Tuesday 31 May 2011

My Heart Bleeds For Them, Rob…

Rob Owen (chief executive of the St Giles Trust) disagrees with the conclusions drawn over the re-offending rates for short-term prisoners:
Our charity works on the frontline with prison leavers, offering practical support and training opportunities. Short-sentence prisoners are unable to access the same level of support as those with longer sentences and are often released homeless, mentally distressed and with very little money to survive on.
Prison is supposed to be a punishment, you know. It’s not supposed to set you up for life. Might I suggest the old answer, ‘Don’t get sent there in the first place!’..?
Obviously no one should be soft on crime and the public are understandably very fearful about becoming victims of it. But these services prevent thousands of unnecessary future victims.
So you claim. They also keep many people – like yourself - in employment.

Now, please try and tell me that’s not a factor in your pleading, so I can laugh in your face.
The article states: "Clarke said both prison and non-custodial sentences needed to do much more to address the underlying causes of crime, such as drugs and mental illness."

One man we helped had more than 80 convictions and had been in and out of prison for much of his adult life; when he was last released, more than 18 months ago, we supported him to get proper housing and address his drug problems. Today he is resettled and a much valued, highly effective staff member at our trust, helping hundreds of other prison leavers make a similar transition.
One swallow doth not make a summer, yet it seems one anecdote doth indeed make data…

5 comments:

Bucko said...

I must admit that if I was put in prison I would be

"released homeless, mentally distressed and with very little money to survive on."

Hence, I don't mug people and stuff...

Captain Haddock said...

"One man we helped had more than 80 convictions and had been in and out of prison for much of his adult life; when he was last released, more than 18 months ago, we supported him to get proper housing and address his drug problems. Today he is resettled and a much valued, highly effective staff member at our trust, helping hundreds of other prison leavers make a similar transition" ...


Ahh .. so rather than admit that this recidivist scrote & all round waste of DNA is totally unemployable in the real world .. you take him on as a member of staff .. And into the bargain, you're doing the rest of us a huge favour ?

Just do one Mr Owen .. and take the rest of your mealy-mouthed, bleeding-heart, do-gooder type mates with you ..

You won't be missed ...

Single Acts of Tyranny said...

I have to agree, the one place I can probably stand to see tax money spent is jail. Eighty convictions is nonsense. If you are sent to jail for the third time then you've had enough chances. The only way out for such a person is feet-first I'm afraid.

English Viking said...

Mandatory sentencing is both fair, easy to implement and has a deterrent effect in that an offender KNOWS, with utter certainty, exactly what his/her punishment will be if convicted. It also does away with all the pre-sentencing, probation reports, psycho-quackery and hand-stroking, and disparities in sentencing between the same crimes in different areas or with different offenders (which is vast).

Destroy a bus-shelter worth 5000 quid? You pay for its replacement, plus a suitable punishment on top. Can't afford it? Tough. Take the next 20 years to pay it off, with interest, but pay it off you will. Vandalise a 250,000 quid Ferrari - take 50 years to pay it off then.

Escalators should also be used. First offence of burglary? 1 year. 2nd offence? 2years. 3rd offence? 4 years. 4th offence? 8 years, etc, etc.

NO ifs, buts or maybes. Implement the above and repeat offenders will either stop offending or spend their entire life behind bars, which I am more than happy to pay for in my taxes.

JuliaM said...

"Hence, I don't mug people and stuff..."

Indeed!

"And into the bargain, you're doing the rest of us a huge favour ?"

And helping himself feel even more Righteous for doing it.

"I have to agree, the one place I can probably stand to see tax money spent is jail."

Agreed. I don't mind the cost of jails one little bit. I certainly don't think the residents should have a better time in them than our sick and elderly have in hospital, though...

"Implement the above and repeat offenders will either stop offending or spend their entire life behind bars, which I am more than happy to pay for in my taxes."

Ditto! Hell, I'll pay more...