Community penalties 'laughed at'

[Fop 1]

Community penalties 'laughed at'

Offenders who breach suspended sentences "should be jailed"

 

The credibility of community sentences is at stake because offenders who breach the orders are not dealt with firmly enough, a study says.

 

Experts from King's College London examined Community Orders and Suspended Sentence Orders, which were introduced in England and Wales four years ago.

 

They require offenders to do unpaid work or undergo rehabilitation.

 

But a probation officer interviewed for the study said those under the orders left court "laughing their heads off".

 

Offenders who were interviewed said they felt "relieved" when they were given an order instead of a jail sentence.

'Wrong message'

 

The orders were introduced in April 2005 to try to cut down on the number of people serving short prison sentences while still being seen to be tough on crime.

 

But their effectiveness has been called into question in the report by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's College.

 

I know prisons are full, but they're full with the wrong people

Probation officer

 

Its authors, George Mair and Helen Mills, interviewed 25 probation officers and 16 offenders, who were offered £20 vouchers to take part, between May and September last year.

 

One probation officer said breaches were not dealt with seriously enough and "that gives completely the wrong message.

 

"You go to court for a breach and you don't get sent to prison, you go back on the van next week and all your mates tell everybody else about it. It doesn't have the deterrent effect that it's meant to have."

 

The most commonly suggested improvement to SSOs was that offenders who breached them should be sent to prison.

 

One officer said: "I know prisons are full, but they're full with the wrong people. We need to send out the message that if you've got a suspended sentence and you breach it, you go to prison."

'Explosive'

 

Another said it seemed ridiculous "to call something a Suspended Sentence Order when actually it isn't suspended because you can have two or three chances."

 

The report describes the growth of SSOs as "explosive" with more than twenty times as many being given out in the second quarter of 2008 compared to the same period in 2005.

 

A total of 484 were issued then compared to just under 12,000 over the same period three years later. In contrast 9,547 Community Orders (CO) were given out, compared to 33,672 in the second quarter of 2008.

 

Offenders who were interviewed reported a good relationship with probation officers with one describing them as like a "police officer, Jobcentre worker and social worker" rolled into one. Another said their role was "a bit like a guardian angel".

 

Their perception of the consequences of breaching an order differed from the probation officers' views. One said: "It's strict [the order] ain't it? It's strict, I have to see him [probation officer]. And if I break it I know what's going to happen, straight back inside."

Orders breached

 

Another added: "I think you get three breaches, three strikes I say and then you're out. Three strikes and you're in jail."

 

The number of offenders who breach the orders is dropping although around two fifths still come to an end because they have been broken.

 

Judges can impose a number of measures when issuing the sentences including drug, alcohol or mental health treatment, a curfew or order unpaid work.

 

A community order can last anywhere between 12 hours and three years. If breached, the courts can either make the order more onerous or completely revoke it and grant a new one, which could involve a prison sentence.

 

A suspended sentence carries with it the threat of an actual prison sentence. It is served in the community unless it is breached, in which case the offender can be sent to prison "unless there are strong reasons for not doing so".

 

 

Needing to breach an order 3 times to get a suspended sentence commuted into a genuine one is bizarre.

 

Maybe they need to make up a new category of suspended suspended sentence - that's bound to help prison overcrowding .

[Neville Neville Neville 0]

Its a slightly different topic, but is there a reason why sentences are usually halved/thirded for "good behaviour" (which itself seems to be not killing anyone whilst inside). Why not give shorter sentences that have to be completely served, and are prolonged if bad behaviour/rejected at parole hearings..... is it human rights???

 

Anyway, on topic, the judicial system is a poor deterrent these days. Haven't been inside or known anyone who has, but the picture painted by the media of the "cosy" life inside won't put anyone off who is thinking about breaking the law. This sort of story just makes it an even worse deterrent.

 

Can't help but feel that the country would be a better place with those Russian jails they were showing before the champs league final..... Maybe reserve that style of jail for people whose crimes involve physically/mentally harming other people, and for other crimes have more of a rehabilitation themed jail. And when the first group near say a year to their earliest release date then they can move to a softer place.

 

But I'm not an expert on every topic (unlike Fop )

[TheMoog 0]

I've got a better idea, bring back hanging.

[Fop 1]

Its a slightly different topic, but is there a reason why sentences are usually halved/thirded for "good behaviour" (which itself seems to be not killing anyone whilst inside). Why not give shorter sentences that have to be completely served, and are prolonged if bad behaviour/rejected at parole hearings..... is it human rights???

 

Anyway, on topic, the judicial system is a poor deterrent these days. Haven't been inside or known anyone who has, but the picture painted by the media of the "cosy" life inside won't put anyone off who is thinking about breaking the law. This sort of story just makes it an even worse deterrent.

 

Can't help but feel that the country would be a better place with those Russian jails they were showing before the champs league final..... Maybe reserve that style of jail for people whose crimes involve physically/mentally harming other people, and for other crimes have more of a rehabilitation themed jail. And when the first group near say a year to their earliest release date then they can move to a softer place.

 

The idea behind it for a guilty plea is to get them to plead guilty - supposedly for "justice" in reality to save money.

 

Same with good behaviour, it's supposed to be a reward for towing the line/admitting guilt in prison/"reforming"/"remorse" etc.

 

In reality all of the above are given lip-service by anyone with the slightest bit of sense and the sentence becomes a joke, in terms of time given to time served.

 

But I'm not an expert on every topic (unlike Fop )

16 life sentences gives you time.