gaddafi

Did anyone see it? Based around Manc. Abbreviation significant.

Talk about the Wild West.

I know the programmes are sensationalist, but some of the behaviour and the statistics WERE sensational!

The most depressing part of these programmes always seems to be at the end, when we hear about the pathetic punishments handed out for what, to me at least, appear to be very serious offences.

Despite debates we've had before about mandatory sentencing, I must say I think it has to happen in this area. I appreciate the arguments about knowing all the facts, but when we've SEEN someone ram a police car, break every law in the book and then crash, I'm really struggling to see why anything less than five years (served, not sentenced to) can be considered appropriate.

Lurking Lawyer

That means a sentence of 10 years would have had to have been passed. You don't get that for causing death by dangerous driving, let alone for a lesser charge which would arise from the incident to which you refer.

The prisons are full to capacity. Until such time as there is a considerable increase in HM Prisons' capacity, you're not going to see longer sentences for offences like this. And at present, there doesn't seem to be the political will to spend the kind of money necessary to create the required extra prison space.

moff

What was it again?? 362 car crimes in 2 days... FFS there is no way I would live there.

The sentencing was appalling... like the bloke who was speeding through the city centre, crashed, and caused the innocent bloke in the other car to be in hospital for 2 months with serious leg injuries... he was charged with driving without insurance

Nottingham is where its at... we get the bad press because gangsters shoot other... am I the only one who thinks that is a good thing?

gaddafi

1) Under existing laws yes. Or we change sentencing so that we do away with what many people regard as laughable remission percentages and the (imo) craziness of concurrent sentencing. FFS people get still get jailed for driving fully legal high performance cars at very high speeds where no accident has occurred! Of course, these people tend to be rather like you and me.

2) I take your point about present capacities influencing sentences. However, even if the prisons were empty, I am convinced there is no stomach for the kind of reforms I suggest above.

Quite where this is all leading must surely worry people. I can't see any evidence that this kind of criminality is decreasing, and the increasing propensity to use violence is beyond dispute.

Chris Type R

If only there were a barren island and/or continent somewhere that we could send this lot to

eSeM

If the police were allowed to shoot them this problem would be avoided.

eSeM

We could pack them into a Hercules and drop them off over central Australia.

Shipley

and what a sad state of affairs that is.


Why sentence people to a term that they do not have to serve ?



Its a load of tosh

Rapid 17

Don't foget folks, Mr Bliar is tough on crime.

gaddafi

you could say that I'm to the right of Atilla the Hun

but I'm far from convinced that Labour are softer than the Conservatives when it comes to crime

I well remember Howard as Home Secretary and it was just tough talking

The decline started way back and ran right through Thatcher's period in office too

But keeping things specifically to cars, it does seem to me that sentencing is way out of sync with the public's feelings on the subject