Forum Topic

Caught with a knife? Just sign a "Contract"!

Oh, and a small fine too, you rather naughty little young person.Excellent deterrents in force here, knife crime will easily disappear within six months with this ferocious, no nonsense new approach."A youth arrested by police officers from Operation Wolverine earlier this year has pleaded guilty to possession of knife.On Tuesday, 9 April, he was sentenced to a 9 month youth offending contract and ordered to pay £105 in fines and costs."

Rosco White ● 2393d9 Comments

The slaughter continues, something radical and vastly different HAS to be instigated, current ideologies and practices regarding tackling the problem just do not work.

Rosco White ● 2384d

Nonetheless, most people would like to see a return of some form of "Short, Sharp, Shock", they just want assurance that something different and more robust is being implemented.

Rosco White ● 2390d

At the risk of sounding old fashioned..'the devil makes work for idle hands' springs to mind.How about giving these may become life criminals something positive to do that occupies their time as well as their minds? Suggestions on a postcard please.

Keith Iddon ● 2391d

Your statistics don’t address my question. There is a table on page 13 of the report to which you refer which shows a fall in the number of children (under 18s) in custody in line with a fall in the number of total offences. This merely begs the question as to which is cause and which is effect (eg. if fewer children are committing offences this will result in fewer in custody but that does not explain why fewer offences are being committed).The overall fall in offences by children in the last decade masks an 11% increase in children convicted of having a knife or offensive weapon in the last 5 years, the number of convictions for weapons and robbery offences has increased by 8% and 6% respectively and the number of proven sexual offences has increased by 7%. It looks like children commit less crime overall but more serious crime, which is itself rather odd. But the increase in serious offences may explain why the average length of custodial sentences for indictable offences for children has increased from 11 to 16 months in the last 10 years (see here https://yjlc.uk/youth-justice-statistics-2016-17/).The Youth Justice stats show that c42% of children 'in the system' re-offend, or to put in the other way round c58% don't re-offend. That seems to contradict the claim that prison results in criminals committing more crime.

Vlod Barchuk ● 2391d

The issue may be getting worse and you are right to say the reasons for this are complex. But just because current policies don't seem to be particularly effective that doesn't give a reason for adopting a policy which we know will have a very negative outcome. 'Lock em up' may appeal to many including the victims of crime and it is understandable why but the authorities are right to resist the clamour for it as they know it would ultimately just mean more victims.

Mark Evans ● 2391d

No argument that it is a complex issue.But the current "Educate and Consult" type approach, in use for the last thirty years or more, is hardly working is it?In fact, it's getting worse.

Rosco White ● 2392d

The link between reduced youth sentences and reduced reoffending is quite strong. Lots of relevant data in this report from the Prison Reform Trust but page 13 addresses your particular question.

Dennis O'Shea ● 2392d

What evidence do you have that receiving a custodial sentence increases the likelihood of becoming an habitual criminal?

Vlod Barchuk ● 2392d

The research on this matter is very clear. Young males are the most prone to commit crime but by the time they hit their early to mid-twenties this propensity disappears and the majority stop offending. However, if they have served a custodial sentence the chances of them becoming an habitual criminal throughout their life increases dramatically.We would have to build a significant number of extra jails if every teenager who was caught with a knife was sent to jail not simply to accommodate them now but also in the future because of the extra crime they would commit. Are you not prepared to admit this might be a complex issue?

Mark Evans ● 2392d