Jail for the terror attack ‘detective’
Thursday 24th March 2011, 3:00PM GMT.
The boy was terrified that he would be thrown from the top of Minden Place car park
A MAN who pretended to be a policeman and threatened to throw a terrified 18-year-old boy from the top of a multi-storey car park in a vigilante-style revenge attack has been jailed.
Barry John Dale (36) had originally been given 240 hours’ community service in December following the attack last July.
But yesterday the Court of Appeal, chaired by Dame Heather Steel, decided that sentence was too lenient and increased it to 12 months in prison.
Dale had pleaded guilty to impersonating a police officer, false imprisonment and grave and criminal assault when originally sentenced. He attacked the boy after the teenager had stolen his girlfriend’s mobile phone.
• See today’s JEP for the full report
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I don’t think he should have been jailed. If the lad hadn’t stolen the mobile phone in the first place this wouldn’t have happened. His actions caused this so he is 50% to blame, he should have been given community service as well, hes not a child even though he acts like a ten year old stealing things.
Actions cause reactions. Ok the guy went over the top but mobile phones are very personal in ways, pictures of family members, friends phone numbers and in some cases bank details, this is due to people saving passwords and usernames on there devices for access to online banking.
they both have been silly, both should have had community service.
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so what happened to the teenager for stealing a phone!
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So what happened to the teenager who stole the mobile?…any charges? i imagine the police did nothing and thats why he went to such length to get revenge.
Ive been robbed so many times its hard to count! not once has the police been able to do anything, or retrieve my items, even when they know who dunnit! its just policy i guess, but sometimes we turn to the perpetrators themself and deal with matters ourselves because we feel helpless.
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This man should be given a medal not a prison sentance–this is the only way to deal with crime- action NOT DO GOODERS !!
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Something we all would like to do to some of the feral scrotes plaguing our society
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Fair play to Barry,
He was probably frustrated at the police for their lack of interest in real crime. Barry should be give an award not a jail sentence.
Jersey should set up the Barry Dale award for public service and a statue should be erected in his honour.
Free Barry!!!!!
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I think the guy has actually shown some restraint for not throwing the thieving sod over the top!
I too would like to know what happened to the lad who stole the phone??
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Given that trying to report a stolen phone to the police would probably be met with nothing more than roaring laughter and a bill for wasting their time, I for one was very glad to know that someone like this was out there doing his bit for society by making the scum think twice about their actions. The fact that he has now been gaoled is an absolute disgrace. If this is how the courts feel then they’d better start freeing up some room in the prison as given that most modern smartphones allow the owner to track it’s location online I believe that vigilanty phone ‘recoverys’ will become all the more common and could even become an interesting new sport as an alternative to fox hunting.
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The little chav deserved everything he got, this man should be rewarded not punished!
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Greetings from Guern!
If only we had multi-story car parks like this, I’m sure I’d spend most of my time pulling these sorts of pranks.
Not only is it fun, but it’s also a hilarious way to scare a petty thief and criminal!
FREE BARRY DALE
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A classic example of why standards have dropped in Jersey.
No mention of punishment for the useless chav stealing the phone, just 12 months in prison for somebody wishing to do something about it. It’s about time Jersey Police pulled their finger out, they’re an absolute joke. If they had dealt with the 18 year-old layabout properly, this wouldn’t have happened
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“a terrified 18-year-old boy”? I´m fairly certain that 18 is the legal age for an adult not a boy
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Facebook / action group required. What does Senator Le Marquand have to say on this?
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I cannot believe this man Barry Dale is in Jail, ok he did go over the top but to receive a jail sentence for this is unreal, so the message again is the thief has got the law behind him and he can carry on stealing with a pat on the back by the police and the Law Department and I bet no charges have been brought against this 18 year old and by the way why is the Jersey Evening Post calling him a 18 year old boy in my eyes he is a man, he can vote, drink etc, I bet the reason that he has not been named is that this so called boy is the son of a so called important/wealthy person on this Island Hopefully I am wrong but I doubt it.
