Criminals Surrender After World Cup Ultimatum
　
        Soccer-mad criminals have been turning themselves in to British police stations in the hope of completing a short jail sentence in time to watch the World Cup, British newspapers reported on Friday.

        In 'Operation Red Card', police in Hertfordshire, north of London, sent a simple message to defendants who have been failing to turn up in court: surrender now or spend the World Cup in a police cell with no television, according to the Evening Standard newspaper.

        "One man even turned up to court with his bag packed, expecting a short spell in prison," it quoted Hertfordshire's Sergeant Nigel Eastaugh as saying.

        "No doubt he wanted to get his sentence over and done with to make sure he would be free again in time for the World Cup," he added.

        The paper said the 296 letters sent to offenders' last known addresses had resulted in 17 people walking into local police stations to face charges such as assault and theft, while 10 had turned up for court hearings.

        But criminals who are not soccer fans are not safe. Eastaugh said that as a result of the mailing, police had received 60 tip-offs on the whereabouts of other offenders who would be rounded up in the coming weeks.
　
　
英国罪犯为世界杯疯狂，开赛之前纷纷投案自首
　
        英国媒体5月17日报道说，在世界杯即将开赛之际，英国的许多罪犯出于对足球的狂热，纷纷赶在开赛前到警察局投案自首，以争取宽大处理，缩短监禁时间，还能赶得及回家观看比赛。

        据《伦敦晚报》报道，伦敦北部的赫特福德郡警察局向那些仍未自首的罪犯发出警告：要么现在就投案，要么就在监狱中"迎接"世界杯，而在此期间，监狱是不会提供电视的。

        该报还报道了警官奈杰尔讲述的一件事情，他说："甚至有一个男人带了他的行李前来自首。"

        奈杰尔补充说："毫无疑问他希望自己的宣判能够尽快结束，这样他就能及时赶上观看世界杯了。"

        报纸称，警局共发出了296封律师信，已有17人前往当地警局自首，由于他们都是由于斗殴或偷窃被捕，因此他们只需交纳罚金；而有另外10人则在等候法庭传唤。

        至于对付另外一些不是球迷的罪犯，就没有那么宽容了。奈杰尔警官说，警方已经得到了60封关于其他一些罪犯的落脚处的密报，将在以后几个星期中开展围捕行动。