A report has just been released by the Centre for Crime Prevention which provides some interesting statistics supporting the notion that our justice system is failing to tackle persistent offenders. A notion that many police bloggers have been singing from the rooftop for years.
For example, their report highlights that in 2011/12, 65% of offenders who had 10 or more previous convictions and who were convicted of a serious offence, received a non custodial sentence. That was 91,032 offenders who should probably have been jailed that were not.
Worse still, for the same period, if we look at offenders with 15 or more previous convictions, 63% of them received a non custodial sentence. That was 68,100 offenders.
Some may try and argue that crime is reducing and so non custodial sentences are working. Other figures show this to be complete nonsense and supports the view of myself and many other bloggers that the number of persistent offenders is an ever growing problem who treat the criminal justice system with contempt.
In 2006/07 there were 81,204 offenders with 15 or more previous convictions. By 2011/12 this had risen to 108,119. For the same period the number of offenders with at least 10 previous convictions rose from 112,956 to 140,196.
In other figures, the Home Office has admitted that the police are now fighting more than 7500 criminal gangs consisting of more than 30,000 offenders. This figure is a tenfold increase on the estimated figures of ten years ago.
Part of this problem has been brought about by immigration policy. A significant part of the problem is the ever growing 'underclass' whom I have previously discussed at length. The most significant part of the problem is the complete failure of our justice system to deal with persistent offenders effectively. They just keep on offending. The police are obviously catching thousands of them every year but they walk out the door of the court to carry on offending.
One of David Cameron's advisers, MP Claire Perry, made comments in an interview with the Spectator recently mentioning the problem of 'feckless heterosexuals' having lots of children and dads not being involved in their lives. (Her comment is near the bottom of the link in the third to last paragraph in italics) These days you have to be a brave politician to even say such a thing. Unfortunately, we just seem to have become too liberal to actually address the problem.
"The most significant part of the problem is the complete failure of our justice system to deal with persistent offenders effectively. They just keep on offending."
ReplyDeleteLet us not anticipate accounts of lawyers reduced to tears, surprised...or even sympathetic. It seems reasonable that the super-wads of income required to maintain a crewed yacht and public school progeny, must either be stolen or furnished indirectly by offenders who 'just keep on offending'. And who better to assist early release for that very purpose?
Setting the many red herrings aside for a moment (and there are many) I suggest the legal profession is the principal Architect in the shambles or indicted on the lesser charge of being part of the crime problem rather than its solution.
Do not conflate fear born of vindictiveness with justice.
ReplyDeleteRehill-isn't every person in prison a political prisoner? Just asking!!
ReplyDeleteJaded
A 30,000 strong legion of men is nothing less than an army.
ReplyDeleteand an army not bound by rules of engagement or battlefield conduct and where their opponents, largely, are innocent, weaponless and unaware.
Something has to change....
http://youtu.be/GBbZA0ZQF6I
ReplyDeleteInteresting set of stats Lex, cheers for the links.
ReplyDeleteThe worrying thing about organised criminal gangs in this era of cuts is that if you don't investigate organised gangs then you don't have an organised gang problem.
Instead we are going to see a concentration on the symptoms of those gangs - burglary and robbery - rather than the causes. Still as long as the revolving door justice system gives the footsoldiers repeated "one last chance"'s then we won't see much of a reduction in them either.
(Obviously drugs crime won't get a look in either because if you don't lock up drug dealers - you don't have a drugs problem)
Congratulations on escaping when you did with your pension intact.
I would head for the (non-UK) hills ;-)
Tang0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak7J3AOElXk
ReplyDelete" MP Claire Perry, made comments in an interview with the Spectator recently mentioning the problem of 'feckless heterosexuals' having lots of children and dads not being involved in their lives"
ReplyDeleteCould the benefits system have something to do with it?
The benefits system, housing allocation and lack of peer pressure are all part of the problem.
ReplyDeleteWe reward feckless, irresponsible behaviour. Our liberal infested society means that we are no longer allowed to criticise this behaviour despite the fact that we have to pay for it.
The word justice means that we should treat the person who involved in any kind of crime equally whether he/she is a rich or a poor, a common man or a government employee. We should not give any kind of relaxation to the rich people or even to government employee. If he/she is involved in crime we have to treat them equally and punished them according to systematical rules and regulation. That is the right way to overcome from the failing of justice.
ReplyDelete