Fair or Not? Family gets evicted from council home because son was a rioter

[generalbulldog]

A suspected looter in this week’s riots and his mother are being thrown out of their council home.
In the first case of its kind, Daniel Sartain-Clarke, 18, and his mother have been served with an eviction notice as council bosses seek to turf them out of their £225,000 taxpayer-subsidised flat.
Sartain-Clarke is charged with violent disorder and attempting to steal electronic goods from the Currys store at Clapham Junction, South London, on Monday night.

There is likely to be a flood of similar cases as council leaders across England respond to public demands that looters face the toughest penalties possible.
In another day of dramatic developments:

Sartain-Clarke was arrested after more than 100 looters went on the rampage on Monday night. For two hours, the mob ransacked mobile phone stores and sports shops such as Foot Locker and JD Sports.
He appeared before magistrates in Battersea on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to burglary and violent disorder. He and two co-defendants were remanded in custody.

Last night Ravi Govindia, the leader of Wandsworth Council, which issued the eviction notice, said he wanted the ‘strongest possible action’ taken against rioters and looters.
‘This council will do its utmost to ensure that those who are responsible pay a proper price,’ he said. ‘Ultimately this could lead to eviction from their homes.
‘Our officers will continue to work with the courts to establish the identities of other council tenants or members of their households as more cases are processed in the coming days and weeks.
‘Most residents on our housing estates are decent law-abiding citizens who will have been sickened at the scenes they witnessed on their TV screens this week.
‘As much as anything else we owe it to them to send out a strong signal that this kind of violence will not be tolerated.’
But Sartain-Clarke’s mother said her human rights had been ‘taken for granted’.
Spanish-born Maite de la Calva, 43, said: ‘I understand there are people who have got to face justice because all this has been madness and savagery.
‘But, I believe our human rights have been completely taken for granted. Daniel was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
‘As a mother, I’m not responsible for my son’s actions and they are penalising me for his actions.’
The part-time worker said the decision had left her ‘very upset’ and she did not know where she and daughter Revecca, eight, would go.

Sartain-Clarke is being held at Feltham Prison, and his mother said he was ‘terrified’ of other prisoners and gangsters.
She said: ‘The other prisoners have been threatening the rioters. Daniel doesn’t know how to fight or defend himself. It’s breaking my heart right now. I left him so afraid.’
She claimed her son helped out in the community and had no history of trouble.
‘He’s a staunch member of the church,’ she said. ‘My son didn’t have a hoodie or balaclava. His face was clean and open. He’s very passive. He’s even been diagnosed with depression because he’s too passive.’
She added that his girlfriend J-Niel Starkei, 18, who was also arrested, had a promising career ahead of her.
She said: ‘She’s a nice girl, not a troublemaker. She was going to start an apprenticeship this September in event management and work part-time at a casino at Westfield shopping centre.’


Read more: UK riots: Daniel Sartain-Clarke's family first to be evicted by Wandsworth Council | Mail Online

The picture of the 18 year old that was involved in the riots.


The mother and daughter that will be evicted because of the actions of the 18 year old.

So is this fair or not? Should the family be evicted because of the actions of some lawless 18 year old family member?

[CFH]

I understand the desire to punish people for creating this type of embarrassing disorder - the city I live in rioted because our team lost a fucking hockey game and I was irate - but this is ridiculously punitive.

IMO the government should be looking at fixing the types of social problems which led to the rioting, not creating more poverty and discontent by arbitrarily making examples of people,

[Andre]

No way.

[Mark TKO]

not fair on the family but this nation is far too soft. I am all for harshe punishment of the kid - fuck him.

in the 80s as kids we were shit scared of some teachers and the police. Thats all changed


I have seen quite often teenagers abusing cops and laughing and they just don't know what to do or deal with. I also know a couple of teachers who have quit as they can't handle it - and are powerless to do anything any more.

Hit the fuckers first - ask questions later is maybe taking it a bit far but a move in that direction would suit me.

[BIG H]

not fair on the family but this nation is far too soft. I am all for harshe punishment of the kid - fuck him.

in the 80s as kids we were shit scared of some teachers and the police. Thats all changed


I have seen quite often teenagers abusing cops and laughing and they just don't know what to do or deal with. I also know a couple of teachers who have quit as they can't handle it - and are powerless to do anything any more.

Hit the fuckers first - ask questions later is maybe taking it a bit far but a move in that direction would suit me.

Totally agree!!

Kids (and adults) need to learn respect and learn to respect the laws of the lands. There needs to be a deterrant for breaking laws - currently there isn't!

But, we also need to address what is causing kids to go down this route.

