Everyone knows how prison works in Monopoly, even if it's a rather shady practice. The Metropolitan Police have it in for landowners and landlords, and if you happen to be standing anywhere between Piccadilly and Regent Street which my London friends assure me is quite a large area you'll be locked up, judicial procedure be damned. Yet despite the questionable penal practices of London's finest, it's the conditions for release which rankle further. Simply put, being released from prison doesn't depend on whether you'd been rehabilitated, or whether you truly repented for your geography-based crimes. Instead, the whole parole board, probationary service and myriad psychological professionals seems to have been abandoned for a simple roll of the dice, and the chance of throwing a seven. Indeed, even if you failed three times in a row, you could instead pay £50 and step out of gaol a free man, taking your silvery dog or automobile with you. This raises troubling questions is this a general policy? After all, you've got to assume that you're not the only guy in prison there's usually all kinds of bad folk in there, in for all sorts of nasty crimes. Are they being treated with the same kid gloves as you? If so, owning property in the Big Smoke is probably the least of your worries. You should be more mindful of the lawlessness this version of London will soon be subjected to, because if throwing a seven or offering fifty big ones is enough to get you sprung, then you've got to assume there's all sorts of murderers and evil blokes are now stalking the streets. So owning Mayfair might be brilliant, but judging by the way the law works, there's always a chance a gang of particularly lucky released arsonists could burn it down. I imagine Monopoly London exists in a similar state to the 2011 riots, and it's entirely due to this bizarre policy.
Durham University graduate and qualified sports journalist. Very good at sitting down and watching things. Can multi-task this with playing computer games. Football Manager addict who has taken Shrewsbury Town to the summit of the Premier League.
You can follow me at @Ed_OwenUK, if you like ramblings about Newcastle United and A Place in the Sun. If you don't, I don't know what I can do for you.