Get real Attorney General and Dame Heather Steel you have now stirred up a hornets nest get him released now before this gets in to the National papers as you will have egg on your faces yet again
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My burning question aside what happened to the thief is, will the mobile thief ever steal again or did he learn his lesson.
Getting a kicking and being threatened with getting thrown of the top of a multi story carpark might, I suspect, be a far more valuable lesson than a slap on the wrist and a ‘there there there’ from the magistrate which would be the normal course of action!
However, where does one draw the line when one is wronged. I’ve spent time in some parts of the world where to some, shooting someone in the face would be a reasonable response to being robbed, all very well until the wrong person gets shot, which I saw happen on too many occasions.
However much one may applaud Barry Dale for his actions, he did break the law. Perhaps the bigger issue is that if the general public had more faith in the law and the system, he may not have had to resort to this kind of action.
I have to agree that on the facts that we have been furnished with, prison sounds a bit harsh and community service would have been more appropriate.
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Free Barry,give him a medal!
Chop the thief’s hands off take all his possessions from him sell them & give the funds to Barry.
The world needs more vigilantes like Barry.
Bravo Barry!
Name & shame the thief, give us his address so we can all go round & steal from his scum family see how they like it!
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Best you come around & arrest me too then, because I have been impersonating a police officer for years, in the sense that I have done frig all about catching criminals
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Wonder if he got his phone back?
The little sh*t will think twice before trying that stunt again. 240 hours service was steep let alone a jail sentence.
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i would like to know who wnet to the court of appeal, i thought it was for criminals that thought the court was wrong not do some do gooder to help the little thieving sod…………next time Barry should of just run him over and claim it was an accident…….i mean theres been a lot of them latley and I dont see any body going to prison for that
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Where was the “terror attack”????? Does the JEP know what a terror attack is?????
Poor terrified 18 year old boy (!) – he expected congratulations after successfully stealing somebody’s property.
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Fair play, too many little d*ck heads running round town doing the same thing!
Free Barry Dale!
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have you ever been faced with a horrific death ? its basically torture . for nicking a phone . daily mail readers think before you speak
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I’m hoping Dame Heather Steel reads these comments. She will then understand how completely out of touch she is. The public wants 18 year-old criminals to be treated harshly, and not be given the softly,softly approach
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I am horrified reading all these comments supporting a thug who took the law into his own hands.I just hope that these comments were made by his friends and not a general consensus.
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Why hasn’t the phone thief been named?This seems a bit suspicious to me,maybe he has well connected parents.12 months inside for teaching a thief a valuable lesson seems very excessive to me
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It is a sad indictment of the state of today’s society, when almost everyone vilifies the police for their stance on this crime, if he had not impersonated a police officer, he would probably be walking free.
I think the police really need to try and win back the respect of the general populous by dealing with criminals SEVERELY and leave off the kid gloves, until this happens don’t expect the respect you may think you deserve!!!
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I can only say that I fully sympathise with the gentleman for taking the law into his own hands. It is little wonder that he did this as the thieves know that if they are caught they will get a telling off and a slapped wrist. Poor thing.
If the thief were in another country he would be facing having his hand chopped off. And rightly so. I believe in an eye for eye and a tooth for a tooth.
And if the majority of comments on here are anything to go by a good kicking as a deterrent for stealing is justified.
Or the powers that be instead of giving them taxpayers money to layabout and do nothing all day except become teenage villains…. could get them up in the morning into boot camp that is active at St Andrews park and teach them some discipline, manners and respect for other people and the property they own.
This man should be released it is unjust and unfair to imprison him when we have guys in uniform every weekend pretending to be cops.
And they get away with it and get paid for doing so. Some justice system we have in Jersey.
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I wonder whether the police pursued the gentleman thief with the same zeal and vigour as this now jailed gentleman? The attorney general leapt into action at taxpayers’ expense and brought the matter to appeal using a recently opened loophole in the law. Did he leap with regard to the theft of the telephone by the hitherto and inexplicably unnamed young gentleman?
