Six Months for Knife Crime is Gesture Politics
Scarlett MccGwire reckons short sentences don't work.
3 Nov 2011, 15:18
Knife Crime
Except of course it won’t.
The government and opposition battle it out for who can be the toughest on crime and criminals, in spite of both Justice Secretary Ken Clarke and his shadow Sadiq Khan having a more sophisticated analysis. So, the name of the game is knee jerk populism merely to win votes.
If the aim is to bring down crime, short sentences do not work. They have the highest reconviction rate among adult prisoners. Ask the prison governors – at their annual conference in 2009, they passed a motion to abolish all sentences below 12 months. For many prisoners they are just a gateway into more crime, often for more serious offences. Little, if anything, is done in prison to encourage them to go straight afterwards – be it learning a trade or even literacy classes and nothing is done afterwards. So, most return to prison within a year.
Clearly this is bad for the offenders, but also bad for society because they have committed another crime – possibly using the knife rather than just carrying it.
We have a choice. We can mete out punishment and harden up criminals. Or we can bring down crime. Of course those who commit crimes of violence should be locked up: anybody who uses a knife rather than just carries one. Then they should be subject to intensive rehabilitation, so that when they come out (and come out they do) they can be part of society. But if we want to bring down crime, to stop most criminals, we have to try to keep people out of jail. It’s the boring stuff. It’s about Sure Start Centres for deprived families to change their upbringing. Keeping them in school, learning to read and write. Youth facilities to keep them off the streets. It takes money and time. It is about understanding that most people in jail are losers.
Of course it is much easier to punish them. But it is not going to make the streets any safer. It is not going to stop crime. To do that, we have to work with criminals rather than just lock them up.
The author
Scarlett MccGwire
Scarlett MccGwire is a media trainer and communications consultant.
Full profile →
Comments (3)
Subscribe to this posts's comments feed
"It’s about Sure Start Centres for deprived families to change their upbringing. "
Yep, that might fix the problem in 15 - 20 years.
What are we going to do NOW about the knife carrying unschooled be-attituded men who think the world hates them and needs stabbing?
Are we going to make 20-year-old drug dealers go back to school are we? *MAKE* them? Lock them in if necessary?
Or what? What's the solution for today then? Pour money at them as a reward for being willing and able to stab people?
03/11/2011 16:21Pity Sure Start is so expensive.And of course we are flush with money..
Silly article..
I vote for gladitorial contests between knife users... to the death.. ..
Much cheaper and about as sensible.
03/11/2011 16:49Madasafish is right, but lets go further. Time to launch Knife Factor UK, ideally hosted by Ross Kemp. Essentially a last man standing contest between UK knife users, to see who is the best, and then last remaining, knife user in the UK.
04/11/2011 17:01