Apparently my facetious suggestion re: hoodies and CCTV made more sense than I thought. Tuesday’s Daily Telegraph blames hoodies on “Big Brother”. I was expecting an anti-Channel 4 rant, but it’s Big Brother in the 1984 sense.

This is the usual law of unintended consequences. Just as the increasing sophistication of home-security systems has led burglars to conclude that it’s easier to wait till you’re in, knock on the door and punch you in the face, so the ever-present 24-hour surveillance devices have ensured that, even if you get a look at your assailant, you’ll never be able to pick him out of a police line-up. “Er, well, he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, officer.” “Did the shadow on his upper chest indicate any other features, such as the length of his nose?” “It might have, but I couldn’t tell, as the sweatshirt was black.” “Hmm. A black sweatshirt. Well, that narrows it down a bit.”