The court of appeal sprang into action and quashed a community service sentence which was of value to the community. The full, inadequate, force of the law was brought to bear and a sentence substituted which will cost the taxpayer and will serve no useful purpose to anyone.
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Recent judgements going to appeal seem to indicate harsh measures from our imported QC’s, unfamiliar with Jersey and perhaps eager to make their mark.Whatever their reasons, this 12 month prison sentence, on appeal,overturning 240 hours community service, is radical to say the least.
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Well done to Barry. I would happily buy this man a pint when he is freed. As for the low life thief, I am surprised Barry didn’t go further and beat the hell out of him. I know I would have.
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The difference between some community service and a year in prison is massive… why is there such an inconsistency in the punishments?
12 months seems far too harsh, he’s done the community a favour making the thief think twice before stealing again.
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Its amazing how many right wing people we have in Jersey who support a guy who threatened to murder a kid. What if this guy had not been prosecuted? next time he might have decided to give in to his urges and actually kill someone.
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Mary # 24.
No, it really is a general consensus. 18 years old is not a boy.
Old enough to drink, vote and die for your country.
The true victims of crime are fed up to their back teeth of the perpetrators being mollycoddled by do-gooders who see the world through rose tinted spectacles and applaud someone with the balls to do something about it.
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The crux of the matter is simple: people have lost faith in the police and judicial system. They either give up on justice or decide they will dispense justice themselves.
If he had any guts Ian Le Marquand would resign over this vote of no confidence in his weak policy of appeasement.
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@24 Mary
Absolutely agree with you Mary. I wonder how many of them are parents and if so how they would react to having somebody turn up at their house impersonating a copper, abducting their son/daughter and then threatening to throw them off a multi-storey car park whilst beating them senseless.
I also wonder how they would react if I went round to Barry Dale’s when he got out, pretended to be a police man, abducted him, beat him, tied him to a stick, poured paraffin all over him and pretended I was going to burn him alive as revenge for his crime.
Would I then warrant a ‘medal’?
I am presuming that the majority of the pro-Barry posters above have all got I HEART RAOUL MOAT t-shirts in their wardrobes and think Fred West was ‘a bit of a legend’.
Grow up, guys.
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We cannot condone someone taking the law into their own hands.
Where this could end up who knows.
BUT.
In this case I tend to agree with most on here, the community service was punishment enough, prison, over the top.
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Getting a bit hysterical there Mick. Calm down and take an anti-drama queen pill.
No one supporting Mr Dales actions is comparing him to the likes of a murderer. Sometimes a good hiding is all these knuckle draggers understand. If one of my children was stealing then a pretend copper would be the least of their problems.
I hope that you yourself do not become a victim of crime. Obviously you never really have been. It’s amazing how many leftie Guardian readers bang on about the rights of criminals whilst conveniently forgetting the victims.
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35 Mick
What a load of garbage you express!!!
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Mick 35 and Mary 24
Obviously you are either related to the so called 18 year old boy or you are of the lefty weak minded lot who seem to think that people can get away with theft of property of another person I bet if this lad did it to you you would be so angry as well. I have seen a lot of real crime and punishment when I was in the Army and as I have have been in many war Zones to make sure that you can sleep well in your beds at night I find it very distressing myself that you can say that we support Fred West this is a insult to me and the reason why is that I am from Hereford and I lost a very close relative due to him, so do not tar us with the same brush
We want proper justice not pat on the back justice and do not do it again and if you do we will treat you for a holiday at public expense the next time you do it. Get real you two!!!!
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35. Mick – You are spot on…. I can’t believe the attitudes of the majority of people who have posted here, it’s shocking!!
Barry Dale sounds like an unhinged individual and I’m glad he is off the streets… who knows what he might have been capable if someone had done something worse to him.
