Responsible citizenry

When is breaking the law not an offence and offensive?
Much of the time if you look at the behaviour of many 'responsible law abiding' citizens.  At least that's what they'd like to think of themselves as.
Think traffic act speeding, parking on double yellows, cycling on pavements or without lights at night and you'll understand what I'm getting at.  This type of offence seems to be accepted as OK by many people, plus a fair number of police who think they've got better things to do.  the really surprising thing about these offences is that the perpetrators know full well that they're breaking the law but seem to indulge themselves in some form of doublethink that they're not criminals!  The job of the police is to enforce the laws as enacted by government.  In some of the above cases they seem to want to make the law and allow some of the offences to go unchallenged. Surely even if resource restraints prevent 100% effort to prosecute the above offences, there should be periodic crackdowns to remind everyone what the law says.  A bit of publicity in the local papers beforehand and there would be no need for warnings - immediate prosecution or fixed penalty fines should be the order of the day during a crackdown.
As always the best route is for individuals to willingly obey the law, but if individuals won't comply, enforcement is a necessity in any civilised community.  If any individual wants to make their own laws, they can't complain to the law when someone assaults them for doing something the other person doesn't like!

Another issue is ignorance of the law.  This indeed may apply to youngsters riding bikes on pavements when their parents say it's OK and the police fail to enforce or inform.
The particular issue I'm thinking of here however is public nudity.  Subject brought up on another forum I've been looking at.  It's not illegal to be naked in a public place.  How many people in England would agree with that statement.
"Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 it is not an offence to be naked in public in England and Wales. It becomes an offence if it can be proved the person stripped off with the intention to cause distress, alarm or outrage."  Quote from BBC news item.
I find that quite surprising and would expect to be arrested if I walked down the local street nude.  That word 'intention' in the causing alarm bit is very interesting - I wouldn't have thought anyone could walk down the street nude without realising it was very likely to cause offence and or alarm - it's just not done.

That's enough from me for now.  Today's issue in a nutshell is the difference in what the law says to the public perception of what's OK.