Vandals strike at Elizabeth Marina
Monday 9th March 2009, 2:59PM GMT.
VANDALS caused up to £50,000 worth of damage to 54 boats in Elizabeth Marina over the weekend.
Jersey Harbours described the incident as ‘unprecedented’. Mooring ropes were cut and canopies were slashed to boats on pontoons H, I, J and K at the north end of the marina, next to the Radisson Hotel. It is believed that the vandalism took place on Friday night and police are now investigating the incident.
Harbours commercial director Myra Shacklady said that Harbours staff contacted or left messages with the owners of all the boats on Saturday but she is urging anyone else with a boat in the marina to check it for damage.
Miss Shacklady said: ‘We’ve never had an incident on this scale before; it is unprecedented. We work very hard to keep the area secure, but the size and nature of a marina makes it impossible to be 100 per cent. However, we have now tightened our security measures still further, and will be checking the CCTV tapes for evidence.’
Pictured: The vandals damaged boats moored at the northern end of the Elizabeth Marina, near the hotel
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Guess there will be no prizes for guessing which age group these vandals fall into!
Just when are the authorities going to face up to the fact that Jersey is facing an increasingly prevalent problem of youths running riot – usually high on either alcohol or drugs. It is just a matter of time before a serious incident takes place.
The UK government has implemented the Youth Crime Action Plan 2008. It makes clear that they will not tolerate the behavior of the minority which causes misery and suffering to others. It sets clear boundaries of acceptable behavior with clear consequences for those who over-step them. This means amongst other things, no tolerance for underage drinking in public and the expansion of police action to take vulnerable kids off the streets.
Our ministers should look to this plan as guidance on how other jurisdictions are dealing with this ever increasing problem and act on it.
When young people are found guilty of crime, they should receive a sentence which protects the public and punishes the offender but which also tackles their offending with the aim of preventing them from doing it again. The public are entitled to expect that young people who are dangerous or commit serious offences should go into custody.
We need a response from our ministers and police force on how they propose to tackle this problem. They need to make public a plan of action. Citizens and communities need to play their part and become more involved in how youth crime is dealt with and the public should be able to see how young offenders are repaying the community for the consequences of their actions.
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What happened to all Ian Le Marquand’s promies at election time about toughening up on crime?
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I think nearly everyone agrees kids can get away with way too much these days, but it seems like a few lawyers can make money out of protecting them meaning they can get away with too much. They need their rights removed.
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Dont you belive the U.K plan works it does not — untill the do-Gooders are put down and strong punisment is given things will only get worse as thay have done here in the U.K at least you dont get stabbings and killings on a daily basis
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Take around to the back of the parish hall and give them a slap.
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The problem with cracking down and criminalizing young people is that all the evidence shows that if they get involved in the criminal justice process it makes them more likely to become repeat offenders when they become older (significantly more likely) as they start to act up to the label of being a criminal. It’s a classic case of Labeling theory as set out by the sociologist Howard Becker and why the ‘lock em all up’ approach in the long run would likely prove to be highly counter productive.
Jersey should take the lead from places like Scotland which has the Child Hearing System (that is now being copied in a number of other countries) which allows the route of youth crime to be tackled whether social or domestic while also allowing the panel (of trained members of the community not judges) that hears the allegations against the child to impose punishment from supervision orders to youth detention – the point being though that they are punished, the route cause of their problems are also identified and tackled while avoiding embroiling them with the ‘normal’ criminal justice process which leads to a significant drop in re-offending at an older age.
A lot of people shrug off the argument that its the fault of the parents of these children and in some cases it isn’t but having studied juvenile crime all the evidence shows that a very significant proportion of juvenile offenders have significant problems at home and have often been treated very badly. While this can’t be an excuse for the behavior the route problem as well as the actions of the child must be dealt with otherwise nothing will be achieved in the long term.
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Name and shame and bring back the birch……….
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#4 you are totally right, ‘Do-Gooders’ as we know them today are possibly the biggest problem society faces in trying to fight crime. No-one is asking for kids to be beaten up or starved or anything but decent punishment is necessary to stop future generations perceiving that they can get away with anything.
Some kids genuinely have problems, some genuinely need love and attention, but they are a rarity… most kids are choosing to do wrong knowing full well that it is wrong. Most probably know they can get away with it and presume they won’t go onto commit ‘real crimes’ in later life.
However, studies prove time and time again that coming down very hard on ‘petty crime’ is the best way to lower rates for all types of crime. Probably because it teaches respect for others and for others’ possessions.
Jersey could show the UK how it’s actually done and start taking a very hard line with these kids and their parents.