I fully believe that the 18 year old should also be prosecuted for his crime, but by the police. I can understand how people get frustrated when justice isn’t done and often these petty crimes do get pushed under the carpet but that’s still no excuse and that’s just the way life goes sometimes!! Sh!t happens to us all.
Barry Dale is a 36 year old man and should have dealt with the situation as a grown up rather than threatening someone who was 18 years his junior……. Jersey seems to have turned into one giant playground these days!!!
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@ Mick – Nice presumption and you tell people to grow up?! Slightly different sceanrio’s between this case and Raoul Moat/Fred West
Absolutely agree with 90% of the comments on here. That lad, as with many, need to learn a lesson – one which is not being taught to them by the law which seems to be afraid or incapcable of taking any aciton against those that deserve it.
Although the extent was fairly radical, the effect of the lesson will have done what it was set to do and maybe if more were able to realise that they can’t just get away with it because they are “the youth of today” then things mya be a little different in the island
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@Mick 35,
You have obviously missed the point of the story and to peoples reactions.
An eye for an eye is completely different to an unprovoked killing spree.
Think before posting instead of making comment simply to disagree with the majority.
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If the “poor boy” is 18 then lets have the little scrots name! who is the theiving little chav? and what punishment did he receive?
Lets free barry and put him in charge of police training! how to deal with the scum that are breeding on our streets!
You steal someones phone and they catch you, then expect a good kicking!
Good on you Barry! If more people sttod up to these irritating scum bags then maybe they’d think twice before stealing!
Free Barry!
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Completely agree with Mick and Mary – did everyone actually read what happened to this 18yr old?
Obviously theft is a crime – and yes, these sort of crimes are often not dealt with to the satisfaction of the public, but to basically say that kidnapping and significant threat is a reasonable response is astounding. Sounds like the behaviour of an angry bully to me. By the way, what if the man/boy had been 14/15 but actually looked about 18? Would everyone have been so condoning then? Really disappointed with the attitude of so many on this. In my opinion a completely unjustified reaction of a dangerous thug. Hope this makes others think about throwing their weight around in future when something bad or unjustified happens to them…
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From the comments here I wonder if any of you feel a line should be drawn as to the level of revenge? Or do I assume you all feel Errais see JEP Article posted on 12th October, 2010 should be released for the revenge attack he committed when he used an 8 inch kitchen knife to stab and slash the face of the chap who had viciously attached him ealier that evening?
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In the loony U.S.A. Barry would have had kidnapping charges added.
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#35 MICK
Telling people to grow up because they think that they 18yr got what he deserved isnt justified im afraid…
I think most of us simply agree that “taking matters into your own hands” was the only option for dale, and i think if we all were brave enough, or thought we’d get away with it, we’d try it. If your wife/mother was mugged in town and you were with her, wouldnt you run after him and smack him round the chops and retrieve the bag? or would you say, sorry love, he’s 18, let the police deal with this… no you wouldnt. The “Boy” committed a crime and noone comments on how he is punished by the law. I think the kid wont do it again, and im glad he wont. FREE DALE!!!!!!!
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so who is the 18 year old friend of a friend maybe
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Barry for Justice Minister !
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TO ALL OF THOSE WHO accuse me of being a leftie, not living in the real world etc
I lived in the UK for several years and in that time (on separate instances) was
- burgled
- mugged at knifepoint
- had my cash card stolen and £1000 taken from my account
Whilst I sincerely wished that each time my perpetrators had been caught (they weren’t), at no point did I feel the urge to kidnap them from their homes and threaten to kill them. I still don’t now.
If you believe that condoning impersonating a police officer, kidnap, mental torture, threat of false execution and prolonged physical assault is simply the adoption of a ‘leftie’ stance then quite clearly you are bordering on sociopathic and I fear I am wasting my time even arguing with you.
Do we SERIOUSLY think that an 18 year old who steals a mobile phone deserves to suffer a mock execution for his crime?
What do you think the psychological effects on this kid are going to be – and when he snaps in about 15 years time and the trauma manifests itself in some retributive crime on some innocent victim…are you going to be around to help pick up the pieces?
