ONE MAN'S LOSING WAR ON CRIME

30-01-2007

John Reid wants another two and a half years to sort out the Home Office, but victims of crimewant solutions to rising lawlessness today. People like thisdisabled Black Country man who's become a victim of bullying by street thugs who've been causing havoc, unchecked, for years.

They were there again on Sunday at Michael Busse's house in Wednesbury. And the day before, too, tampering with his car just enough to set off the alarm before doing a runner.

At least it wasn't as bad as last Tuesday. That night his windscreen was smashed - the fourth time or fifth time in the last eight years. It's happened so often, he can't quite remember the precise number.

Now he's always got a couple of spare windscreens at the ready, given to him by mates in the motor trade. He says it'scheaper than paying the excess on his insurance and getting it replaced somewhere like Autoglass.

Oh, and he's also had three other windows in the vehicle smashed and, just for luck, four windows in his greenhouse - the most recent one last summer when a brick came sailing through the air from the nearby street.

Those responsible, he reckons, are a group of 10 to 15 teenagers, running amok in Wednesbury, committinglow level crimes and spray painting or tagging their names on any available wall.

He's even given the police the name of a suspected ringleader, but so far as he's aware, there's been no follow-up

Michael, who's single, doesn't know why he's being picked on, but reckons it's simply because he has a medical condition which means that he has to take oxygen 15 hours a day.

“There are cars outside every house in the street, some even have two cars, but it's my car they go for every time. Why would that be? I'm handicapped, so they know I can't run after them” he says.

Hehas, of course, rung the police but claims Sunday's reaction was typical: “They told me they couldn't come out straight away, and by the time they got here my mate had already fitted the new windscreen.

"It wasn't a quick job either. By the time I called him andhe finished the job it was well over two hours.

“One officer I spoke to said that they've got so much work on and there's so much paperwork involved they don't want to know.”

On this occasion,Michael didn't ever bother taking a crime number; as he's not claiming on his insurance there's no point he says, but of course that also means the vandalism inflicted on his car doesn't officially exist.

He's tried getting the local anti-social behaviour unit involved, but can't provide them with the level of proof they need to take action, leaving him depressed, vulnerable and anxious.

It's not a happy tale and no one individual or agency is to blame - but this is daily life for one unfortunate man in modern-day Britain. And byJohn Reid's admission, it's not going to improve any time soon.

The saddest thing of all isMichael's air of resignation: "I'm a victim, and I've just got to accept it. That seems to be the attitude."