No, it is of course a shitty thing to do to steal a scooter. What I am saying is that this is an unreasonable way for police to behave. See my other comment in this thread.

With regards to this being a deterrent to other thieves, how? The police didn't let anyone know they were doing it and didn't let anyone know after the fact, the only reason anyone knows about it is that an investigative reporter dug it up.

You're essentially saying that it is entirely reasonable for an escooter left outside the shops to be stolen. I disagree with that take. People should be able to park their bike/scooter/whatever, duck inside for a few essentials and expect their ride to still be out the front of the shops when they come out. That you think they can't speak poorly of your attitude to people in your community.

For what it's worth, I agree with you that the risk of my bike being stolen outweighs the benefits of me taking it to the shops. So I suppose I'm in the same boat as you in a way. But cases like this may make opportunistic thieves reconsider that theft. Which I can only see as a good thing. I always feel guilty when I take the car for a small shop. I live close enough that the bike would be quicker and easier than driving if I could trust it not to get stolen.

The dude committed a crime. The fact that the police set the scenario up is completely beside that simple point. That's a decision entirely in his own hands and at some point, a grown adult needs to take responsibility for their actions.

The eshays hang out in the centrays, untcay.

There are ways of doing this without entrapment. If they want to catch bike and scooter thieves they can stake out the bike racks. I suspect no sane person leaves their bike unlocked there so they have to contrive an artificial situation to entice someone to commit a crime. How is this valuable policing? Had the police not bought a scooter and left it unlocked no crime would've been committed.

I have no illusions that the young fellow in question is an upstanding citizen but how is public interest served here? One kid gets a fine and arguably may hesitate before doing the same thing again but the problem is not this one kid, it is systemic and were it not for this news article no-one would even know about it meaning it is useless even for deterrence.

It is a waste of everyone's time, drags a kid who likely already has a shit life through the courts further alienating him, and did not even protect the property of a real person.

The police deliberately created an opportunity for a crime to be committed, had they not created that situation the crime would not have been committed. It is a textbook case of entrapment. You may think it's valid, but it is entrapment.

In Singas, some people don't even bother locking their bikes. Others will just slip a chain with a combination lock through the back wheel. Almost none of them get filched. They'd be gone very quickly in Perth.

Oh wow, i didn't know the Noah Webster bit, thats really interesting!

@Longmactoppedup will be interesting to see what Basil does when all the surrounding councils drop all local roads to 40 pretty soon perthinnercitygroup.org.au/40k

@Longmactoppedup I know that shopping centre. And it can be a bit of an adventure/stabby.But knowingly taking something that's not yours is immoral.

How is it immoral?

I loathe the fact that to go to my local shops I have to drive my fucking car because there is a high chance that some fuckwit will steal my bike or scooter if I lock it at the entrance.

Fuck people who steal bikes and scooters. All they are doing is grabbing on to people barely one rung up the societal ladder than they are and pulling them down.

Go steal from a large corporation instead if you want sympathy.

Thank you for the heads up. Guns try and keep my hate boner at bay and ignore this idiot

I'll take for granted your error was in good faith. Words are written differently outside of the USA. If this was written in America, it would use the American spelling "center", however it was written in Australia, which uses the British spelling "centre".

If you're interested, the spelling is derived from Middle French "centre", which became part of English post Norman conquest. However, in the early 19c the American lexicographer, Noah Webster simplified many words to be more phonetical and these were adopted by the US. Most of the Commonwealth countries will still use the British spellings.

Don't bother, check their history. Absolutely not worth engaging with them.

A $250 fine and a stern talking to basically is being chucked out.

Nobody enticed the dude to commit a crime. He's a big boy who made that decision all by himself. Simply being in position to catch people who made that choice is not entrapment.

Where are you from?

Dr Monterosso said it was difficult to find statistics to show whether this method of proactive policing reduced crime.

In order for it to be plausible that it would reduce crime the police would need to be open about the fact that they are using this tactic. The only reason more than a handful of people actually know about this is the sound journalism by Mya Kordic

It may be legal but it is thoroughly immoral and one suspects if it was a white kid with wealthy parents it would've been chucked out.

Curtin is renowned for not having parking

Loads of parking.

I honestly have no idea why this sport isn't more popular than it is. It's super exciting to see it played live.
Another alternative to sitting in the stands is take a picnic blanket and sit on the grass facing the stand (They play on the blue pitch). You can't see it from the satellite view, but that's a slope.

That sounds awesome. Though... the big question.... what is the parking like?

...I see no reason that burden should be placed on other poor people in preference to the wealthy.

Yeah, thats why i pointed to the perceived risk that buying large buildings for one single pupose risks a slumlike situation developing. The concentration in one building.

The alternative in my mind, that i didn't mention, would be to spread the house purchases through-out the suburb. Which led me to the case some friends experienced, rendering me in two minds.

I'm all for social housing across all suburbs. In fact with a couple seconds thought, and putting on my oversized-poorly-educated development economics hat, i think they should be concentrated more heavily in better-off to well-off communities. Those are the communities most able, however unwilliingly, to support and lift up someone who needs social housing.

neighbours than housing them out in the middle of bum-f**k nowhere

I don't think you mean as far out as rural, pastoral regions, but as i read this, thats where my mind was drawn. And there are problems in regards this.

Not sure its got anything to do with social housing, but you take the community and infrastructure connections away and the effects are pretty clear from the troubles some country towns have.

Doesn't this risk creating a slum-like situation that works for no one?

I have very little time for this argument, although I acknowledge that it is one sentence in a longer more nuanced post.

The fact is that these people need to be housed and housing near to public transport, employment and services is going to result in fewer "problematic" neighbours than housing them out in the middle of bum-f**k nowhere.

The vast majority of public housing residents will be fine neighbours, even if inner city folks wouldn't necessarily invite them around for a barbecue. The people who make genuine problems for the neighbours need to be somewhere, I see no reason that burden should be placed on other poor people in preference to the wealthy.

Edit: Whoops, didn't realise this was a month old...

Definitely Gordon for me, i want some snide, grumpy commentary from my train as i travel between classes.

Edit: yeah that campus is a car centric mess.

Hahaha!

I have a looot of opinions on how hamfisted the planning around that campus is. They should have put the rail line stop closer and not put a major road between it and the campus. Hell. They have the police training, tafe and uni there. Its bonkers how its run. It be cool to have those whistle stop like trains around the campus. Id totally ride thomas to class.