Wednesday 30 December 2009

Just How Gullible Do They Think We Are?

It's usually the case, when people argue for harsher sentences for criminals, or even the death penalty, that left wingers and bleeding hearts sneer that most crime is opportunistic, or spur-of-the-moment, or committed by the mentally unstable who are unable to plan ahead or recognise the consequences of their actions, and so therefore this would have little or no deterrent effect.

So, how come we are now supposed to believe that being forced to give up smoking while in prison does have a deterrent effect?
A brand new prison is taking credit for the plummeting crime rate in the Isle of Man.

But it is not the fear of being locked up that is making criminals think twice before stealing, fighting or trading in drugs.

The prospect of being forced to give up smoking is apparently far more frightening.
Yes, this is Europe's first non-smoking prison:
The £42million jail, which opened last year, is Europe's only non-smoking prison.

Inmates and guards are not allowed to smoke either in or outside the buildings.

With just under 100 prisoners, there is plenty of room for more, with at least 40 cells empty.
A jail with empty cells? Ship a few over from the mainland then!

But is it really the smoking ban that does it?
The crime rate on the Isle of Man was already low, with experts saying it is down to 'low unemployment and high community spirit', but also that the criminal justice system takes a hard line on crimes, with even small crimes often resulting in imprisonment.
It couldn't possibly be that, could it?

Nah, must be the smoking ban. Just another nail in the coffin from BigGov in the relentless drive to portray smokers as the devil incarnate...

H/T
: Dick Puddlecote

11 comments:

Ross said...

The other aspect is that we are constantly told that smoking bans haven't harmed pubs and clubs, yet we are supposed to believe that it will deter criminals where a ban hasn't deterred pub goers.

Kin_Free said...

What struck me immediately was that this is obviously the pilot scheme for the (non-smoking) prison service.

They pick the newest prison with the best security available, keep it half empty and stocked with what will probably be the most placid inmates who are the least likely to 'kick off'. Then hold it up as glowing proof that making prisons non-smoking has no downside, with no riots or resultant injuries to wardens, damage to property etc..... That the tax payer will ultimately get the bill for.

This is meant to convince prison governors, MP's etc to embark on their own non-smoking policy in their own, more volatile, prisons, safe in the knowledge that it is easily done.

It is just another anti-smoker deception aimed at gullible officials . I hope they fall for it and I hope the inmates react the way I would expect them to. I just have sympathy with those prison warders at the sharp end of the stick who will have to deal with the fallout!

Mark Wadsworth said...

Er ... "very".

You have to ask?

David Gillies said...

They can't even keep heroin out of prisons, let alone tobacco. Rank stupidity.

Leg-iron said...

Well, all criminals are smokers. Or is that 'all smokers are criminals'?

It could be overturned by the Yooman Rites with a bit of imagination. If someone is sentenced to life imprisonment, then ensuring they live longer is cruel and unusual punishment.

I can't wait until they try this on Peterhead. There won't be one stome left standing on another.

English Viking said...

Mrs Predator,

Sorry to naysay, but I, in my youth (1988), was a resident in one of Her Majesty's hotels, HMP Werrington near Stoke, as a result of giving someone who attacked me a jolly good thrashing (that he was a Police Officer was probably the thing that did for me).

Numerous inmates 'lost days' (had days added to their sentence) for possession of tobacco, which was strictly forbidden, unless, of course, you had purchased it from one of the Screws.

Anonymous said...

In a word... VERY

JuliaM said...

"The other aspect is that we are constantly told that smoking bans haven't harmed pubs and clubs, yet we are supposed to believe that it will deter criminals where a ban hasn't deterred pub goers."

Indeed!

"They pick the newest prison with the best security available, keep it half empty and stocked with what will probably be the most placid inmates who are the least likely to 'kick off'. Then hold it up as glowing proof that making prisons non-smoking has no downside..."

Why, that's positively Machiavellian! Are they that smart?

"They can't even keep heroin out of prisons, let alone tobacco."

Check out Inspector Gadget's bottom concealment thread for an idea of how easy it is to miss some surprisingly large objects in even the most thorough search!

"It could be overturned by the Yooman Rites with a bit of imagination."

That'll be interesting to watch!

JuliaM said...

"Numerous inmates 'lost days' (had days added to their sentence) for possession of tobacco, which was strictly forbidden, unless, of course, you had purchased it from one of the Screws."

Maybe that's why they've extended it to staff too? Perhaps they too will be stuffing rolling tobacco up their you-know-where along with the inmates... ;)

banned said...

I have it from a serving Prison Officer that Wardens routinely conive in allowing the smuggling of 'soft' drugs into prisons because it keeps the inmates quiet. Now and again they bust someone who is not playing the game properly just to impressHM Inspecorate and get in the local newspaper.

No way will middle managers or coal-face staff support a tobacco ban.

Kin_Free said...

Machiavellian:
(Adjective)

1 cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous, esp. in politics or in advancing one's career.
2 of or relating to Niccolò Machiavelli.

Devious, cunning, crafty, artful, wily, sly, scheming, treacherous, two-faced, tricky, double-dealing, unscrupulous, deceitful, dishonest; literary perfidious; ANTONYMS straightforward, ingenuous.

(Noun)
a person who schemes in such a way.

Absolutely, and more!

But anti-smokers, wherever they may operate, should not be underestimated.They may typically be nut-jobs, fanatics and self-serving tw*ts but they are not stupid.