Send only the most dangerous and persistent criminals to prison?

It beggars belief. This is another 'doomed to fail' policy from an intellectually bankrupt government who cannot deal with the problems anymore. Only this week it was revealed that house breakers are being let off with a caution. At the same time, 70 year old ladies who can't afford 20% council tax increases are being sent to prison. Its completely unbelievable. Why are we not on the streets protesting about the mess Labour has made?

As for criminals, rehabilitation is the key here - when the current policy is to send them to prison to watch 18 hours of TV and then send them out again without any support, it no wonder people re-offend. While inside they learn a few criminal trick of the trade, perhaps get a nice drug habit, and then come out again. But the problems begin long before they go to jail. Kids are growing up on sinkhole estates, barely literate and with no role models except other older criminal kids. They have no future and crime seems like an easy path for some of them - especially when the 'punishment' of getting caught is a slap on the wrist. So what is Labour doing to help young, underprivileged kids who are starting on the path to criminality? They invent ASBOs - an idea which would be hilarious if it wasn’t such a mess. It seemed like a joke from the beginning and lo and behold we see they’re seen as a badge of honour.

Two things would help this society: keep the scum off the streets and help the younger generation to avoid the same mistakes. Sadly, this government is doing neither. I wish the they would spend less time trying to panic us about terrorism and actually tackle some issues which effect ordinary people, every day.

John Reid --- Another Bungling a r s e hole of the Lunatic Blairs "New Labour" But now this Useless , Blustering , "Enemy of Great Britain" has began interfering with the Judicial System -- In Favour of the Criminal Fraternity -- this Further reveals the fact that "Blair and the "Sinister " New Labour" Thugs, are in reality the "Enemies of the State " -- Hell Bent on the Total Destruction of the United Kingdom,and the Indigenous Population --. Slowly , Surely and Relentlessly Destroying the very Fibre of our Society , Aided and Abetted by Unelected "Quangos" The Politically Correct Scum , and the Vile Town Hall Bullies -- Interfering in and Attempting to Control our every-day lives --- We additionally have a Maniac ,posing as a "Chancellor" who in Reality is a Thief - Stealing £Billions of the Nations Pension Funds -- Introducing Stealth Taxes on an almost "Daily Basis" and creating Abject Poverty for Millions

Agree. Heard about this on the news. How STUPID!! Not only that but, doesn't this give a license to all muggers etc. to do as they please 'cos they know they won't go to jail?

Some years ago, the word rehabilitation was removed, that's why we have such a high re offend rate.

I think prison should be very hard and prisoners should undergo rehabilitation for the whole period they are in there too.

The country is going down the plug hole!!

Phew...needed that!

What John Reid said is pure nonsense. What we really need is to build more prisons, and lots of them! Far too many criminals (both petty and violent) are getting put back on the streets through a revolving-door justice system or only slap-on-the-wrist sentences. We have people languishing on Death Row for years that need to be put to death.

Build more prisons and lock them up! It doesn't have to cost alot. Maricopa County, AZ is a great model for the country. They have their prisoners living in tents. The Sheriff there likes to brag it costs more to feed his K-9s than his inmates. He provides only the 2,000 calories per day required by FDA nutrition guidelines and their meals cost about $0.40 each.

I'm with you on this one!

they want to build a new prison, but we cant stop inmates escaping the ones we already have.

Prisoners sometimes have a cushier life behind bars.

lets buy all prisoners an Xbox 360....poor devils, just to complete the piss taking.

why not go one better and give

them £1000 if they promise not

to do it again-how pathetic is our

sense of fairness becoming-but

then that's what happens when we

keep voting for the liberal left-when it

does hit the pan,they'll blame

everyone except themselves

for the chaos!

John Reid is a nutball and i have free speech so i can say that bush sucks donkey balls

Surely if jail is made really bad, people come out & go into denial.

And then they do it again

i think they should have their rights down sized and all should be sent to prisons to make us feel safer.