Report to the People
17th March 2008
Get out of Jail Free
Here’s
a poser to get the grey cells going on a Monday afternoon: how does putting
fewer criminals behind bars and letting those already in jail out earlier make
our communities safer?
I
wish I could tell you to turn the screen upside down to read the answer, but
I’m afraid I’ve no idea either.
The
only person who seems to know is the Justice Secretary who, last week, saw his
plans to let offenders out even earlier scrape through the Scottish Parliament.
The
new rules mean that prisoners will supposedly “serve” more of their sentence
in the comfort of their own home. Indeed,
SNP Ministers and MSPs wanted to go further and extend these sofa sentences to
serious offenders doing lengthy jail terms!
I
voted against these dangerous plans. Apart
from anything else, what happens the first time one of these offenders is able
to commit a robbery or deal drugs because the Justice Minister let him out?
And
even if they don’t commit a serious offence, how would you like your close or
street turned into a prison, with offenders serving their sentence next door,
while drinking, taking drugs and blaring happy hardcore all day and night?
It
doesn’t seem a fitting punishment for breaking the law.
And I worry that a cushy number like that won’t exactly dissuade a
criminal from re-offending.
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