Get tough with defiant yobbo

Wednesday, 1 December 2004

Alexander: 'Take his car, keep his fine and throw his ass in jail' The justice system now has the chance to get it right after being too soft on the Rotorua teen who recently had $43,000 worth of fines commuted to 300 hours of community service and then failed to show up, United Future law and order spokesman Marc Alexander said today.

"The courts were too soft on him to start with. They did him a huge favour and he still thumbs his nose at them and society.

"This yob said himself that he chose not to pay the fines because he 'hated the police'.

Nigel Caleb Wikiriwhi Dixon, 17, of Rotorua, was due to reappear in court on Monday for failure to comply with the community work order, but didn't appear and was being sought by the police when he handed himself in. He spent last night in custody and will appear again in court tomorrow. Dixon was given more of a chance than he deserved, Mr Alexander said, and has shown no willingness to reciprocate.

"It's well past time to get tough with this kid.

"His fine let-off meant that his community work was effectively worth $143 per hour! I'm sure many law-abiding students would love to waive their study debts at that rate over the Xmas break. Instead some punk accumulates a pile of debt and thumbs his nose at the police, our justice system and the Rotorua community. "This was Dixon's ninth court appearance this year. He's had a long history of offending while on bail ... Just how many chances does one guy get? "Well I reckon he can work off his debt at the minimum wage no matter how long it take, spend his weekends in prison and have his car confiscated.

"It would be called justice," Mr Alexander said.

ENDS

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