Post by MARIO on Apr 6, 2006 9:53:58 GMT -8
Britain: A Criminal Candyland
By John Hawkins
America may be a land of opportunity for ordinary people, but for criminals, the land of opportunity is Britain, where their rights are guarded with the sort of zealotry that would make teachers' unions in the US jealous:
Burglars will be allowed to escape without punishment under new instructions sent to all police forces. Police have been told they can let them off the threat of a court appearance and instead allow them to go with a caution.
The same leniency will be shown to criminals responsible for more than 60 other different offences, ranging from arson through vandalism to sex with underage girls.
New rules sent to police chiefs by the Home Office set out how seriously various crimes should be regarded, and when offenders who admit to them should be sent home with a caution.
A caution counts as a criminal record but means the offender does not face a court appearance which would be likely to end in a fine, a community punishment or jail.
Some serious offences - including burglary of a shop or office, threatening to kill, actual bodily harm, and possession of Class A drugs such as heroin or cocaine - may now be dealt with by caution if police decide that would be the best approach.
And a string of crimes including common assault, threatening behaviour, sex with an underage girl or boy, and taking a car without its owner's consent, should normally be dealt with by a caution, the circular said.
The Home Office instruction applies to offenders who have admitted their guilt but who have no criminal record.
They are also likely to be able to show mitigating factors to lessen the seriousness of their crime.
The instruction to abandon court prosecutions in more cases - even for people who admit to having carried out serious crimes - comes in the wake of repeated attempts by ministers and senior judges to persuade the courts to send fewer criminals to jail.
The crisis of overcrowding in UK prisons has also prompted moves to let many more convicts out earlier.
It emerged last month that some violent or sex offenders, given mandatory life sentences under a "two-strike" rule, have been freed after as little as 15 months."
Maybe it's just me, but if you're letting arsonists and car thieves go with a warning because you don't have room for them in prison, maybe it's time to build more prisons.
Imagine being someone who has been beaten, had a 30 year old sleep with your 14 year old daughter, or had someone burglarize your business and being told by the police, "Oh, we caught the guy who did this, but we let him go with a caution."
You know, the mystery here, at least to me, isn't how it got this bad -- because let's face it, if you let the liberals in this country run things long enough, with the attitude they have towards criminals, you'd eventually see libs who wanted to do the same thing. The real mystery is why the British people put up with this sort of insanity.
By John Hawkins
America may be a land of opportunity for ordinary people, but for criminals, the land of opportunity is Britain, where their rights are guarded with the sort of zealotry that would make teachers' unions in the US jealous:
Burglars will be allowed to escape without punishment under new instructions sent to all police forces. Police have been told they can let them off the threat of a court appearance and instead allow them to go with a caution.
The same leniency will be shown to criminals responsible for more than 60 other different offences, ranging from arson through vandalism to sex with underage girls.
New rules sent to police chiefs by the Home Office set out how seriously various crimes should be regarded, and when offenders who admit to them should be sent home with a caution.
A caution counts as a criminal record but means the offender does not face a court appearance which would be likely to end in a fine, a community punishment or jail.
Some serious offences - including burglary of a shop or office, threatening to kill, actual bodily harm, and possession of Class A drugs such as heroin or cocaine - may now be dealt with by caution if police decide that would be the best approach.
And a string of crimes including common assault, threatening behaviour, sex with an underage girl or boy, and taking a car without its owner's consent, should normally be dealt with by a caution, the circular said.
The Home Office instruction applies to offenders who have admitted their guilt but who have no criminal record.
They are also likely to be able to show mitigating factors to lessen the seriousness of their crime.
The instruction to abandon court prosecutions in more cases - even for people who admit to having carried out serious crimes - comes in the wake of repeated attempts by ministers and senior judges to persuade the courts to send fewer criminals to jail.
The crisis of overcrowding in UK prisons has also prompted moves to let many more convicts out earlier.
It emerged last month that some violent or sex offenders, given mandatory life sentences under a "two-strike" rule, have been freed after as little as 15 months."
Maybe it's just me, but if you're letting arsonists and car thieves go with a warning because you don't have room for them in prison, maybe it's time to build more prisons.
Imagine being someone who has been beaten, had a 30 year old sleep with your 14 year old daughter, or had someone burglarize your business and being told by the police, "Oh, we caught the guy who did this, but we let him go with a caution."
You know, the mystery here, at least to me, isn't how it got this bad -- because let's face it, if you let the liberals in this country run things long enough, with the attitude they have towards criminals, you'd eventually see libs who wanted to do the same thing. The real mystery is why the British people put up with this sort of insanity.