Wednesday 17 August 2005

Come home Laura Norder - all is forgiven

Lord Woolf today calls for a new approach to law and order which would see a major shift away from punishment towards the solution of problems which generate crime. "We need wider understanding and acceptance that the principles of sentencing are not just founded on punishing offenders," the lord chief justice writes in the Guardian. "Whilst I firmly believe that for serious and violent crimes there is no alternative to a custodial sentence, I also believe passionately on taking steps to turn people away from crime," he says.
Comments from others have also been sought.
Oh yes, sure to work. There are a large number of people who prefer to have a quick return on something illegal rather than undergo the stultifying 9 to 5 weekly routine. At what cost will these initiatives to counter crime start to work? This is a view from the Bench where few who sit have any real concept of life at ordinary level still less the sub-culture of those who feel deprived or ill-done by. I see little difference between the violent street crime that deprives me of my Rolex and the burglar who comes into my home and steals some item of great sentimental value.
What I expect of Laura Norder is that any criminal – irrespective of his/her speciality or crime – is locked away for a long time. This is not to punish them but to protect me and mine from crooks and their crooked ways. I cannot see how making me feel better about myself or my life would deter me from the easy pickings of crime. Whatever it was that convinced me that crime does not pay was instilled at an early age and it is there that reform is needed but least likely to be introduced. After all, schoolchildren have their Human Rights don’t they? (Here insert sardonic smiley)

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