What Barry Dale did was utterly wrong and for you guys to make him out to be some kind of hero is disgusting.
Shame on you and YES – grow up.
@BR
Raoul Moat’s attacks were motivated by his own sense of revenge – on his ‘cheating’ girlfriend and on the police that slighted him. In his eyes he was most probably a victim-cum-vigilante. Just like you guys consider Barry Dale.
@Mogit
Easy to dismiss someone’s talk as garbage when you have nothing to say for yourself. Jog on.
@Micksawally
Not getting hysterical at all. Take a look at the exclamative responses of the majority of other posters on here – THAT’s hysterical.
Ask yourselves one final question. Imagine Barry Dale had worked at a certain children’s care home over here several years back and the youth had been caught stealing something from the larder or another resident. Would we be applauding his actions then?
No – we would find them as despicable as the majority of sane, civilised people on this island do now.
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Why are the polce witholding names of criminals lately like the phone thief and the driver of the Lotus which killed a young woman
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An 18 year old allegedly, I have seen nothing in this online article to indicate otherwise, has stolen a Mobile Phone. If he did so then it was his decision to do so and had nothing whatsoever to do with the Police.
The aggrieved boyfriend of the woman who owned the phone has then taken matters into his own hands, there is nothing in this article to indicate the woman or this man has at any time reported the theft to the Police.
The man has impersonated a Police Officer which is a serious crime; falsely imprisoned the 18 year old which is a very serious crime and then committed a grave and criminal assault upon the 18 year old again a very serious crime. This we know to be fact as he was convicted of the crimes and sentenced. This man made the decision to commit these crimes of his own free will and again it had nothing whatsoever to do with the Police even if the original theft had been reported to them.
It is extraordinary that some of the posts here indicate that these crimes were the responsibility of the Police! How? No doubt some ill-informed person will enlighten me that they are too busy chasing speeders etc. We can criticise the Police because it is easy to do so whilst having not the slightest idea of what is required to carry out the role.
Knowing who the person who commits a crime is does not necessarily mean that the evidence required to formulate a charge exists let alone obtain a safe conviction. Yes the Police make mistakes and when they do it is often in the Public domain. Others who make mistakes in their jobs rarely undergo such public and internal scrutiny.
As for the individual who states he had been robbed more times than he cares to remember, please give us an idea or a rough figure of how many times you have been subjected to the violent crime of robbery which is rare in Jersey and how many times the Police have not investigated such a serious crime
Furthermore the need for the Police could not be better illustrated by the mob rule mentality that has been displayed in this thread, because if the Police did not exist simple accusations would lead to trial and sentence by the mob without any due process. Some of you should think very carefully about the comments you have made because they are condoning crimes and could even be considered as inciting crime which is a crime in itself.
The subsequent sentencing of the man is a judicial matter and again has nothing whatsoever to do with the Police. The Judiciary have to sentence within the guidelines of the law and the law allows for appeals. In this case the appeal considered the original sentence too lenient. If you do not like the sentencing policy then lobby the politicians to change the powers of the courts.
Finally if you think the Police do nothing how on earth do you account for all of the Parish Hall Enquiries and Court Cases that take place every year from the most minor of crimes to those considered the most serious and everything in between.
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Is 240 hours community service really less of a sentence than 12 months (with a big chunk knocked off) jail.
If I were struggling, in a miserable job to stay fed and housed and not too keen on hard work* I know which I would prefer!
Do community servants get any hours knocked off for good behaviour? If they don’t, prison could definitely be more appealing.
Whilst we don’t need too many vigilantes as extreme as Dale, we certainly don’t need the theiving scrotes either.
The solution is for everyone to learn to behave, then we wouldn’t need many police either. Just a skeleton force to sort out accidents and tell people the time.
*I am not implying that this Mr Dale’s situation.