And I do think it’s about time the community got together and protested for an evening about this matter, I don’t doubt a lot of people would care enough to turn up!
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First, i agree with No.7 Name and shame if they catch them.
Second, With the amount of boats and money floating around the Harbour why on earth was there not anybody protecting the Harbour.
Oh i forgot, this is Jersey and we all leave our doors open!
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Totally agree with the above, but yet again the police can’t be bothered because of the among of paper work that needs to be drawn up plus they are not making money from this……
Name and shame, give them community service and ensure they wear brightest of clothing so they are recongised by the public and hopefully will learn from this…….
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Have they looked at the hotel’s CCTV?
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Where are the police? What’s the point of cameras if nobody is monitoring them. The horse has bolted! If crime continues on this scale, once again people will talk with their wallets and go elsewhere. We should be encouraging people to the island with safety & security in this crime-ridden world. I doubt this will happen now as word spreads very quickly.
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I remember a famous case in Singapore about a decade ago when one American teenager living there sprayed graffiti on a load of cars. The authorities wanted him to be cained until American officials got involved. Of course that kind of punishment was abolished here long ago, but just think what a deterent it must of been to further acts of vadalism.
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I have a boat in the Elizabeth marina. Four days after the incident the access code to the marina remains unchanged. The last three nights I have stayed on my boat and have not seen any security patrols. Right now I am not entirely sure what security I am paying for? Perhaps the harbour can shed some light on the issue?
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Are you sure that was a good idea to put the skateboard park next to the marina.
Why didnt they have the sense to bring the Fort regent back to its former glory.
Jersey desperately needs to invest in attractions to keep youngsters of the streets & also bring tourists as the financial centre situation is wobbling on its last legs.Its very hard to fathom that Jersey had more to offer 30 years ago than it does today! Whos to blame and is that progress?
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Why does everyone always come out with the “kids need more things to do” line? The only thing that kids today need to do more of is learning how to respect other people and their property.
There’s lots of free activities to do in Jersey that get you out and about. When I was younger we used to go to St Catherine’s woods or the beach or to a friend’s house. We didn’t go around smashing everything or shouting abuse at people.
Kids today are always complaining about how bored they are. When I was a teenager and complained that I was bored my parents would give me jobs around the house to do. Maybe these children’s parents should teach them that not everything comes for free and that, if they want money to go bowling (or more likely to buy alcohol and hang around Snow Hill!) then they’d better earn it. Kids today don’t have any concept of the value of anything which is why they’re so willing to vandalise other people’s property.
They also have no real idea of responsibility as there’s always someone or something else to blame, for example, the parents, trouble at home, trouble at school. Every child has difficult things to deal with in life, but not all of them turn into horrible yobs with no respect for anything or anyone. Police, parents and schools should start teaching these kids that there are consequences for negative actions. Not making excuses for them.
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Ron & Ruby – exactly. The skateboard park shold have been at the Fort and many people want the fort restored as a leisure centre.
This doesn’t excuse the vandalism and loutish behaviour of course. Vandals should be made to either clean up the mess they’ve made or work to pay off the costs of the damage they’ve caused, plus compensation. Cleaning the chewing gum off the pavements at less than minimum wage would be a worthwhile project to get them started! No need to go through the courts etc. just a Parish Hall enquiry.
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Great; another thing for the adults of today to bitch and blame the youth for. A minority group of kids ruining it for the majority.
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Hey Jordan, I would put money on it that pensioners weren’t responsible.
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Jordon – the majority of kids won’t be birched then, providing they do what they are told and don’t misbehave.
We’re talking about birching children that hit others or cause chaos in the classroom – not the average student who just wants to knuckle down and get on with it. I wish a few of my old schoolmates got birched – so often to teachers have to deal with these miscreants that the other students suffer as they can’t get the tuition they deserve. In Le Rocquier I had to write myself a detention in order to ask the teacher a question!
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A sobering thought, New York used to be a place where you wouldn’t walk at night for fear of attack and life now it is one of the safest places all thanks to Zero Tolerance, no second chances no I know your father don’t do it again, we need to come down hard on every criminal regardless of nationality/age (Ok must be responsible for own actions) and send out the message that this behaviour will not be tolerated
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Jordan, you are quite right – the minority ruining it for the majority.
On the assumption that you are a teenager, how do you view this type of behaviour?
The Island needs to pull together to curb this escalating youth crime and it would be interesting to receive your opinion on what measures the authorities should put in place and what punishment you would deem appropriate for your peers, including how they could be seen to be repaying the community for their immoral behaviour.
