You know how a lot of people have been bent out of shape because of the Patriot Act and their fear that Uncle Sam is becoming Big Brother?  Well, maybe it’s because they fear that we’re going to become a society that allows something like what happened recently in the UK to happen here. Excerpt is from the Daily Mail article:

To the 12-year-old friends planning to build themselves a den, the cherry tree seemed an inviting source of material.

But the afternoon adventure turned into a frightening ordeal for
Sam Cannon, Amy Higgins and Katy Smith after they climbed into the 20ft
tree – then found themselves hauled into a police station and locked in
cells for up to two hours.

Their shoes were removed and mugshots, DNA samples and mouth swabs were taken.

Officers told the children they had been seen damaging the tree which is in a wooded area of public land near their homes.

Questioned by police, the scared friends admitted they had
broken some loose branches because they had wanted to build a tree
house, but said they did not realise what they had done was wrong.

Officers considered charging the children with criminal damage
but eventually decided a reprimand – the equivalent of a caution for
juveniles – was sufficient.

Although the reprimand does not amount to court action and the children do not have a criminal record, their details will be kept on file for up to five years.