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Mick
I admire your determination to stand up to everyone, but I strongly disagree with your Liberal attitude
I’m absolutely sick to death of the PC culture we live in, where criminals are treated better than victims. I’m disgusted at people like you and Mary displaying sympathy for a thieving young lad. If he doesn’t get taught a lesson now then he will just commit more crime, bearing in mind the Police and Courts are not interested, it’s left to us to deal with him
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I just want to clear something up – This “Free Dale” rubbish is only being posted because of the way this story has been twisted. The 18 y.o. did not “steal” the phone. He picked it up by accident while drunk at a friend’s and left his actual phone there, the phone was exactly the same as his. Dale then, vigilante style, went around to the boy’s house and told his father that he was with the undercover police, had to take his son down to the station, and instead took him to a car park and beat the crap out of him. Have you ever picked up a phone by accident? The law looks at this like it is a theft because this is how Dale’s lawyers will have spun it. How many times have you had a phone stolen and actually known who stole it? Ask yourself that question for a second before ranting off about how this guy should be freed and how you’d like to buy him a pint.
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@Mick 50
It is just ridiculous to say that the posters on here are sociopathic because they applaud Barry Dale for doing what they wish they had the courage/opportunity to do. As someone who has also had something stolen I would certainly not be upset if the culprit got the same treatment, although I admit this is not something I would take into my own hands.
And as for the psychological effects on this “kid” (although as he is 18 he is an adult in the eyes of the law) good, maybe this will teach him that crime will be punished as his chavie parents clearly haven’t done.
And as for your “one final question” it’s all ifs and buts, stick to the facts, and as you can see from the comments on this thread you are in the minority as most think justice was served.
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The guy acted way out of line beating him up, a damn bully, he shouldn’t he put in prison thought, but maybe an anger management course would be more appropriate.
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BD, It’s a pity you didn’t get in earlier with comment no 1.
The bogus detective is obviously despicable and as a consequence of his appeal has been responsible for bringing out a thoroughly nasty side of many correspondents!
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@Beaumont
Find one sentence or phrase in my post where I display sympathy for the victim. There aren’t any. Theft is a serious crime and thieves need punishing.
My objection is to one human impersonating a police officer, kidnapping another, beating him senseless and threatening to kill him.
If you think that my objections to this are laughably ‘liberal’ then, like I said above, you and my detractors above are bordering on sociopathic.
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At 55. BD
You will be amazed at the amount of thieves who,when caught, say they “found” the item. One less spotty faced thief can only be of benefit to all.
Mick. I doubt if you really were a victim of crime. Or lived anywhere but Jersey. Keep reading the Guardian !
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@BR 56
So just to clarify then, (in light of BD’s revelation):
If you accidentally pick up someone else’s phone and take it home with you they are therefore entitled (in the name of ‘justice’) to falsely kidnap you, physically assault you and then subject you to a mock-execution.
Yes or no?
Oh and btw I am quite happy being in the minority in cases such as this.
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@55. And I heard a completely different version of events that totally contradicts your story.
The point is, there are a lot of feelings of support towards a person who stands up for themselves and does something when they are wronged because there is very little faith in the system that is supposed to protect and provide justice.
Whether it is Barry Dale or a little old lady who belts the living daylights out of 4 armed robbers outside a jewerly shop is irrelevant. People love ‘have a go’ heroes.
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BR@56
not got the courage of your convictions
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Barry for chief minister. Perhaps then we would have a shake up of the police force. Bring back proper sentencing for criminals.
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Despite what you may have ‘heard’ no.62, BD’s version of events is correct.
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@Mary Hinge
Nice mature argument from you there Mary.
I bet you aren’t even called Mary. I bet you’re a 14 year old boy. Keep reading the Beano etc etc etc
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The phone was picked up in error by somebody who had a bit too much to drink. It was not a deliberate act of theft. It was not a boy mugging someone in the street for their mobile phone or a burglary. Silly mistake, but does it warrant the reaction?
How could Dale have worked out where to go to get his girlfriend’s phone back without the original phone? Did Dale report the girlfriend’s phone missing? Did Dale advise the Police where the “stolen” phone could be found? After all – he knew.
