Newly appointed Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has been told that the emergency early release plan could prevent prisons running out of space within weeks.
D.M.
Blogger: I am solidly opposed to this measure! As a Chairman of Magistrates I handed out carefully calculated sentences with my colleagues - only to see prisoners 'walk' before they had served only tiny portions of sentences for their appalling criminal acts.
Ironically, at this point - I contradict myself, (After all, the Tories broke their promises to build sufficient prisons and places must be made somehow.) and I would actually support this measure but only with these provisos:
1) Heinous crimes must never be included.
2) Only relatively minor criminals are to be released. Violence must always be excluded.
3) The third - and most important part of my strategy - would be a contract signed by the criminal to be released. S/he would sign a declaration that they agree to return to prison to serve out the full sentence with no hope of further paroles if fresh crimes are committed. In addition they would be given a stiff prison sentence to serve in full for any and all new offences.
I call this 'incentivised deterrence.'
4) There must be a 20 year moratorium on unmerited paroles once this has worked its way through.
5) Current weak sentencing must be removed from the system.
Fat chance! Labour will just dump criminals into our midst as they always have!
Please compare my way of seeing this problem solved to what 'dripping wet Keir' puts in place.
Perhaps he should be reminded of the recidivism rates in Singapore after judicial beatings. (They are minute - and countless prison places are simply not needed.)
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