You're out of touch m'lud
The following letter was sent to the Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips who has today called for more convicted offenders to be given community service orders or probation instead of prison sentences.
Dear Lord Phillips
I am writing to express my disappointment that you have called for fewer convicted offenders to be imprisoned despite that fact that this is the only sentencing option which has any impact on offender behaviour.
You state that prisons are overcrowded, but the obvious solution is to build more prisons rather than allowing prisoners back onto the streets where they can continue to victimise innocent members of the public.
Our newspapers are awash with stories of violent murders and rapes, whilst “lesser” crimes such as burglary are so prevalent they rarely even make the local papers. One of the prime causes of the breakdown in law and order is that offenders know that they have only a 1 in 20 chance of being convicted, and that if they are convicted their punishment is likely to consist of a few hours a week on a community service order (if they can be bothered to show up) or a half hour chat every week with a probation officer. Meanwhile they are at liberty to continue committing offences and most of them do so.
The few who are imprisoned are unable to carry out offences whilst in prison but of course they know that their sentences will be automatically halved. Many are released before the half way point on a tag. This cavalier attitude towards sentencing has been encouraged by various governments, and senior members of the judiciary.
I would simply like to you know that there growing numbers of people feel that members of your profession are completely out of touch with the violent reality of today’s Britain, and unaccountable to the people whom they serve, and that this is something which must change.
Yours sincerely
David Davies
Dear Lord Phillips
I am writing to express my disappointment that you have called for fewer convicted offenders to be imprisoned despite that fact that this is the only sentencing option which has any impact on offender behaviour.
You state that prisons are overcrowded, but the obvious solution is to build more prisons rather than allowing prisoners back onto the streets where they can continue to victimise innocent members of the public.
Our newspapers are awash with stories of violent murders and rapes, whilst “lesser” crimes such as burglary are so prevalent they rarely even make the local papers. One of the prime causes of the breakdown in law and order is that offenders know that they have only a 1 in 20 chance of being convicted, and that if they are convicted their punishment is likely to consist of a few hours a week on a community service order (if they can be bothered to show up) or a half hour chat every week with a probation officer. Meanwhile they are at liberty to continue committing offences and most of them do so.
The few who are imprisoned are unable to carry out offences whilst in prison but of course they know that their sentences will be automatically halved. Many are released before the half way point on a tag. This cavalier attitude towards sentencing has been encouraged by various governments, and senior members of the judiciary.
I would simply like to you know that there growing numbers of people feel that members of your profession are completely out of touch with the violent reality of today’s Britain, and unaccountable to the people whom they serve, and that this is something which must change.
Yours sincerely
David Davies
posted by David Davies AM at 11:58 AM
3 Comments:
Will go along with that David but, will it make any difference.
I'm afraid, like a lot of people, that it is only time before I or someone I know is going to be a victim of modern society civilisation.
A ship is only as good as its captain - the UK doesn't even have a captain.
If the opposition got up, enmasse, on its hindlegs and started demanding change I feel sure that the majority of right thinking peole would back you.
Those that are not on benefits/unemployment or working for the civil service, that is.
Well said - and thank you.
Congratulations David, at last someone out there in the parallel universe that is politics has said something that most of us agree with. Frankly if there were a referendum on the death penalty tomorrow I would vote for it, I am simply disgusted with this country's ways of dealing with violent scumbags who know that they will probably only serve a third of their sentence, which is usually way too lenient anyway. If there isn't enough space in the prisons, then lets start a massive new prison building programme using the existing prison population as labour, working 24 hours a day 7 days a week in 12 hour shifts with only 30 minutes for a lunch break. That would really give them something to do and be a real punishment, not the 3-star accommodation they have with free TV and a gym. But will we ever find a politician willing to back such a programme? The ball is very much in the your party's court, David. If we have to, we should withdraw from Europe so we are no longer bound by the European Court of Human rights, which fails to see the human wrongs that are being widely committed and acts as a protector of terrorists and low lifes. It's about time politicians started talking about human wrongs, not human rights! As if terrorists and criminal low lifes give a damn about the human rights of their victims.
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