[Gandalf]

No, the government is getting it wrong and ignoring all the reasons behind why Britain is such a mess. Sure it might look good "Ooh, we are tough on rioters and those who raised people who would riot", but it's silly. The family are not to blame directly. Give the kid 2 years in prison and a prison without all the comforts that prisons have today. We need to be tough on crime once again and attacking extended family is not going about it in the right way.

Give police officers power, let teachers use a cane and stop giving council housing to teenage mothers. Things will start to change, these stop gap short term actions just piss off more of the vermin class riff raff. It solves nothing.

[generalbulldog]

No, the government is getting it wrong and ignoring all the reasons behind why Britain is such a mess. Sure it might look good "Ooh, we are tough on rioters and those who raised people who would riot", but it's silly. The family are not to blame directly. Give the kid 2 years in prison and a prison without all the comforts that prisons have today. We need to be tough on crime once again and attacking extended family is not going about it in the right way.

Give police officers power, let teachers use a cane and stop giving council housing to teenage mothers. Things will start to change, these stop gap short term actions just piss off more of the vermin class riff raff. It solves nothing.

I disagreed that the family is not to be blamed for this. The mother did not raise her son right. She failed as a parent to instill any sense of morals or responsibility in that little hellraiser. She let him run the streets at any time of the day to cause mayhem and destruction on the livelihoods of innocent people. In short, she was a shitty parent that didn't instill any values in him.

Should she and her daughter be kicked out of the council home? No I wouldn't go that far, but she failed as a parent. Any sense of character, any sense of morality or responsibility is first instilled at home. That's where it starts first. The mother should not be absolved of any responsibility. And where the hell is the kid's father?

[Ghost]

No, the government is getting it wrong and ignoring all the reasons behind why Britain is such a mess. Sure it might look good "Ooh, we are tough on rioters and those who raised people who would riot", but it's silly. The family are not to blame directly. Give the kid 2 years in prison and a prison without all the comforts that prisons have today. We need to be tough on crime once again and attacking extended family is not going about it in the right way.

Give police officers power, let teachers use a cane and stop giving council housing to teenage mothers. Things will start to change, these stop gap short term actions just piss off more of the vermin class riff raff. It solves nothing.

I disagreed that the family is not to be blamed for this. The mother did not raise her son right. She failed as a parent to instill any sense of morals or responsibility in that little hellraiser. She let him run the streets at any time of the day to cause mayhem and destruction on the livelihoods of innocent people. In short, she was a shitty parent that didn't instill any values in him.

Should she and her daughter be kicked out of the council home? No I wouldn't go that far, but she failed as a parent. Any sense of character, any sense of morality or responsibility is first instilled at home. That's where it starts first. The mother should not be absolved of any responsibility. And where the hell is the kid's father?

Here Here.

[Ghost]

No, the government is getting it wrong and ignoring all the reasons behind why Britain is such a mess. Sure it might look good "Ooh, we are tough on rioters and those who raised people who would riot", but it's silly. The family are not to blame directly. Give the kid 2 years in prison and a prison without all the comforts that prisons have today. We need to be tough on crime once again and attacking extended family is not going about it in the right way.

Give police officers power, let teachers use a cane and stop giving council housing to teenage mothers. Things will start to change, these stop gap short term actions just piss off more of the vermin class riff raff. It solves nothing.

The "Government" got it wrong a long time ago by listening to all them bleeding heart do-gooders in the past and this is part of the results. Bring back corporal punishment and see if things don't change.

[Mark TKO]

Miles has got it right with bring back the cane

To my mind thats when the downfall started. I was a bit young at the time but remember my school having a debate for parents wishing to attend re the cane banning. Think it was around 81.

The slipper stayed for a few years after - and fuck me that hurt - but that went too. Now I think teachers can't even touch the kids. Maybe some teachers on here can elaborate.

Without going into too much detail a friend's son has recently been sentenced to four years for being a 'very silly boy.' He is in his early 20s and she worried at first , like any mother would, but she is now quite relaxed and not worried about him inside as has been to see him and seen the facilities he has. He has access to ps3, pool table, tv, table tennis and its like a common room she says most of the time.

She syas in fact she is less worried about him now as she was when at home as isn't worrying about him being out and up to no good.

I thought prisions were supposed to be a deterrent ? Shouldn't they be the worst place imaginable ? This country is fucked up.

and agreed re council houses to teenage mums - fuck that. And immigrants and asylum seekers having 500k houses for all their kids down south. again fuck that


i could go on but you get the general idea

[Mark TKO]

one of my mates was saying in pub other week he was in favour of bringing back the stocks for petty crimes rather than asbos, comm. Still some originals from way back on the village green near me.

