Jason

Jason is a serial offender. Nothing violent really, just a boring string of public order and driving offences, followed as the night follows the day by offences of Driving While Disqualified.

He came in front of us for his fifth Drive Disqual. The technical term for this is Taking the Piss. According to the defence brief he was studiously obeying his ban when his girlfriend suffered an emergency bit of illness and Jason, a caring type, drove her to hospital. A Police patrol spotted him, and a chase ensued. He abandoned the car and after a chase on foot the officers dragged him down from the wall he was in the process of climbing. He said "Oh no, if you do me for this I'll just go down again". The prosecutor then said that the reason for Jason being stopped was that members of the public had called the police because somebody was driving like a prat around the local council estate, with handbrake turns, doughnutting, and all.... guess who?

We bowed to the inevitable, and I had the job of telling Jason that he was going inside for five months. He wasn't at all surprised, but as security went to take him down they fumbled with the keys - he shouldered them aside and was off like a gazelle, his mother screaming "No, Jason!" from the gallery.

He was pursued by one of the guards, whom he punched, then burst through the courthouse door and was away. As I left half an hour later the helicopter and the dog vans were busy, but it was about ten weeks later that he was captured a hundred miles to the West. Ironically, he was caught on the very day on which he would have been released had he not escaped.

So he is still inside now, what with Being Unlawfully at Large, Criminal Damage, and Assault to add to his sheet.

We decided later that the quick thinking and action that he displayed would have won him a medal on the field of battle or on a sports field - what a waste.