Archive for the ‘Sentencing’ Category

Less crime, safer communities, fewer people in prison

We have launched our new campaign, which you can find by visiting our website.В  Please take two minutes to take action for the Howard League and help us put penal reform at the top of the political agenda during the general election and beyond.

March 5, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Campaigns, Children and young people, Government policy, Howard League, Overcrowding, Prisons, Public Services, Rehabilitation, Sentencing, Victims  No Comments

Youth sentencing

The Prison Reform Trust has published statistics showing variation in the use of prison custody between youth courts across the country. Courts such as Bridgend, Rotherham (maybe it is to do with the food? remember that was Jamie Oliver’s shock horror television programme), Derby and Wolverhampton. The custody rates are not related to crime rates, [...]

February 16, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Children and young people, Sentencing, Uncategorized  One Comment

John Redwood on prison reform

I notice that John Redwood has suggested that burglars and car thieves should not be sent to prison but should pay compensation instead and that this would do more to help victims and achieve the government’s target of reducing prison costs. He makes the argument that victims are doubly victimised by having to pay the [...]

January 25, 2010  Tags: ,   Posted in: Sentencing  2 Comments

The naked rambler

The naked rambler, Stephen Gough, could spend the rest of his life in prison, in Scotland. Interesting that the English have decided that action should not be taken through the criminal justice system, but the Scots are pursuing him relentlessly. After spending a year in Perth prison, the police were waiting for him on his [...]

January 15, 2010   Posted in: Sentencing, Uncategorized  No Comments

Rage against the machine

It seems that rage is the centre of the news today.В  Whether we have the right to inflict retribution following an assault in our home, and raging against the pop music of television talent shows.
Chris Grayling, Tory shadow home secretary, has said his party in government would strengthen the rights of householders to defend themselves [...]

December 21, 2009  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Headline grabbing, Sentencing  No Comments

The consequences of a political stampede on anti-social behaviour

The Guardian has a front page story today based on an ICM poll of voting intentions that the Conservative lead is down to 9 points over Labour. So the outcome of the general election is looking a lot less certain than in recent months. We could have a hung parliament, or a slim Labour lead [...]

December 15, 2009  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Government policy, Sentencing, Women in custody, anti-social behaviour  No Comments

Youth Rehabilitation Order

The Youth Rehabilitation Order (YRO) has come into force as part of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.
When the idea of a shopping list of sanctions from which the sentencer could choose was first proposed, we were very concerned that a child would be given unduly onerous interventions on the spurious grounds of dealing [...]

December 1, 2009  Tags:   Posted in: Children and young people, Government policy, Sentencing  No Comments

Families with problems, not problem families

I am so impressed by the Action for Children campaign. The package on the Today programme this morning illustrated clearly that families have problems and there are ways that statutory services and voluntary organisations can work with families, not against them, to help. Practical support works. Help with cleaning, cooking and getting the kids to [...]

October 13, 2009  Tags:   Posted in: Government policy, Sentencing  One Comment

Prison sentences of less than 12 months

The Prison Governors’ Association voted to urge the government to abolish prison sentences of less than 12 months. In the last year for which figures are available, 2007, there were 70,000 men, women and children sentenced to prison for 12 months or less. Nearly half of them were sent to prison for three months or [...]

October 8, 2009  Tags: ,   Posted in: Prisons, Sentencing  3 Comments

A machine for murder

The lawyer giving a description of the botched execution in Ohio turned my stomach this morning.В  The Guardian reports that Romell Broom, who was convicted of murder 25 years ago and has spent all that time on death row, was handed a toilet roll by staff to wipe away his tears after two hours on [...]

September 18, 2009  Tags:   Posted in: Sentencing  One Comment