Iron fist - in an iron glove maybe?

Life is hard in the Midlands. They breed tough people up (or, in my case, down) there. They tend to speak their minds. So, no surprise to read this

Bring on iron fist

Comment

Apr 4, 2006

The prisons are full. The law-makers in Whitehall have decided the best way forward is to de-criminalise crime.

Under instructions being sent to all police forces, a range of 60 offences including some incidents of theft, assault, arson and burglary, can now be dealt with by a caution.

If we needed any proof that the lunatics have taken over the asylum, it comes in the "mitigating factors" police are being ordered to consider.

For example, a caution may be given in a theft "because of poverty or need"or if an assault is deemed to be impulsive rather than planned. This is a liar's charter.

The policy defies belief. These cautions are intended for first offences. The aim is to keep tens of thousands of offenders out of the courts and possibly out of the crime statistics.

But this state-sponsored leniency will be paid for in untold financial loss, terror and anguish among the victims of these fearless offenders.

The lesson of history is that the softer we are on crime, the more crime we get.

The most successful crime initiative in recent times was New York's "broken window" policy where the police and courts cracked down hard on minor cases of vandalism in order to nip criminality in the bud.

England is moving in the opposite direction, virtually ignoring some crimes and then wondering why our prisons are packed.

We demand tougher sentences, not soft options. And we are not alone.

The abduction and murder of a baby in Italy brought widespread calls at the weekend for the reintroduction of the death penalty there.

A majority of Britons, too, want a system where the punishment fits the crime.

All over Europe, bleeding-heart do-gooders are passing laws which make life safer for criminals and more dangerous for innocent, decent, law-abiding people.

Where are the politicians with the moral courage to say enough is enough?

The kid glove has failed. Bring on the iron fist.