Thornbury Flasher

By jmitchell27 | Tuesday, March 09, 2010, 20:30

Earlier this afternoon I came across the news that police are appealing to the public for any help they can provide in the hunt to find a man who has been exposing himself in Thornbury.

Should any of you wish to help, the Gazette had this to say about the offender:

"The man, who has been described as white, in his mid-20s, with a long, thin face and short fair hair, has been seen flashing to members of the public on at least four occasions in the town.

The incidents have taken place in the Gloucester Road and Beechacres area of the town. Police believe the man is using a small silver car."

If you have any information about these incidents you should call Avon and Somerset Police on 0845 456 7000.

That being said, what is your attitude to this story? Do you think flashing is a pre-cursor to worse crimes? Whatever you think, make sure you say it here.

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Comments

I always subscribed to the view that flashers, whilst causing distress and psychologial upset to some victims, were ineffectual men, who (1) were unlikely to come into close physical contact with the victims, (2) hoped for a fearful response, and (3) were more likely to run off, if challenged.

This Guardian article, which predates the Sexual Offences Act 2003, suggests that flashers "may, over time, branch out into more serious contact sex crimes, including rape" and "are also highly likely to become involved in crimes against children".
tinyurl.com/ye9ha9n

This post-Act BBC article shows that there are mixed views on whether flashing leads to worse criminal offences. However, I notice that the university professor, who argues against that possibility, is a man, and the criminologist, who advocates the idea, is a woman. That may be significant.
tinyurl.com/yc4qyu9

Whatever the criminology, I hope the offender gets caught.

By mwingereza at 12:53 on 12/03/10
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