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Aimee talks a lot of sense (no 16)I remember complaining of being bored when I was a child yet never went around vandalising things.To be honest I wouldn’t have had the opportunity as my mother always knew where I was and what I was doing!The same happened with my own children-they were either at a friends house,at home or at an organised activity.I basically put my life on hold for many years to ensure my children were looked after,entertained ,safe and educated.I thought this was quite normal at the time but it appears not to be the case these days-at least not with some parents.
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Aimee (16) is so right. Children today have no respect for anything or anyone, and are only interested in their spoilt little selves.
Until society can find a foolproof way of teaching them how to behave like human beings they should be subject to a curfew – no “children (0 to 18)” allowed out after 7.30pm without being accompanied by a responsible adult.
They could then misbehave, and destroy whatever they like because it will be in their own homes. At least then perhaps their parents will feel like taking them to task for their behaviour.
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So the cameras don’t work, or pictures too blurred to be of use. What a cock up.
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How sad to hear that 3 of the 5 camera’s were out of order, why are we paying out taxes, well I do hope these boats owners get together and demand a full explantion as to why these camera’s were out of order, this is not acceptable.
So how is the states going to put this right to enusre it doesn’t happened and also to ensure that all camera’s are working around the streets and car parks…
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When I was a youth the harbour was patrolled day and night by officers from Port Control who wore the same uniform as policemen but had a red checkered band on their hats. Where are they now? They were removed by the States to save money and replaced by cctv.
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Boat owner
I am a boat owner whos boat was vandalised, I strugle to find the huge amount I am charged for my marina berth, but as boating is my only hobby I thought it was worth the money as I was under the impession that security was good, and that the pontoons were regularly patroled. How wrong I was, no patrols, no cameras, no security.
I was robbed by who? The vandals or the Harbour Dept,? I think both.
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I cant believe how usless the harbours department actually are, what do we actually pay money for? why is there no security gaurds patrolling throught the night, when they said on the news there is always somebody patrolling?? also on the news last night they said the the securtity, possibly new cameras would not be improved until the summer, thats great lets just advertise so the scum bags can come back and do more damage.
Harbours need to sort things and fast even change the entrance code thats been the same for the past 6 months.
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http://www.thisisjersey.com/2009/03/09/vandals-strike-at-elizabeth-marina/
Miss Shacklady was asked: what she would say to people who thought that their boats were secure at the Harbour, she said: ‘The area is patrolled 24 hours a day and we have physical patrols anyway and CCTV is actually in addition to that.’
!!!patrolled 24 hours a day!!!!
unbelievable…this is sad… Who is she?
“Harbours commercial director” , which Harbour? i don’t think so that in Jersey…
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Change the residency laws so we can live on our boats provided you have another property in Jersey then you will have owners there all the time, well the vandals will not know if they are or not anyway!!!
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Marinas in the UK are lowering their prices and offering discounts with the credit crunch. Many boats in our marinas are sadly for sale due to spiralling costs. and belive it or not Harbours are increasing boat owners parking fees by over 200% in the next few years.
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Apparently two individuals were watching the CCTV round the clock – hmmmm!
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The problem is that years gone by when Port Control Officers patrolled the harbours and knew the individual boatowners the harbour office was a reasonably simple set up with few , but effective staff. Nowadays it is a huge corporate affair that perhaps for it’s size is much too top heavy with senior managers and their support staff, hence the huge costs boat owners and people (boatyards) pay.
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What a waste of peoples’ time and money pay lots of money to leave your boat moored in a secure environment and get it trashed. Someone has been slack man and thats my honest opinion on this matter. I wonder if the person in charge is local or are they J cat? It would be interesting to know.
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The standard punishment for vandalism should be for the offenders to make full restitution – No exceptions !
Very long prison sentances for those who cannot pay – The message would very soon be understood by all !
People who deliberately damage public and private property are the scum of society. Use all available measures to elliminate them
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This all seems a bit’iffy’ to me. Howcome there were foot patrol men on duty and they never saw or heard anything. Out of the 5 CCTV cameras, only 2 were working, did those 2 not record anything? Why wasn’t anyone watching the CCTV screens. These people who own yachts in the marina must be mad about the supposed security there. Or, is it some sort of plan to blame the kids in the skate park to get them moved. If there is no evidence that it was anyone from the skate park then how can they be blamed for this?
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I have seen patrols on the pontoons and at the gates over the last few days.
But a youth was cought and a number of others spotted leaving the old harbour today after having broken into a substantial motor cruiser, luckly thanks to some brave chaps they ran after this youth and pinned him to the ground and the police turned up shapish, he was arrested, but what will they do…. just let them go and say dont do it again. this same boat has been broken into twice in the last week. The police have been involved on both occations.. a few boats have been targeted in this way recently. sad world.
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