He turned up at the boy’s house at 1.30am pretending to be a police officer to the boy’s father, who went to get the boy. While the father was getting dressed to go with the “police officer” as requested, Dale went into the house through a closed front door and dragged the boy into a car and drove him to a car park where he beat him severely and threatened to throw him off the building.
The boy had a parish hall enquiry where no action was taken.
And, no, the boy is not part of an important or wealthy family trying to influence things, just a normal lad who got a bit drunk and made a silly mistake.
So – Dale ..
Impersonating a police officer
Unlawful entry to a house
Kidnapping
Violent assault
Threatening behaviour if not attempted murder
… and you believe this is warranted for a mobile phone and not even your own…
So – people of Jersey
Most people would applaud the situation where a mugger or thief is forcefully attacked and/or detained in the moment by a have a go hero. They would probably even support strong reaction when a burglar is found in your house.
However, look at some of the comments about this story and now imagine that you pick up something like a phone, a coat, etc by accident. Contributors here seem to feel that you can expect some sort of “justified” violent retribution at any time in your own home and, worse, that this forms some sort of consensus of acceptance of behaviour.
I do not think that the average person will understand, agree with, or condone the level of anger, intent and violence shown in this case.
Dale is not a “have a go hero”.
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The law abiding people of this island are sick to the back teeth of criminals ruining our quality of life. However in no way do I condone vigilante behaviour, however our courts need to properly punish criminals. What does our nanny state do to them send them on luxury holidays. My daughter spoke to a girl she knows the other day who is always in and out of trouble and she commented that a whole load of them are being taken skiing. this is outrageous.
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55. BD
I have also heard a completely different story about what happened and there was no way that the person in question picked up the wrong phone. From what I hear Barry was right to take revenge, but I think he went far too far unfortunately.
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I posted a comment on 24th March saying how horrified I was regarding comments supporting a thug who took the law into his own hands.However after reading BD’s(55)letter it leaves me in no doubt that the judge made the right decision.There is no justification for people to go and mette out punishment to people they percieve to have committed a crime.Incidentally,someone else called Mary(68)has oppossing views to me.
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Ok then if I am reading this correctly, taking the mob rule mentality to its logical conclusion. In future when a Police Officer identifies a suspect for a crime it will be perfectly OK for that Police Officer, with a view to avoiding all the red tape and due process of the law, to simply inflict violence upon the suspected criminal instead? Teach them a lesson they can’t forget and send them on their way.
Would the violence be inflicted in degrees dependant of the crime and if so what is the starting point for theft? This bloke threatened death! Does not leave a lot of room for offences slightly up the crime scale and beyond theft does it!! Still we could reduce it to mutilation which is what some of you civilised people are advocating. And all this without any examination of the facts by an independent judiciary or by 12 members of the public called in to hear the evidence and make a decision.
In short we would have a Police Force which becomes Judge, Jury & executioner? Please all of you who are supporting this bloke for what he has done and the ‘revenge, take it into our own hands, this scum deserves it’ point of view can we have a straw poll indicating who amongst you supports a Police Force acting arbitrarily as described above?
I doubt there will any takers or supporters for this. Let’s just wait until some case arises in the future when a Police Officer is investigated for an alleged assault whilst arresting someone who HAS committed a crime. All of you here supporting the cowardly thug vigilante will all be screaming from the roof tops that the Police Officer should be flayed alive regardless of the outcome of the trial. No sorry you are all of the mentality to believe without any reservation that it was a conspiracy should the outcome of a trial result in an acquittal.
I hope that not one of you who supports this vigilante ever gets called for jury service because quite clearly none of you have any concept of impartiality nor I suspect the wherewithal to examine evidence, follow the guidance of a court and reach a verdict based on facts.
All of you should be ashamed. Be very ashamed.
