Should Every Day Small Crimes Have Penalties

21st January 2019

QUEUE JUMPING, RUDENESS TO WAITERS, USING MOBILE PHONES IN THE CINEMA, AND STICKING GUM TO THE UNDERSIDE OF TABLES ARE AMONG A LIST OF OFFENCES PEOPLE IN SCOTLAND THINK SHOULD BE MADE ILLEGAL'

Researchers polled the nation to discover the everyday "crimes" we'd like to see people apprehended for, top pics from those in Scotland include playing music through phone speakers in public, Sticking used chewing gum under tables, being rude to waiters and driving in the middle lane on a motorway.

Other "offences" we'd like to see outlawed include smelly food on public transport, excessive public displays of affection, and people cutting their nails in public.

In fact, 66 percent of people in Glasgow and 57 percent in Edinburgh believe that people who commit many of these “small crimes” don’t care about the world around them, and should be fined to teach them a lesson.

Some of us get so miffed about other people’s behaviour that we’d be willing to go further and put offenders behind bars - even if just for one night - to teach them what is and isn’t acceptable.

Despite wanting people punished for these offences, 66 percent of those polled in Glasgow and 67 percent in Edinburgh admit to having “committed” these types of antisocial acts themselves in the past.

A quarter of respondents In Scotland (25 percent Glasgow/26 percent Edinburgh) surveyed by TV Channel CBS Justice said that driving in the middle lane of the motorway should be a jailable offence, while 22 percent said that the consequence of letting kids run riot in restaurants should be a night in prison.

The research from CBS Justice also reveals that 88 percent of the people in Glasgow and 85 percent in Edinburgh think people are less considerate now than they were in their parents’ day. In fact, almost three quarters (73 percent) of respondents in Glasgow said they’d happily pay their debts to society for these types of infractions, if it would serve as a warning to others compared to 58 percent of those in Edinburgh.

We’re willing to point out when someone crosses the line, with 45 percent of people in Glasgow and 52 percent in Edinburgh saying they’d even tell their friends off if they misbehave. A further 12 percent in Glasgow said they couldn’t be pals with someone who continually carried out any of these acts compared to four percent in Edinburgh.

There were some splits nationally in the sexes, as being rude to waiters is viewed as a crime by 27 percent of women and only 21 percent of men, while a third of men believe using a phone in the cinema should be a crime compared to only 27 percent of women.

Over-60s nationally are most particular when it comes to using public transport, with 40 percent of this age bracket eager to see noisy behaviour in the quiet train carriage punished, compared to a 21 percent response from 16 to 29 year-olds.

“This study shows that the British population has an abiding love of law and order – and perhaps a bit of a sense of humour about it all too”, said a spokesperson of CBS Justice. “Fortunately, UK viewers can see plenty of justice served on our new look channel, which boasts programmes such as “NCIS”, “NCIS: Los Angeles”, “CSI: Miami”, “Scorpion”, “Walker, Texas Ranger”, and “Gunsmoke”.

TOP TEN ACTS THE PEOPLE OF GLASGOW/EDINBURGH CONSIDER ‘CRIMINAL’

Sticking used chewing gum to the underside of tables or desks - 45%/33%
Using mobile phones in the cinema - 31%/33%
Driving in the middle lane of a motorway - 31%/30%
Letting unruly kids run riot in restaurants – 31%/24%
Being rude to waiters - 27%/17%
Noisy behaviour in the train’s quiet carriage - 25%/26%
Queue jumping – 24%/33%
Listening to music through phone speakers in a public place - 22%/26%
Walking slowly in a group taking over the whole pavement - 20%/26%
Smoking whilst walking down the street – 19%/28%

Reaching 26 million UK homes, CBS Justice is the TV destination for arresting drama. Join the world class team of compelling characters from the biggest global television library, with thrilling, investigative classics including “NCIS”, “NCIS: LA”, “CSI: Miami”, “Scorpion”, “Walker, Texas Ranger”, “Diagnosis Murder”, “Gunsmoke” and “Bonanza”.


CBS Justice (formerly CBS Action) is available on Sky channel 148, Virgin Media channel 192, Freeview channel 39 and Freesat channel 137.