1100 prisoners to be released today.

silverlining48

A different perspective on the release of 1000 prisoners. I heard prisoners being interviewed by R4 this evening and they were say ing how they felt when told they were to be released with little notice. There was no time to prepare or arrange for their release which is something that needs time and many have nowhere to live. .

This is a valid point.

The consequences of years of cutbacks in probation officers and facilities like hostels for those released when there is no family. I don't know if the procedure of appointing caseworkers was followed, or not followed in enough cases. We'd need to do a comparison of those released at 50% of sentence to see if the problems were the same. (genuinely dont know).

Iams point about alternatives to prison is so very much to the point, but until they exist, what should judges do?

As regards prisoners linked to the riots, they were a mixture of people arrested actually committing violence in the community - all evidenced on video/policecams - and some extremely nasty violent SM threats including death threats and direct incitement to violence (details of where to go to riot): some arrests for SM activity were for those who gave out names and addresses of individuals in order to go and attack them.
To write this off as a few "postings on Facebook" needs challenging.

The amount of funding for the changes above will only come slowly: this is going to continue to be a problem for some time to come.

Cambsnan

Why do we lock so many people up? It breaks up families, leads to homelessness and can ruin a life. More imaginative approaches could be tried. Some countries lock people up part time so they can maintain a job! Better use of community pay back schemes could be tried. For violent crimes prison may be the answer but locking someone up for years for postings on Facebook! really? There must be a better answer.

100% Agree

A different perspective on the release of 1000 prisoners. I heard prisoners being interviewed by R4 this evening and they were say ing how they felt when told they were to be released with little notice. There was no time to prepare or arrange for their release which is something that needs time and many have nowhere to live. .

I agree we need to develop punishments that don’t include prison. So far as the Facebook posts go, inciting murder during riots does qualify for prison imo

Why do we lock so many people up? It breaks up families, leads to homelessness and can ruin a life. More imaginative approaches could be tried. Some countries lock people up part time so they can maintain a job! Better use of community pay back schemes could be tried. For violent crimes prison may be the answer but locking someone up for years for postings on Facebook! really? There must be a better answer.

And why don't they deport the illegal immigrants who are in prison ... Other countries do

Grantanow

And the alternative is? 3 in a cell? 4 in a cell? Use disused army camps? If these were viable the Tories would undoubtedly have done so to get themselves out of a hole of their own making.

I think we have refugees in some Army camps.

Army camps are not prisons; as well as barracks for single personnel, they consist of houses, a church, a swimming pool, social centre etc and are also used by the public for social activities.

And the alternative is? 3 in a cell? 4 in a cell? Use disused army camps? If these were viable the Tories would undoubtedly have done so to get themselves out of a hole of their own making.

Freya5

Grandmabatty

Tories released 10,000 prisoners early, source Financial Times. Did you complain about that?

Bet you did though, if they reoffended. Anyway this has been done without thought or planning, just a knee jerk reaction to a few riots, nothing as big as the last ones though.

A few riots !

14 years during which all public services, including the CJS were deliberately run down in the false name of austerity. The jails are over crowded. We send far too many people to prison. I don’t include ‘a few rioters’ in that, they were rightly imprisoned

Thank you for that thoughtful post, NotSpaghetti. As I said upthread, these same people would have been released in a matter of a few more months under the 50% scheme.

Blame the lack of places in prison, and it having built up, clear to all, for several years.

There are 56 offences that are excluded from this scheme - they include:

Sexual offences

Domestic abuse offences, (including stalking, controlling and coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship and breach of a non-molestation order)

National security offences

Violent offences with a sentence of four years or more

So anyone being released will not have been released early when serving time for these crimes.

I have thought about this a lot recently and can only assume that the people who are being released who are abusers of one sort or another have been sent to prison for a different offence (not involving any of the above).
E.g
It's not unusual that someone does time for one offence (domestic abuse, say) and serves that time and is released. Then they are caught doing something else (supplying drugs, say) and recieve a further custodial sentence. Now they may have a history of violence but this time they aren't "in" because of it.
These people will be eligible for the scheme.

I think this is why people are saying their violent partner is being released early.

I can't think how else this is working - as the release scheme is linked to the OFFENCE, not the PERSON.

The question is why we have so many criminals in our society? The highest in Europe if the media are correct.

And how come I’ve never met any except for the dodgy character who knocked on my door last month trying to guilt-trip me into buying overpriced dusters?

NotSpaghetti

I have had break-ins too, Mt61 - my wallet and my daughter's golf clubs and a bike from downstairs whilst seven of us slept upstairs.

Another time (another area) a car stolen from the driveway, again, seven of us asleep.

