Good news: Criminals are getting more stupid

I once quoted the Labour peer Bernard Donoughue on this blog:

"I am reminded that a senior detective inspector from Maidenhead once explained to me: "You have to understand that the root of this country's law and order problem is that our police are a lot thicker than the villains."

But it seems times have changed. From the Leicester Mercury:

A burglar was caught after dropping his prison release papers during a break-in – on the day he was freed from jail. ... 

Alan Murphy, prosecuting, said: "At the scene were Graham's prison papers and other documents, including his photograph, which he may have dropped. The police had a lead straight away."

And from the Lancashire Evening Post:

A fire-eating magician was found to have a stash of sick child abuse images after he accidentally handed over the evidence to police to help them with another inquiry.

Don't have nightmares.