All sounds good to me, do you think we need to be harder on crimes, or is this the wrong way to go?
Mandatory life sentences will for the first time be extended to crimes other than murder under plans set out by Justice Secretary Ken Clarke.
Anyone convicted of a second serious sexual or violent crime in England and Wales would get an automatic life term.
A new offence for 16 and 17-year-olds of threatening with a knife would also carry a mandatory custodial term.
whether right or wrong way to go, lets see the details rather than the announcement shall we ?
Oh and how is Ken Clarke actually going to deliver given that the prison budgets have been cut, we have overcrowding already, and they were talking about releasing more from prison early with tags, etc. so as to make space.
Not sure increasing the numbers they want to put away for longer when they don't have the physical places to actually put them will work.
so lets see the details of how they'll manage this headline/conjuring trick
Before we apply life sentences to more crimes let's make the existing life sentence mean life. I'll accept letting them out when they are blind, deaf, crippled and incontinent.
As for getting tough on youngsters with knives - how will sending them to establishments where they will learn to act 'harder', to resent authority even more (if that's possible) and how to commit even more crimes help us?
Such youngsters (the ones already on the path to self-destruction) need to be controlled, taught how to live properly and that life comes with responsibilities as well as rights. And that teaching should be strong, consistent and hands-on.
Another totally stupid idea. All crimes are different, and the whole idea of a judge is he listens to all that is said, and if found guilty he has a range of measures that he can give to suit. An extreme example of this, was a freind of mine that came back and found his wife in bed with another guy. He ( I think understandably ) lost his rag, and beat the guy up. He was charged and found guilty of Grevious Bodily Harm. Now I do not condone violence under any circumstances, but I can understand there were mitigateing circumstances. Are you now going to class him with exactly same sentance as the guy that has a few to many pints..and decides to have a fight and glass a few innocent people in the pub !! Judges must keep the freedom to adjust sentanceing within guideleines.
Tougher sentancing has never and never will reduce crime. All it serves as, is as a punishment. Now what would really detour a criminal is a higher detection rate. Why think of the sentance if you don't think, you going to get caught !!
Yet more shit from the goverment.
How about enforcing the laws that already exist.
I don't see much evidence of life sentances being given out at all, the bulger boys - out and committing child related crimes again and so many others doing the same, why call it life when it is 20 years with time off for obeying the rules.
Life sentance should be life as it is in the USA and other countries, multiple life sentances should be made to run concurrent when sentancing ie 3 life sentances means no matter what rules you obey you will never get out.
Not enough space in Prison, they didn't say that when I was jailed for not paying my TV Licence (I didn't live in this country at the time and was convicted in my absence)
Anyway just build more prisons, we have a vast amount of funds to do it, take some money from the benefits budget (not needed because there will be a lot of staff jobs available for some unemployed) take some more from the Police and Law Courts Budgets (not needed because a very high % of money spent on catching and convicting people is spent on re-offenders, so if we locked them away for longer they wouldn't be re-offending)
Stop giving them time off for good behaviour to keep them in order, give them a longer time in prison if they are not well behaved.
A cousin of mine serving a long sentance for armed robbery was given more than half of his sentance off for good behaviour, however he was refused early release on probation, obviously they didn't think he was ready to rejoin society, but hang on, he was allowed day release every weekend ? oh yes that is when the cells are needed for the weekenders.
Stop paying prisoners for menial jobs in prisons and pay them to learn a trade and to produce things used by the prison like food in prison gardens (the rate of pay for a prisoner opting to clean a prison is higher than the rate of pay for a prisoner choosing to education like computor courses or reading, writing etc) Stop buying more expensive Halal meat for all prisoners just so you can cater for the lesser % of muslims in prisons, give them the option .... standard meat or the vegetarian option given to vegetarians, Jews (no pork) Sikhs (no beef) etc.
I openly admit that I have not read the Magna Carta, or any of it's updates (I assume that if the Magna Carta is relevant it has been updated to include crimes such as)
Using the drug
Internet fraud
Internet hacking
Identity theft
Bank Fraud
Piracy
Copyright fraud
Electricution
To name but a few crimes
What does the Magna Carta say about Using drugs to commit a crime ?
Then we are both diversifying because I said we need to think more about victims rights and not how well we treat prisoners notwithstanding that basic human rights should be observed.
I like to think about every humans right..........not just some
Dave_Notts
And can I just point out that it was not me that first quoted the Magna Carta and the Human Rights Act as being the be all and end all of the question. It was quoted to me as the final solution only then to be told that even between the two of them not all aspects are covered which is exactly what I said in the first place when I said we need to cover the rights of victims before we worry too much about the rights of those who refuse to live by the laws of the land.