At first thought ludicrous but more you think about it its not as daft as first seems. Put the fuckers in for an hour and lets throw smelly veg and fruit at them for an hour (ok you would have to ban tins) . Would be good way to spend sunday morning and practice your throwing arm. And I reckon if you had to endure it there's no way you would want to go back in.

There should also be different objects allowed for how many times you been in stocks. On third time potatoes and hard fruit would be allowed.Now that would be good - the guy in the stocks (or bird) would be shitting themselves as people took aim)

Again I could go on but you get the general idea.......

[Gandalf]

No, the government is getting it wrong and ignoring all the reasons behind why Britain is such a mess. Sure it might look good "Ooh, we are tough on rioters and those who raised people who would riot", but it's silly. The family are not to blame directly. Give the kid 2 years in prison and a prison without all the comforts that prisons have today. We need to be tough on crime once again and attacking extended family is not going about it in the right way.

Give police officers power, let teachers use a cane and stop giving council housing to teenage mothers. Things will start to change, these stop gap short term actions just piss off more of the vermin class riff raff. It solves nothing.

I disagreed that the family is not to be blamed for this. The mother did not raise her son right. She failed as a parent to instill any sense of morals or responsibility in that little hellraiser. She let him run the streets at any time of the day to cause mayhem and destruction on the livelihoods of innocent people. In short, she was a shitty parent that didn't instill any values in him.

Should she and her daughter be kicked out of the council home? No I wouldn't go that far, but she failed as a parent. Any sense of character, any sense of morality or responsibility is first instilled at home. That's where it starts first. The mother should not be absolved of any responsibility. And where the hell is the kid's father?

No, I disagree. It is not completely down to the family. It is a factor, but there are many other factors at play too. You cannot force a child to be good. Maybe you do your best as a parent, but if your child starts hanging out with other hoodlums, it isn't easy to reign back in control of your child. Not that's to say that is what happened, but it is one way for a child to become lost from your control.

You tackle wider social problems and you come down hard in those who directly go against what are consider to be the greater interests of society at large. Stick this kid in a gulag for a year, but leave the mother who did not riot alone.

And sure, where is the father? All AWOL fathers need to be held to account.

[Gandalf]

No, the government is getting it wrong and ignoring all the reasons behind why Britain is such a mess. Sure it might look good "Ooh, we are tough on rioters and those who raised people who would riot", but it's silly. The family are not to blame directly. Give the kid 2 years in prison and a prison without all the comforts that prisons have today. We need to be tough on crime once again and attacking extended family is not going about it in the right way.

Give police officers power, let teachers use a cane and stop giving council housing to teenage mothers. Things will start to change, these stop gap short term actions just piss off more of the vermin class riff raff. It solves nothing.

The "Government" got it wrong a long time ago by listening to all them bleeding heart do-gooders in the past and this is part of the results. Bring back corporal punishment and see if things don't change.

I agree, I think corporal punishment is a good idea.

[generalbulldog]

No, the government is getting it wrong and ignoring all the reasons behind why Britain is such a mess. Sure it might look good "Ooh, we are tough on rioters and those who raised people who would riot", but it's silly. The family are not to blame directly. Give the kid 2 years in prison and a prison without all the comforts that prisons have today. We need to be tough on crime once again and attacking extended family is not going about it in the right way.

Give police officers power, let teachers use a cane and stop giving council housing to teenage mothers. Things will start to change, these stop gap short term actions just piss off more of the vermin class riff raff. It solves nothing.

The "Government" got it wrong a long time ago by listening to all them bleeding heart do-gooders in the past and this is part of the results. Bring back corporal punishment and see if things don't change.

My parents were what you called "old school." They didn't tolerate any bullshit in the household. Didn't do our homework? Well here comes the cane and loss of privileges. Disrespecting our elders? 5 fingers across the face. I wanted a playstation game as a 16 year old? Get a summer job. Wanted a car? Get a job and at least pay for the insurance and they'll look into getting a used one. They also checked my grades along with my other siblings and what classes we were taking. Made sure we took AP classes, made sure we got on top of applying to the universities during our senior year of HS, etc. They also looked into who were our friends and whether or not they were good kids. They were very active in our lives. In short, they instilled morals and responsibilities in their kids. They didn't believe in all this time out bullshit that parents today are raising their kids. They didn't believe in letting the tv or internet or playstations raise their kids. Real old school.

Something that the bleeding hearts disagree with and believes that the parents are not to be held accountable for having a screw up kid. It's always someone else's fault, never the parents.

[Mark TKO]

i know what you are saying but times have changed. The playstation generation and internet age is upon us and it dominates their lives.

Was football on park in my day - matches that lasted six hours with breaks for lunch and tea.

And to be honest I bet you would ask many a parent now who would say they would rather have their kids inside on a playstation than outside and not worrying what they were up to or if they were ok etc..

Different times