Lawbreakers should no longer be branded offenders because the term is “insulting”, a leading criminal justice campaigner said today.Well, clearly we wouldn’t want to do that…
Frances Crook, head of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said the phrase demeaned criminals and hindered their rehabilitation.
She said it was “easy” for politicians to treat some sections of society as “other” and less than human.Really? What if they do it over and over and over again?
“Someone who commits an offence is not an offender, they are someone who has done something. The action does not define the whole person,” she wrote in the journal Criminal Justice Matters.
You have heard of repeat offenders, haven’t you?
Professor Mike Nellis, of the University of Strathclyde, said “offender” became popular in the Sixties as an alternative to criminal and delinquent.That slippery slope in action, folks…
“Treating people with respect and dignity regardless of what they have done, and finding words to match, is always important but not necessarily straightforward,” he said.Only some people seem to be regarded as worth treating with respect and dignity though, don’t you find?
16 comments:
Perhaps Frances Crook should think about changing her name, too...
You know, this stupid woman probably thinks that Hitler and Stalin were a couple of michievous boys who were misundertood and in no way deserve to go down in history tagged as two of the biggest tyrannical mass murderers ever.
I wonder how we should describe the Tunisian puppy batterer in terms that will aid him to repent of his ways? Evil shitbag works for me. Let's hope any wife unfortunate enough to be married to him never gets to see the knuckled fist side of an off day...
...and smokers?
Presumably she thinks smokers shouldn't be denormalised then...since it's grossly offensive.
"Someone who commits an offence is not an offender"
Well that sort of depends on your view of the English language, logic, reality and minor things like that.
Andy H,
I didn't see that. That is priceless.
Lynne,
Looking at the effete-looking swine I suspect any woman worth her salt could deck him. Although seeing as I live in the Manchester area... Assuming you are CCinZ's Lynne (and you are) please do name URL and make yourself clickable. It gets us hits and that means you get hits. I mean good hits, not what's coming to the Manc puppy beater. I would have sent him down and ensured his cell-mate was a guy called "Mental" Dave who was doing a seven stretch for armed robbery and really, really missed his Rottie. You know why? Because it reminded me of that Saudi princeling who beat to death his boyfriend/sex-slave in London. It is the same mentality. Of course that princeling might on release seeky asylum because the Saudis might off him not for the killing but the sodomy. We are a long way down the rabbit hole, Alice!
repeat offenders
You mean a repeat someone who has done something, surely?
I rather like the Roman system of literally branding criminals, criminals.
Professor Mike Nellis, of the University of Strathclyde, said “offender” became popular in the Sixties as an alternative to criminal and delinquent.
Ja, at the behest of your sort of scum, Nellis. Those that were youre "Proffessors" used the same argument then as YOU are using now.
Pretty long term plan this, isn't it, scumbag?
Reply notification would be nice.
Not dissimilar to the logic that saw NATO change the colours for exercises. Out with Blue (The Good Guys) and Red (The Enemy) and changed to Blue and Orange. Apparently it is OK to train to fight anf kill said Red Hordes but referring to them as Red may hurt theur feelings.
Today Warders must refer to Prisoners (Customers?) as Mr because the poor little dears are so traumatised at being caught. Presumably victims will be imprisoned for violating the Yooman Rites of offenders by visciously having property to steal. Truly the World has gone to Hell in a Handbasket.
TTFN :)
What pragmatism marks foolish, generosity may label 'pushing boundaries'.
'Offender' is not the correct term for a law-breaker.
The correct term is, and always will be, 'criminal'.
So, 'criminal scum' it is then.
We had a 'right on' Senior Officer called Darbyshire who objected to the fact that his 'PC aware' trainee PCs were going on to division and learning the 'bad names' for offenders from the experienced PCs.
An order went out stating that offenders were not to be called scrotes, shits, scum etc.
This was the 1980s however and encouraged by the other Senior Officers, the scrotes, shits, scum were all renamed 'Darbyshires' in honour of the author.
This nick name even appeared on official reports and he never lived it down.
Just a cotton-picking minute... If there are no 'offenders' any more then (*grins*) people cannot be 'offended.'
Yay... those who scream they are so 'offended' can no longer be so, because the offender is just someone who has been wrongly labelled.
That will put a sock in the wails from a number of the vociferous minorities...
"...and in no way deserve to go down in history tagged as two of the biggest tyrannical mass murderers ever."
I wouldn't be at all surprised...
"Presumably she thinks smokers shouldn't be denormalised then...since it's grossly offensive."
Oh, that's not fair, turning their own reasoning on them like that! ;)
"You mean a repeat someone who has done something, surely?"
Yeah, it's not going to make for shorter news articles, is it?
"I rather like the Roman system of literally branding criminals, criminals."
Most of them seem to have done a pretty good job of branding themselves, at their own expense!
"Not dissimilar to the logic that saw NATO change the colours for exercises. Out with Blue (The Good Guys) and Red (The Enemy) and changed to Blue and Orange. Apparently it is OK to train to fight anf kill said Red Hordes but referring to them as Red may hurt theur feelings."
/facepalm
"An order went out stating that offenders were not to be called scrotes, shits, scum etc.
This was the 1980s however and encouraged by the other Senior Officers, the scrotes, shits, scum were all renamed 'Darbyshires' in honour of the author."
Brilliant! :)
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