Rod]

£10000 donated by (Sir) Rod Stewart.

Good man. That'll more than make up for his recent efforts in the music department. :P

Withholding the model railway aspect for a second, stuff like this pees me off no end. It's just pointless and does nothing for the people [/kids] who do it, apart from turn them into pariahs. Reminds me of the kid who thought it would be funny to take his car (containing his mates) onto Brands Hatch during a race... wasn't laughing anywhere near as much when he got handed a custodial sentence.

 

[AM9]

Good man. That'll more than make up for his recent efforts in the music department. :P

Withholding the model railway aspect for a second, stuff like this pees me off no end. It's just pointless and does nothing for the people [/kids] who do it, apart from turn them into pariahs. Reminds me of the kid who thought it would be funny to take his car (containing his mates) onto Brands Hatch during a race... wasn't laughing anywhere near as much when he got handed a custodial sentence.

For those of us who have a passing interest in railway modelling, it shows how some seem to have a problem that the hobby engenders so much interest but have nothing of any value swimming around in their heads. Sure, jibes at men with train sets, train spotters and some other humble hobbies seem to be widespread but the imbeciles who feel the need to physically destroy the hardware of the hobbies clearly have a very deep and worrying problem.

 

[J-Rod]

For those of us who have a passing interest in railway modelling, it shows how some seem to have a problem that the hobby engenders so much interest but have nothing of any value swimming around in their heads. Sure, jibes at men with train sets, train spotters and some other humble hobbies seem to be widespread but the imbeciles who feel the need to physically destroy the hardware of the hobbies clearly have a very deep and worrying problem.

If it was a group of adults doing the deed, it would be worrying. I guess the kids in this instance were just doing what some kids do - think that stuff like this is funny... until it proves that it really is not. If my son did such a deed, I would be thoroughly ashamed of him. Hopefully he never will!

As someone said earlier, this is an art form and it takes AGES to get stuff to a standard where you feel you can exhibit it*, the same as any other hobby. However, the positive that can be drawn from this is the contributions to the fund; it only goes to show that the majority appreciate the hard work and effort that goes into such things, not to mention the money..!

Maybe the perpetrators should be made to detail individual sleepers on the largest layout there as a punishment.







*there are some dodgy examples out there, true... but still, you'd not destroy them...!

 

[Alanko]

£10000 donated by (Sir) Rod Stewart. He is urging Roger Daltrey and Jools Holland to do same.

When quizzed by journalists Stewart commented that "Tonight's the Night". Daltrey on the other hand said that he "Won't get Fooled Again", whereas Holland was too busy having a tinkle to make a statement to the press at the time of writing.

 

[cactustwirly]

Except that they have - arrests have been made

It's still a long way to go, suspects have been bailed, presumably for lack of evidence

 

[Bertie the bus]

They will have been bailed because there is virtually no chance of them receiving a custodial sentence so remanding them would be perverse. You are perfectly entitle to believe they will serve up to 14 years in detention if you want to but the NYMR vandalism case is a good indicator of the sort of sentences they will receive.

Benjamin Terry, 19, of Jute Road in York, and Mollie Dawson, 18 of Keld Head Orchard, Kirkbymoorside and six other teenagers who vandalised the seven 1930s ‘Gresley’ teak carriages on July 22 last year have been sentenced. Terry and Dawson were given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £30.88 to the NYMR for theft, as well as £85 costs and a £20 surcharge. Dawson had a compensation order of £500 for the criminal damage. The six other defendants were dealt with in the youth court. They all received referral orders and had to pay costs and compensation.

http://nyenquirer.uk/nymr-vandals-sentenced/

 

[cactustwirly]

They will have been bailed because there is virtually no chance of them receiving a custodial sentence so remanding them would be perverse. You are perfectly entitle to believe they will serve up to 14 years in detention if you want to but the NYMR vandalism case is a good indicator of the sort of sentences they will receive.



http://nyenquirer.uk/nymr-vandals-sentenced/

But in this case it's Burglary, which is a more serious offence.
I was wrong, the maximum sentence is 10 years since it's not a dwelling (14 years if it is)

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/section/9

 

[Giugiaro]

Learned of this from my association. Really sad to know such thing happened out of ill intent.
Unfortunately, there's always people that just want to see the world burn. Just like @yorkie said, "They will target anything and anyone."
Some destroy exhibitions, others toss trash cans around, others paint monuments and property and then there are those who literally set the world on fire!

I had two model sets and other historical pieces in exhibition last year by request. I asked for my stuff to be insured and for the market value to be guaranteed, in case it got damaged or stolen.
Given that the exhibition was open to the general public and a lot of children were visiting from schools, I prepared myself for the worse. Fortunately everything went well.

