THERE was a time when Islanders prided themselves on being able to leave their car unlocked, probably with the keys in it, and know it would still be there when they returned. “Prided” is the right word, as it was a proof-point that we lived in a safe place – that Jersey was somehow different, and hadn’t fallen prey to the common urban malaise. “After all, where would they go if they stole it?” we asked ourselves.
The answer is “nowhere”, but the act of stealing it, driving it around for a while, and then abandoning it, is bad enough.
It’s ironic that the fact that Jersey IS largely a safe place is actually part of the problem, as the Chief of Police, Robin Smith, pointed out to JEP readers this week:
“…what that safety drives is complacency, and it is that complacency which is perversely not keeping people safe.”
The term “Joy Riding” was apparently coined by a New York Judge in 1908, when a chauffeur took out his employer’s car without permission, and received 30 days in the city prison in return.
Sentences in Jersey don’t often reach that level, but still, it is in no way a victimless crime, and the word “joy” is obviously misplaced.
The Police point out that the act of “taking and driving away” usually means there is now an uninsured driver on the road who clearly has no regard for the rules, putting everyone else at risk; combined with the obvious stress and annoyance (at best) for the owner who has lost their means of transport, and once found, might need to get it recovered, repaired and cleaned; added to the cost to the taxpayer of investigating and processing the likely culprit; and mixed in with the fact that Police time could be better spent investigating other crimes.
If taken from outside of your house overnight, there is also the added worry of having had a thief on your property while you slept. Of course, many of those points hold true for a stolen bike too.
Whichever way you approach it, there is a perception problem. Firstly, the view that as long as you don’t take the car or bike permanently, there is no real damage, is clearly false. Secondly, that this sort of thing doesn’t really happen in Jersey is just not supported by the facts. And thirdly, in that it would be wrong to say that Jersey is no longer a safe place – but it’s still best not to rely on it.
