The Video Ref wrote:
Probably substantially more than you think.
Next time you are out and about in a large city, might a suggest a visit to the local magistrates' court for some light entertainment?
It's a never-ending procession of people admitting guilt to low-level offences, then asking to pay the fine at £7 a fortnight because they don't work and are on benefits. And 50% of all fines go unpaid.
Your problem there is that like some police officer friends of mine your daily life is immersed in a sub-culture of just one element of real life, so much so that you end up believing that this is normality and lose sight of the fact that you are looking down a microscope into a petri dish full of the crappiest examples of life, lift your head and look around and you'll see that "normality" is VERY different.
Police Officers, court officials, solicitors specialising in criminal law, the Daily Mail and The Express - all guilty of believing that the lowest common denominator is the norm.