Damaging property of others is punishable with 2 to 8 years of prison in Portugal (Article 213 of the Penal Code) and in case of a minor being the felon the parents or caretakers are made responsible for the crimes and may pay reparations if requested by the victim on top of judiciary punishment.

 

[Peter Kelford]

It is likely they would have no staff presence overnight but if the alarm is activated their security company would send someone to investigate.

Which is no faster than Lincs Police seeing as they are just 3 minutes away. G4S or other security firms would probably only have an office in Peterborough a good while away. Besides, most schools (I imagine) have a central alarm system linked to the police station anyway. My theory is that these hooligans were students at the school who knew about the unalarmed door/broken fence etc.

Well it's Burglary, so the offenders could be sent to jail for up to 14 years

They won't be as nothing seems to be stolen, just smashed up with 1000s of hours and at least 100 years of work into the bin.

Isn't that a big assumption?
It's quite a lot of criminal damage, so I'd imagine that they'd serve jail time.
However them being youths, does complicate matters.

As they were caught in the act they will probably plead guilty, and as they are youths that will probably mean a referral order. So basically pretend they are sorry, write a letter of apology dictated to them by a do-gooder and that's it. No effect on their future whatsoever.

Maybe the perpetrators should be made to detail individual sleepers on the largest layout there as a punishment.

I doubt that they will get a serious custodial sentence but chucking them in a YOI for a few months will set them down the path of narcotics, alcohol, rough sleeping, crime etc. As youths, they will remain nameless and therefore not have to carry the blame of having committed such vandalism. Not that they will have a normal life after this though. It's quite useless to throw them in jail for a few weeks and release them out where they will probably get addicted to something and re-offend. And they remain nameless throughout. They deserve a life sentence but they'll just get their lives wrecked and I daresay destroy more people's lives.

The English legal system! Long story short, the judge should (but can't under current law) sentence them to 15 years' weekly attendance at a model railway club. And then smash their layout when they're done with it, kitbuilt locos as well.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

I was so sad the hear about this, I was at a steam railway in Kent over the weekend and they, like many others have problems with vandals. As mentioned above though, it was good to hear about the monies raised for the club.

 

[cactustwirly]

They won't be as nothing seems to be stolen, just smashed up with 1000s of hours and at least 100 years of work into the bin.

They don't need to steal anything to be guilty of Burglary since they caused criminal damage.

Burglary is where you trespass in a building or part of a building, with the intent to cause either criminal damage, theft or GBH

 

[jon0844]

A friend says his local school was broken into and similar damage done, and a couple of months ago we had a nursery destroyed by travellers that moved in to the car park next door. Anything metal was stolen and other stuff wrecked. Last year or possibly the year before a centre for special-needs children was destroyed and the walls covered in offensive graffiti.

I'm sure this has always been happening, but maybe the fact people can now livestream (or use apps like Snapchat) to show off their antics, and perhaps be made to do things as dares or initiations, is why it seems to me that it's getting worse.

On the plus side, it was good to hear today that there have been a significant number of arrests relating to county lines drug dealing. I know near where I work there is a big problem, with suppliers coming up by train to supply local kids who get emboldened by making money shifting weed and coke to locals. They make a bit of money, then somehow get robbed (funny that!) and end up in debt with the suppliers. Let's pray that in these cases the legal system does punish appropriately.

 

[Peter Kelford]

They don't need to steal anything to be guilty of Burglary since they caused criminal damage.

Burglary is where you trespass in a building or part of a building, with the intent to cause either criminal damage, theft or GBH

Ok, ok. My law course only told me about the theft-related motive.

 

[Darandio]

Ok, ok. My law course only told me about the theft-related motive.

You didn't pay for that course out of your own pocket, did you?

 

[Peter Kelford]

You didn't pay for that course out of your own pocket, did you?

What are you trying to insinuate???

 

[Darandio]

What are you trying to insinuate???

You claim to have done a law course but are unsure what the definition of burglary is. Maybe you were being sarcastic when talking about the law course? I've no idea.

 

[Peter Kelford]

You claim to have done a law course but are unsure what the definition of burglary is. Maybe you were being sarcastic when talking about the law course? I've no idea.

I did a law course but probably didn't pay enough attention. I've got books at home to prove it. Admittedly it wasn't a full-on LLB an a while back.

 

[Darandio]

I did a law course but probably didn't pay enough attention. I've got books at home to prove it. Admittedly it wasn't a full-on LLB an a while back.

Fair enough, no need to prove anything to me.

 

[Peter Kelford]

Fair enough, no need to prove anything to me.

I must have got confused. Last time I was spoken to in this way, that gentleman was trying to start a 5-way argument on a different forum. Apologies

 

[fowler9]

On a more heartwarming note they have now received at least £86000 in donations including I believe £1000 from someone in Australia not even interested in railways. On the downside no one can ever give them back the time that went in to the construction of the layouts. I

It broke my heart reading about this. No one is allowed anything nice. It is very pleasant where I live but they have pulled out the City Bike bike stands by Garston Park and the old airport fire station because the local kids trashed them. I even saw kids trashing the one by West Allerton station and called the police.

