Each street shall have a designated monitor

This is getting really rather scary. Yesterday I read that a scheme was being set up in Newton Abbott down in Devon where people were to be encouraged to sneak on their neighbours for failing to recycle. Now the BBC are reporting that a similar scheme is being set up in County Durham.

The Chester-le-Street scheme does has something going for it in a way that the Devon one doesn't but it all seems pretty invidious to me.

To abdicate from the responsibility of proper policing, which is what has happened all over the country and rely on a nation of informers is not the way to civilise our country.

I can see a time soon when a ten year old who drops a sweety wrapper is hauled of to the station, fingerprinted, DNA swabbed and cautioned. Whereas what should have happebned is the witness to the action shold have shouted at the tyke to clear up his own mess. Equally involvingthe general citizen in the care for their own patch, but instead of the dead hand of the state it would have been the action of an active citizen.

What has not been mentioned is whether the informer would be up for an award.

Today's Community Service award goes to Mr Phlatan Spodge for five texts and a phone call which resulted in the Conviction of three pre-teens for littering and Mrs Ormsby Rotund for putting a plasticised cartonm in the paper rather than the plastics refuse container.

Well done Mr Spodge, and spend those Tesco tokens wisely.

Update
The Devon council is unsuprisingly a Lib Dem controlled affair, whilst the Durham one is Labour lead by the absurd Linda Ebbatson who styles herself, and I kid you not, Leader of the Council and Champion for Equalities