Is it genuinely illegal in England

[meredith101]

to set fire to dustbins and then run away? answers urgently needed please. Also, what does it mean when the police say 'code 3 10' into their radios.

[meredith101]

I both bother and offend you.

[~max~]

Genuine question here.

Do you know where I stand if my wheelie bin was stolen when I'm renting the flat? Will it come out of my deposit?

[Buenchico]

An 18 year-old guy, with no previous convictions, set fire to two bins at a seaside resort. He made the mistake of saying "I'd do it again".

Because of that, the court imposed an IPP sentence (which is effectively the same as a life sentence) and the Court of Appeal upheld the decision. People who're sentenced to IPPs have to prove that it's safe for them to be let out before they can be released. Since many of the programmes which offenders are meant to undertake (to prove that it's safe to release them) don't even exist, it's possible that many such offenders will never be released.

So keep setting fire to the bins, Meredith. You could find yourself without internet access for a very long time :-)

Chris

[Gill 05]

You do neither meredith.

Don't flatter yourself.

[meredith101]

buenchico, jails have internet access too.

You can't just keep people locked up forever unless they have a 'life term' without regular reviews of their status or the danger they pose. I'm talking UK here, not China/Nigeria/Korea.

[meredith101]

I do both. I'm not flattering myself.

[Buenchico]

For Max:

Wheelie bins are normally the property of the council. The householder is responsible for them and can be billed for their replacement (even if they're stolen). However, they don't form part of the contents of a rented property, so your deposit should be unaffected.

Chris

[Gill 05]

ok meredith, you win. happy now? glad to have helped. :o)

[Buenchico]

Meredith:

I agree that's the way that things are meant to work but it doesn't seem to be how they do work. See under 'Authoritarian dystopia' here for a reference to the incident I referred to:
http://www.newstatesman.com/200703190027

See here for one of the many sources concerned about IPPs:
http://www.helium.com/items/770691-prison-over crowding-problem-worse

See also here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7221789.stm

Incidentally, fewer than 1% of prisoners currently have supervised access to the internet.

Chris

[~max~]

Thank you very much Chris! are you sure about this? Because I clearly remember the agency person making a note of it during the visit before I signed the agreement (can't remember what the "visit" is called now, where you make a note of the state of everything in the property).

[wee willie]

they were dragged up meredith101
plant a few land mines round your dustbin lol

[Buenchico]

Max:

Our wheelie bins definitely belong to the council and (given the standardization of them) it seems obvious that this is the case everywhere.

As stated, the council can bill the householder for any loss, so I suppose that the landlord's agent might be concerned that if you moved out (before the council noticed that your bin was missing), the landlord or the next tenant might be asked to foot the bill.

If I was you, I'd tell the council that the bin has been stolen. They might charge you for it but they may also replace it free of charge. Then, when you come to move out, the agent won't be able to withhold part of your deposit. (If he did, I'd bet that it would be far more than the council might ask for).

Chris

[~max~]

Thanks Chris, I'll ask the council. How stupid hey! It never crossed my mind that someone would steal a wheelie bin!