It is a waste of time locking the kids up. They will just get worse. I'd say lock up the parents but what is that going to achieve. Things have to change. Any ideas? Ha ha.

 

[berwicksfinest]

On a more heartwarming note they have now received at least £86000 in donations including I believe £1000 from someone in Australia not even interested in railways. On the downside no one can ever give them back the time that went in to the construction of the layouts. I

It broke my heart reading about this. No one is allowed anything nice. It is very pleasant where I live but they have pulled out the City Bike bike stands by Garston Park and the old airport fire station because the local kids trashed them. I even saw kids trashing the one by West Allerton station and called the police.

It is a waste of time locking the kids up. They will just get worse. I'd say lock up the parents but what is that going to achieve. Things have to change. Any ideas? Ha ha.

National Service, and Corporal Punishment

 

[underbank]

Things have to change. Any ideas? Ha ha.

The police could actually try to be proactive? Not long ago, I saw a few youths kicking the hell out of a bus shelter as I drove by. Right behind me was a police car - it didn't bother stopping, just drove straight past. There was no way the officers didn't see what was happening, they just chose to turn a blind eye. They only seem interested in their targets and box ticking. I presume they didn't bother because they know the offenders would just get off scot free so why waste time/effort dealing with them? And the council would be round to clear up the mess so it's a victimless crime in their eyes.

We need zero tolerance with a 3 strikes and you're in prison. The smallest/victimless crimes need to be recorded on someone's record and totted up. It's the only way to clamp down on the minor crimes and nip it in the bud before it progresses to more serious crimes. Anyone can make a mistake so the first or second get a slap on the wrist (assuming not serious, no injury etc), but a third time should mean custody. If we need to build more prisons, then that's what we need to do.

 

[baz962]

I think it was in the Metro newspaper yesterday ( not 100% ) I read that most sentences under a year are inefficient. I do believe though that you need to have a zero tolerance , worked in NYC , if I remember correctly. Too much turning a blind eye and giving too soft punishment these day's.

 

[fowler9]

My sister just got home after working a flight where a young girl had to be restrained by the police on the aircraft after her mum had made death threats to fellow passengers after they asked her to control her two youngest kids. Something has got to give.

 

[kristiang85]

The problem is these days, children from an early age are put on a pedestal and given far too much leeway - many parents act as if their child should be the no.1 priority for people in the immediate vicinity, and so they grow up without any sense of consideration for others, and a self-centered view of the world. Definitely the slipping standards of parenting are to blame here, as is a very soft justice system.

I've travelled extensively, and UK children I find are by far the worst behaved in a public setting than most other nationalities. It only takes a few to take this misbehaviour to an extreme, and you end up with these incidents.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

On a more heartwarming note they have now received at least £86000 in donations including I believe £1000 from someone in Australia not even interested in railways. On the downside no one can ever give them back the time that went in to the construction of the layouts.

It broke my heart reading about this. No one is allowed anything nice. It is very pleasant where I live but they have pulled out the City Bike bike stands by Garston Park and the old airport fire station because the local kids trashed them. I even saw kids trashing the one by West Allerton station and called the police.

It is a waste of time locking the kids up. They will just get worse. I'd say lock up the parents but what is that going to achieve. Things have to change. Any ideas? Ha ha.

Sticking parents as well as the offspring into the army but in different sections and in different places. Let the sergent perform his drill and watch reality hit them.

National Service, and Corporal Punishment

Couldn't have put it better myself.

For those of us who have a passing interest in railway modelling, it shows how some seem to have a problem that the hobby engenders so much interest but have nothing of any value swimming around in their heads. Sure, jibes at men with train sets, train spotters and some other humble hobbies seem to be widespread but the imbeciles who feel the need to physically destroy the hardware of the hobbies clearly have a very deep and worrying problem.

Sadly a majority of todays youth seem to be so up themselves its unbeliveable. They may think that trashing many years worth of hard work is funny and entertaining but in reality if they had something and someone destroyed it, they themselves would be p****d off as well.

Maybe deleting all of the youths narcassistic "selfie" photos and smashing their iphone may be a way to wake up the feral self obsessed youth up. Either that or as mentioned above National Service.

 

[EM2]

Maybe deleting all of the youths narcassistic "selfie" photos and smashing their iphone may be a way to wake up the feral self obsessed youth up. Either that or as mentioned above National Service.

Talk about tarring everyone with the same brush
Someone who takes selfies is also going to smash up model railways? What about adults that take selfies? Smash their phones too?
I was absolutely raging when this story broke, and still am very annoyed to be honest, but let the law take its course.