Legal Clanger Rants Again

[major_clanger]

Right, since I've spent most of the last week revising Criminal Law, I feel entitled to pass less than complimentary comment on this story in The Telegraph:

Recovering drug addict walks free from court after 145 crimes

Yes, it's that phrase beloved of headline writers when discussing the imposition of anything other than a custodial sentence: 'Walked free'.

Now, I don't know what your definition of 'free' is. But mine does not include being subject to a 10pm to 7am home curfew (which, although the report doesn't mention this, will almost certainly be enforced via electronic tagging). It doesn't involve being required to attend 30 days' worth of training over the next two years, i.e. a day every three weeks on average. It doesn't include regular drugs tests. And it certainly doesn't include the threat of being sentenced to prison if I fail to meet any one of these requirements.

Community sentences, and indeed suspended sentences (which since 2003 can and often do incorporate community punishment as a condition) are punishments. Anyone who thinks otherwise would presumably be happy to undertake one voluntarily, including getting the consequent criminal record. This is just another example of the puerile scare-mongering that is used to whip the public up into a frenzy of believing that crime goes unpunished, and so more offences and harsher sentences are needed.

Mr Weaver has done what the criminal justice system asked of him: he has shown he has at least some capacity for rehabilitation outside of custody, and so is being given the chance to continue to prove this for another two years. In doing so, he has freed up a space in our 99.9% full prison system, and so arguably prevented a more serious offender from being given extra-early release just to make room for another new prisoner.

Most fatuous comment? Tory MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown questioned Judge Picton's first decision to defer sentence saying the rehabilitation could have taken place behind bars. Ah yes, prison, that well-known drug-free environment.

Comments

[time-freak.livejournal.com]

You make a very good point.

[pjc50.livejournal.com]

The weird thing is that "getting a criminal record" is really the most frightening punishment, especially with the rise of CRB checks (both mandatory and voluntary).

Going unpunished is not so much the issue as going uncaught and unprosecuted. He managed to rack up a lot of offences to be taken into consideration before he got to this point, whereas if he'd come to court sooner that would be less of an issue.

[(Anonymous)]

That's assuming he actually committed all of the TIC offences of course. Since it's to the benefit of the police (who improve their clear-up rates) for the criminal to confess to every unsolved crime of equivalent magnitude in the area, I'm never sure whether the police can be trusted to diligently check, rather than encourage the criminal to take the credit for even the ones they didn't do.

Paul T

[fivemack.livejournal.com]

What is the benefit to the criminal of confessing to a TIC?

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Because whilst it is legally possible to be subsequently charged for an offence that has been TIC, in practice this never, ever happens. Since the increase to an offender's sentence is usually relatively minor, it is much more attractive therefore to take the additional punishment and wipe the slate clean rather than risk the offence being prosecuted in future.

[timill]

I think you underestimate how full the prison system is...

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm slightly overstating it. Last week, the UK prison system had an operational capacity of 84,752 places and held 81,751 prisoners, so it was 96.46% full. Full stats here.

[orangemike.livejournal.com]

The fatuous Tory MP (but then, I repeat myself) is of course ignoring the lack of facilities and personnel for rehabilitation in prisons, because of budget-slashing encouraged by him, his co-partisans, and their allies among New "Labour".

[cairmen.livejournal.com]

Great post. Very interesting and well-put.

I'd like to see all your points above made loudly, forcefully and often.