Is One Kind of Crime Better Than Another?

BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Drive to tackle homophobic crime The Brits are going to "address" homophobic hate crimes, which is probably a good thing. Encouraging victims to report crime. Setting up guidelines for the authorities for dealing with it.

But there was one statement that I think is insane.

"Any form of crime motivated by prejudice or hate is unacceptable," [Home Office minister Tony] McNulty said.

So is crime motivated by anything else acceptable? Would crime motivated by revenge be OK? How about simple greed as a motivation?

Of course there are a whole raft of crimes - including things like simple assault and burglary - that the Brits don't think are too bad. Just warnings and the infamous Anti-social Behavior Order (ASBO). That is they do nothing about those crimes. So maybe they are acceptable.