That's what that guy needs. Arrest him. That way he can go to jail (because he won't have money to pay a fine), and have the crap beat out of him. Or, because he has mental/emotional problems, he'll start a fight in jail, and get further charged, and spend even more time there.
And, to try to help him the judge will likely put him on probation after he's done with jail.
Maybe his probation officer can help him find a job, a place to stay, can get him into a programme to get him off drugs and/or booze. More likely, the poor schmuck, once he gets out of jail, will be so desperate for a hit, that he goes right out and gets high. Then, he'll miss his appointment with his well-meaning probation officer, because he'll be too stoned. Or he'll get piss-faced, and he won't want his P.O. smelling booze on his breath (it's probably a term of his probation that he can't drink). He knows that if the P.O. smells the booze, he'll be arrested for breach on the spot, so he'll miss the meeting. He'll be afraid to re-book, because he thinks he's already breached by missing.
So, he just won't go again. That way, a warrant will go out for his arrest. The cops have more important things to do, they won't go looking for him. But, next time the fellow gets arrested for some petty poverty-driven crime, the police will run his name, and, Bingo, there's that old warrant. No bail this time. No probation. Just a longer jail sentence. If he's lucky, maybe he's in a jurisdiction which has a "Three Strikes and you're out" law, and go to jail for a long long time. All for a freaking shopping cart.
Don't think this is far-fetched, John. It happens all the time. Every day, in every city. Criminalizing the homeless and the mentally ill and those with substance abuse problems does nothing more than fill jails. They stay off the street only for the time that they're in jail, then they're right back on their old corner again. Warehousing them in jails just doesn't work.
I used to work in the trenches, and I saw his like all too often...
have a good day, frank
"The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
From: John Mustarde <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
It brings forth my aversion impulse, if that means anything. I've often wondered why people don't get arrested for theft of the shopping carts... those things cost more than a good used LX. There is a thriving business around here in retrieving carts - the store pays a fee to guys who roam the neighborhood in a pickup and steal the carts back.
-- John Mustarde www.photolin.com
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