A Yorkshire police and crime commissioner’s verdict on short-term prison sentences - Yorkshire Post letters

I WRITE in response to your correspondent Bob Watson’s recent comment around the scrapping of jail terms of less than 12 months (The Yorkshire Post, April 12).

I first want to make it clear that while I am in support of exploring this Government proposal in principle, I would also want to see some fundamental and sustainable changes in tandem with the wider criminal justice approach, which puts victims first and would make any such changes workable.

There is clear evidence that suggests the use of short-term sentences, particularly of six months or less, is having little bearing on reoffending rates and this is an experience borne out here in West Yorkshire, having visited many prisons and spoken to governors.

Having recently launched a Reducing Reoffending Strategy for the county, I know that there are more options and innovative partnership measures, which can positively influence crime rates and the subsequent impact upon victims, which is surely what we all want.

What I, therefore, would like to see is a commitment to increase support services and further steps that will help change offender behaviour permanently, including a total rethink of how probation services can be brought back together and delivered locally.

A short-term sentence often represents merely a sticking plaster on longer-term issues and this needs careful thought, consideration and investment, rather than soundbites that do nothing more than scratch the surface.

Finally, I have attempted to gather a comprehensive understanding of key issues affecting reoffending rates through my West Yorkshire strategy and I would absolutely consider that to be the right way forward for our communities.

Think big on transport

From: James Hall, Partner, Barton Willmore planning and design consultancy, King Street, Leeds.

I WRITE in response to The Yorkshire Post report about the extent of premature deaths linked to air pollution.

With the news that a street in Leeds is the most polluted outside of London, we must act fast and plan cleaner towns and cities. Not doing so risks the health of our communities, and also the status of our region as one of the best places to live and work in the country.

To act fast, we must look at the most significant contributor to this problem – road traffic pollution.

Better connected towns and cities require fewer motor vehicles, but to achieve that local planning authorities must work together. At the moment our planning system is too fragmented to make properly integrated changes.

Yorkshire and the Humber is rightly ambitious for economic growth. This must be driven by the more efficient movement of people between economic centres. We need to think big and that means working with our neighbours in the North West and North East.

That’s why Barton Willmore has championed the HS3 rail link between York, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool. It
will mean people can move between cities in a faster and cleaner way.

The creation of Transport for the North – the first sub-national transport body in the country – is a golden opportunity for Yorkshire and the Humber to benefit from its aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with emphasis on road transport.

Let’s make sustainable transport a focus for Yorkshire and the Humber – it will pay back in the long run.

Cowell should know better

From: R Kimble, Lea Farm Road, Leeds.

ON a recent episode of Britain’s Got Talent, Simon Cowell used the word “nuts” on two occasions to describe a contestant.

The word “mad” was also used by another presenter, whose mental health problems have had very high visibility.

These people should know that words like “nuts”, “nutter” and “loony” are not acceptable.

People with mental health problems find them as offensive as racial insults.

Someone with a high profile should set an example.

The scriptwriters of a certain London-based soap have been criticised for constantly using these terms and someone like Cowell should know better.

Another waste of money

From: Martin J Phillips, Tinshill Lane, Leeds.

WHY do artist impressions of Leeds city centre always show the cyclists and pedestrians on a lovely, sunny day?

Why not show the city centre on a real-life Yorkshire day with the wind and rain causing everyone to seek shelter?

This would highlight just how ridiculous it would be for Leeds City Council to waste another £270m on transport improvements in the city
centre.

The council is always complaining about the cutbacks in funding from central Government, yet it is always at the forefront when it comes to throwing money away on hare-brained schemes.

Class sizes were once larger

From: Mrs H Braithwaite, Sandon Place, Leeds.

I WAS surprised to read there were concerns that there were now 30 pupils in some classrooms in Leeds.

In the 1940s when people had more children, class sizes were 38 to 40.

Children still gained scholarships, went on to university – and didn’t have all of the technology that they enjoy 
today.