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Aaron,
This isn’t about due process. The issue here is simply that we have ended up in a culture where crimes that were previously regarded as extremely serious are no longer punished in any meaningful sense. So people feel that even if this was the third time this bloke had stolen a mobile phone the worst he would get is 6 months probation and a telling off. NOBODY VOTED FOR THIS. You show me the politicians who said they would be soft on crime.
We have had a system foisted on us that protects the criminal that people do not want. They have no democratic way of changing it, because it had no democratic legitimacy to start with. That is the problem: a spineless judiciary, a police force hamstrung by red tape and do-no-good social workers crawling all over the system. Theft is wrong and should be punished. Is it so extreme to have such a view? Or does the fact that you think only nutters would regard theft as deserving punishment show you have lost all moral bearings.
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Absolutely ridiculous. What Barry did was obviously not right but to have a theiving little chav mug your girlfriend, I would have knocked the street rat into next week.
FREE BARRY!
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If the ’18 year old BOY’ is big enough and think hes hard enough to mug someone, hes big enough to get a smack in the gob.
Chav got away with it lightly!
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67. Hearthetruth
How do you know that the phone was picked up by mistake?? Just because one poster on here, probably the thief’s friend says so. And of course he we say that anyway…
This is not what I heard and the little chav who did nick the phone is a well know young offender who is always in trouble.
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Having a drink too many is a poor excuse for misbehaviour and used far too often when little Johnnie gets his comeuppance. Mick, Mary and all of the chav’s mates posting on here should be the ones ashamed rather than supporting such actions.
Barry for justice minister !
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76. Mary Hinge – I agree with Mick and Mary…. I am certainly not one of the ‘chav’s mates’.. thank you – and I am not going to be ashamed for disagreeing with what Barry Dale did!!!!
The funniest thing about reading all these comments is that does no one seems to realise that Barry Dale made himself just as much of a low life as the 18 year old was (for stealing) by beating the kid up…yet he’s still being applauded but the ‘chav scum’ should be hung, drawn and quartered…..what would people be saying if the 18 year old had his phone nicked by Barry and then the 18 year old had gone after him…the headlines would be VERY VERY different – as would the majority of the people’s opinions/attitudes on here.
No one has the right to put themselves above the law and I don’t believe that any of the ‘pro-Barry’ posters on here have put forward any valid arguments which even marginally justify his behaviour.
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Yep – here’s a valid argument.
Chav low life street rat gets drunk and nicks someone’s phone.
Boyfriend of said stolen phones owner teaches thief a valuable lesson.
Hopefully chav will think twice.
Barry for justice minister.
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It would have taken an act of superhuman strenght to hoist the thieving little “s**t” up and over the very high fence on top of the car park, I do not think that Barry even considered that.
It would however, frighten the thief near to death, more than the Courts would ever have done!
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67. HearTheTruthJersey is EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. The 18 y.o had never been in trouble with the police before.
You guys just keep on believing whatever you want to believe though.
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donald “moral bearings” where have you borrowed these from?
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Two blacks dont make a white
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The lowlife has sensationalised his story along with the JEP who have added their pennyworth. Mr Dale is a gentleman who doesn’t deserve what he got. He did his community service. How many people have to serve 2 sentences?
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So Mr Dale was locked up, supposedly to protect society. Hmmmmm why not let society decide his fate? Free him now
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Lost my moral bearings? Flabbergasted. This is the last I will say on this as I and others of reason are clearly trying to speak with zealots of revenge who would prefer to live is a dystopian society. I am all for proper punishment for crimes but it is not for me to decide what is correct but reasoned debate by the body (The States) to set the policy/standards etc. Advocating the seriousness of offending by this individual, even if the 18 year was 100% guilty of the petty, yes petty, theft of a mobile phone, is simply staggering. Those of you who support his actions look in the mirror and ask yourself these questions. In the society you wish for could you inflict the violence you are commending or would you expect someone with a stronger stomach to do it at your behest? Secondly would you readily accept such violence inflicted upon your or a loved one even if guilty? Oh and I see there are no takers for my straw poll!
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