Page 170 - Once a copper 10 03 2020

Justice must be seen to work for the victim and society but should also be fair
to the offender as far as punishment is concerned. In my view, there have
been too many miscarriages at the maximum and minimum ends of
custodial sentencing down the years, right up to the present day.

Any views I may express are mine alone and not necessarily representative of
any other police officer or organisation.

Here then, on the pages that follow, are a couple of the more significant
events and their perpetrators that influenced my career choice, at the same
time etching their presence in criminal folklore.

Referred to at the time as ‘The Crime of The Century’ due to the enormity of
the haul and the audacity of the perpetrators. The Great Train Robbery (GTR)
was the robbery of £2,631,684 from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow
to London on the West Coast Main Line in the early hours of 8 August 1963, at
Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn, near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire,
England. In other words, £2,631,684 in 1963 is equivalent in purchasing power
to about £54,652,378.04 in 2019.

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