I'm "noseying" what's on the telly next week. Hooray! North West based crime drama Scott & Bailey returns for Series 4.

Love it, but mainly for the heady interaction of the three strong & often in conflict female lead characters.

But earlier in the week, on Channel 4, "Cops & Robbers". My 'paper begins it's "taster" for it:- "1/3rd of all UK crime is committed by 100,000 repeat criminals all of whom have 15 + convictions each".

This stark statistical statement gets me reaching for the calculator. So, my digital arithmetic tells me, 200 "petty criminals" in Lancashire are burgling, robbing & disrupting the lives of the other 1.4 million of us.

So, what's "petty"? I don't know exactly but I guess burglaries, shop lifting, car crime?

How much distress, upset, disruption do this micro minority cause? Insurance premiums, Policing costs, the legal system, probation & prison costs!

I'm not of the hang them & flog them persuasion. My view of our local MP in government Jack Straw's best work was the 1998 Crime & Disorder Act. This was designed based on, barrister by trade, Jack's experiences right here in his constituency of Blackburn.

It's overall strategy was to get all the crime engaged agencies working together. Not just the Police, but schools, youth service, social services, probation etc all pooling intelligence & resources to get into communities, families & individuals, preferably before they're set in a hardened, recidivistic, corrosive life of crime.

So, though still awaiting the programme, it looks like things still aren't working.

The hard working law abiding mega majority are paying not once, but three or four fold & not just monetarily, whilst others carry on often undetected but definitely undeterred!