Law-abiding majority in Britain will not accept going soft on criminals simply because jails are full - The Yorkshire Post says

The Yorkshire Post
By The Yorkshire Post

Leaders

Published 16th Oct 2023, 05:00 BST
Updated 16th Oct 2023, 08:20 BST
Extraordinary reports emerged just days ago suggesting that judges were being advised to limit the number of people sent to prison, almost regardless of their crime, due to insufficient capacity in the country’s jails.

Even those committing some of the most serious crimes, including rape, were going to avoid being sent immediately to jail – let alone be locked up at His Majesty’s pleasure – owing to the lack of space, we were told.

Now, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has been moved to intervene in an attempt to reassure the law-abiding majority in this country that incarceration will be a certainty for anyone who takes it upon themselves to commit serious crime, stressing too that, contrary to some reports, rapists would be forced to serve the entirety of the sentence handed down to them.

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The Minister’s words may well serve to reassure people, not least those who have fallen victim to such heinous acts, but he and the Government will have to go much further if they are to convince anyone that it has a sensible, public-first plan for the prison service.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has said: "No prison system should further criminalise offenders or trap criminals who might otherwise take the right path in a cycle of criminality through a merry-go-round of short sentences. This is the wrong use of our prison system and taxpayers’ money."Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has said: "No prison system should further criminalise offenders or trap criminals who might otherwise take the right path in a cycle of criminality through a merry-go-round of short sentences. This is the wrong use of our prison system and taxpayers’ money."
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has said: "No prison system should further criminalise offenders or trap criminals who might otherwise take the right path in a cycle of criminality through a merry-go-round of short sentences. This is the wrong use of our prison system and taxpayers’ money."

Stating first that ‘this is the justice that British people expect’ he went on to outline further plans to relax the punishment given to those who commit what he described as ‘low-level crime’ without revealing precisely who would be let off the hook of the law and who will be dealt with properly.

Perhaps Mr Chalk might consider actually speaking to people about their expectations when it comes to reforming criminals, rather than telling us, for he will discover that few people will accept that because this Government hasn’t built more jails, that society is left exposed to further potential harm at the hands of known criminals – especially if they believe they will get away with it .

Related topics:Alex ChalkYorkshire PostBritainExtraordinaryGovernment