News
Criminal brands community service a 'waste of time' and walks free.
A 21 year old man, openly refused to do unpaid work as a punishment after pleading guilty to criminal damage, Gloucester Crown Court was told.
But instead of being given a jail term, he was handed a nightly curfew and a suspended sentence.
Recorder Jonathan Fuller QC was told that his refusal was not because he was lazy but he was too “immature” to accept help. He appeared before the court for sentencing for his role in an attack on a 15-year-old boy who was suspected of stealing cash and cannabis from one of his friends.
The court heard the trio went to the home of the boy's sister, forced their way through the front door and began attacking the teenager.
Two years ago the same recorder ordered a couple who fraudulently claimed nearly £50,000 in benefits to pay the money back at a rate of 85p a day – effectively giving them 77 years to repay.
Posted 06 December 2011
Muslim women not used to drinking walk free after attack on woman.
Somalian women who repeatedly kicked a young woman in the head walked free from court after a judge heard they were "not used to being drunk" because they were Muslim.
The four women were told the charge of actual bodily harm, which carries a maximum sentence of five years, against 22-year-old care worker, would normally land them in custody.
However, the judge handed the women suspended sentences after hearing that they were not used to alcohol because their religion does not allow it. He said: "Although her partner used violence, it doesn't justify their behavior”.
The support worker from Leicester was left "black and blue" with bruises and needed hospital treatment following the attack which came as she walked to a taxi rank with her boyfriend.
Posted 06 December 2011
Police a major factor in UK and London riots, study shows.
Analysts who studied the disturbances said distrust and antipathy towards officers was a key driving force behind why thousands took to the streets.
Out of those questioned, 85 per cent said policing was an "important" or "very important" factor in why the riots happened.
Other major factors included media coverage, greed, inequality, boredom, criminality, moral decline and racial tensions, the study found.
Analysts said the view that the police were "the biggest gang out there" was a reoccurring theme among rioters.
Complaints against officers included claims of incivility during everyday interactions and the carrying out of unnecessary stop and searches. Only seven per cent said they thought police did a good job in their area.
Some rioters also alleged they had been beaten up inside police vans and "stitched up" over crimes they did not commit.
Posted 05 December 2011
Gang boss won the right to demand prison officers call him “Mr” has forced the authorities to reveal what they have written about him.
A gang boss is serving life over a murder won the backing of the prisons watchdog to force guards to address him as “Mr Gunn”.
The same watchdog has now backed his right to obtain details of official reports about him and has forced the authorities to reveal what they have written about him.
It comes as separate figures, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, show police are paying criminals and other undesirables nearly £13,000 a day in return for information.
Britain’s police forces spent almost £14 million on paying police informants in the past three years, figures released under the Freedom of Information have revealed.
He wrote: "I hope this will be of help to others who wish to apply for their wing history sheet or other information held on them redaction free." Last year he won the right to force prison officers to call him 'Mr' after making an earlier complaint to the Ombudsman.
At the time he issued a statement from his cell saying the decision was a victory over "rude, ignorant prison staff".
Posted 05 December 2011
‘Prison being turned into places of hard work and reform'
Prisoners at Manchester's notorious Strangeways can now find themselves hard at work within weeks of their arrival.
The government is in hope the rest of its prison estate to follow the Manchester model. More than a third of prisoners are unemployed at the time of imprisonment and, for many, this is their first glimpse of a workplace.
The kitchen is run entirely by prison workers – around 30 per shift – making meals for 1,350 inmates on a budget of just £1.99 per person per day. When they're not manipulating large bags of frozen carrots and peas around stainless steel worktops, they're in an adjoining classroom improving their numeracy and literacy, training for NVQs in catering and hospitality. Some are even being trained to be assessors.
Turning from places of idleness into places of hard work and reform can be a positive outcome?
Posted: 02 December 2011
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/dec/02/strangeways-working-prison-reduce-reoffending