Law -
Offenders
Thousands
of criminals will avoid jail if they say sorry to
their victims under new proposals. Home Secretary
David Blunkett said he wants the
"restorative justice" scheme to be an
alternative to prosecution and punishment.
Offenders will have to meet and apologise to
their victims and hear how their crimes caused
misery. They will also have to carry out menial
tasks such as picking up litter, cleaning
graffiti and working for charity shops. Only
people who admit minor crimes such as criminal
damage, theft or assault will be eligible for the
projects.
Victims will attend meetings only if they are
willing, but Mr Blunkett said there was evidence
that many felt better if they could hear
criminals apologise. He said it could also bring
down the crime rate, make punishments more
productive and save taxpayers' money. Mr Blunkett
said, "This is not a soft option. It is
about more than offenders saying sorry - it
provides the victim with an explanation of why
the crime was committed. This is something a
prison sentence on its own can never do and can
enable victims to move on and carry on with their
lives.
It also means that for the first time, offenders
will be held to account for the crimes they have
committed." Cordell Pillay, assistant
general secretary of probation officers' union
Napo, said, "For the first time it puts
healing the damage done at the heart of the
system. It is not an easy option. It is a
realistic approach to reducing crime." Helen
Reeves, chief executive of Victim Support, said,
"This brings the promise of statutory rights
for victims, something for which we have long
campaigned." But there was anger that the
scheme might lead to hardened criminals escaping
jail.
Shadow Home Secretary Oliver Letwin said,
"This should not become an option which
leads to failure to prosecute serious crimes.
Wider use of this method will be justified only
if pilot studies show reoffending is genuinely
reduced." Lib Dem spokesman Simon Hughes
said it did not go far enough. Restorative
justice schemes are widely used for young
offenders, especially to deal with school
bullying. A pilot scheme will be set up to test
the idea for adult criminals and researchers will
examine its success at cutting reoffending.
Breaking the rules could result in the offender
being prosecuted in the normal way.
Four
prisoners from Glen Parva Young Offenders
Institution in Leicestershire were on a camping
trip in the Peak District when they went on the
run. Two were later picked up but the other two,
who had both been convicted of burglary, escaped.
A spokesman said, "Any person who goes on
outside trips has been fully risk-assessed. These
trips are integral to a person's
rehabilitation."
Teenage
thugs at a young offenders centre are being
pampered with trendy land-yachting, go-carting
and stunt-kiting classes. The 130 inmates also
get a £125,000 climbing wall, fishing,
computers, DVD's and remote-control model cars at
the Warren Hill unit in Hollesley, Suffolk.
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