I am not head-in-sand about safety - but the biggest threat in people's own homes is still abusive partners and close friends - the people we have let in. A "Fort Knox" situation is really not going to solve these things.

I was responding to you saying:
it will be like Fort Knox- not that I have anything of real value- just our lives!

...which I took to mean you were afraid in your home for your lives.

I only thought this because you said it.
Apologies if I have the wrong end of the stick here.
I was concerned that anyone would be so very afraid.

I absolutely get what you are saying about abusive boyfriends/ husbands- luckily I have a one in a million partner but I don’t think it is right letting these criminals out & putting people in for a tweet, (except for threatening language) which I think they should have got suspended sentences or community orders, depending on what was said. I do worry about the safety of my family for sure, especially now they are letting these career criminals out.

undines

I think this government knows exactly what they are doing and I do not think the agenda is people-friendly or Britain-friendly. Dangerous criminals have been freed to make room for people arrested over tweets, frightening people into silence, so we all have to submit to the woke plans and not raise our voices. I'm sorry if I sound as if I'm catastrophising, but Orwell's 1984 seems to me to be creeping closer. And grandmabatty what the hell does it matter what the Conservatives did or didn't do? It's all madness in my view.

The tories are as much to blame, but give me them any day

I think it depends what comes our way in the future, in terms of the need to balance protecting people against unchecked SM, especially as young people as in teenagers have access to hate sites.

Yes I agree, in addition I dont for example want to abolish the current laws of libel, slander,etc but I do think we should be wary of any further attempts to control/monitor speech.

Galaxy

I am terrified of controls over speech, much more so than any words anyone can say. Women who have experienced the lunacy of the last few years know how dangerous handing control over speech can be. Who would you trust to decide what is appropriate speech?

Imo, within the law, Galaxy. I do know what you are referring to, but the example I gave above of SM giving peoples name and addresses out in order to attack the families cannot be allowed to be unchecked.

Mt61

Esmay

I fear for women , who've been assaulted by husbands , boyfriends and partners .

Yes. Me too

We shouldn't be releasing people if they have committed those crimes, of course.

But with all this scaremongering we forget that the people being released at 40% of their sentence were due to be released what for many was only months away at the standard 50% used before.

I am terrified of controls over speech, much more so than any words anyone can say. Women who have experienced the lunacy of the last few years know how dangerous handing control over speech can be. Who would you trust to decide what is appropriate speech?

jasper16

*The fact remains that a man who behaved badly, but not violently, was given an extraordinarily long sentence, which has resulted in him taking his own life*

He was advocating setting fire to children.

There were - and are - lots of SM hatred posts, we need protection against them.

Over "tweets"? hatred, murder and serious civil unrest were orchestrated this summer by very dangerous forces - some abroad, some home grown, sowing division and fear.

Social Media has become a dangerous space which threatens our grandchildren with hate speech and lies, like Tate who despises women, like people who spread lies and rumours about those who have different cultural backgrounds.

I support moves to curb these dangerous hate mongers online because online activity should be within the boundaries of our laws operating in all areas of what is lawful and what is not.

In the summer some social media postings gave out names and addresses of individuals and families to be attacked. Is this freedom to live our lives? I dont think so.

If we let those flourish, we will not have real freedom of speech. Our government handled it very well, I would hope any government did.

I can recall at the time pages in GN of gratitude for the police handling it so well.

I have had break-ins too, Mt61 - my wallet and my daughter's golf clubs and a bike from downstairs whilst seven of us slept upstairs.

Another time (another area) a car stolen from the driveway, again, seven of us asleep.

I am not head-in-sand about safety - but the biggest threat in people's own homes is still abusive partners and close friends - the people we have let in. A "Fort Knox" situation is really not going to solve these things.

I was responding to you saying:
it will be like Fort Knox- not that I have anything of real value- just our lives!

...which I took to mean you were afraid in your home for your lives.

I only thought this because you said it.
Apologies if I have the wrong end of the stick here.
I was concerned that anyone would be so very afraid.

The fact remains that a man who behaved badly, but not violently, was given an extraordinarily long sentence, which has resulted in him taking his own life

He was advocating setting fire to children.

I think this government knows exactly what they are doing and I do not think the agenda is people-friendly or Britain-friendly. Dangerous criminals have been freed to make room for people arrested over tweets, frightening people into silence, so we all have to submit to the woke plans and not raise our voices. I'm sorry if I sound as if I'm catastrophising, but Orwell's 1984 seems to me to be creeping closer. And grandmabatty what the hell does it matter what the Conservatives did or didn't do? It's all madness in my view.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202410/medium-543710-img-2124.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202410/medium-846469-img-2125.jpeg

Our shed break-in, happened whilst we were in the house- so if I want to get cameras, I will, it doesn’t mean I am ill in the head- which the poster is suggesting