All crimes are equal - despite what the police think

A trainee young policeman has been beaten up in Liverpool.

Detective Chief Inspector Tim Keelan is leading the investigation.

He said, ‘People who commit crimes can expect the full attention of the police and we will not rest until the offenders are brought to justice. We have stepped up high visibility patrols in the area to reassure the public and we would urge the community to help us with our enquiries and find those responsible.’

Except that is not quite the full story. James Parkes, 22,the trainee cop in question is gay and what DCI Keelan actually said was, ‘We are treating the assault as a homophobic hate crime and this incident shows there are still some people who have not learnt that crimes of this type are completely unacceptable. People who commit hate crimes can expect the full attention of the police and we will not rest until the offenders are brought to justice.’

I sincerely hope the police catch the attackers quickly and that they get banged up for a long time. However, why is this attack being treated with more seriousness than if a heterosexual trainee copper had been beaten up? Surely all crimes should ‘expect the full attention of the police’ and they should keep at it until ‘the offenders are brought to justice’. Surely all crimes especially those of violence are ‘completely unacceptable’ not just when the victim is gay.

The police should put all their efforts into solving every crime not just the politically expedient ones.

In the meantime, I wish Pc Parkes a speedy recovery.