Criminal Incentive

Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the Lord Chief Justice has called for greater use of community service or probation and claims that this could reduce re-offending and help ease prison overcrowding. When the most senior judge in England and Wales makes assertions that suggest a criminal offence should not be punished with a custodial sentence, what is the incentive to NOT commit such an offence. If a possible alternative to prison exists then it seems this should be explored. It relieves the 'pressure' on the inadequate availability of prisons and so attempts to defuse any public outrage caused by the lack of protection that the public taxpayer is alleged to support. The chances are weighted in the favour of the criminal since being caught will be unlikely and so a non-custodial sentence for those that ever get convicted is highly probable.

That petty criminals like shoplifters should only receive a custodial sentence as a final solution when all other avenues have been explored is risible. An action of last resort that allows the petty criminal to continue being 'petty'. A criminal is a criminal and there's nothing petty about that. Ask anybody who's been mugged or burgled. Staying out of prison can imply good behaviour, though such good behaviour does not mean innocent of any crime. Yet it is still implied. Being honest and law abiding is not demonstrated by not being 'locked up'. Proof of being a law-abiding citizen will be impossible to obtain by simply showing freedom. A soft approach to a hardened-attitude criminal does not make sense and is just a recipe for abuses of a weak system. Consider the idea of respect, joke though it is.

Break the law and go to prison. Why is that so difficult as a concept? As though it is madness to think this way. This does suggest the crude attempt at conditioning by indicating that prison is wrong and so by default that crime is right. It's (almost) logical even though it is errant stupidity. Not sending 'offenders' to prison has the double benefit of not further overcrowding inadequate prisons an creating a 'crime-free' state. Common sense: goodbye. Say hello to madness.

The cost of building new prisons can be offset by the reduced cost of crime and in the construction-mad establishment (where the money is) does contradict itself. Unless the desire is simply to demonstrate a well-behaved society.

Possibly the (smart) ID card will show a clean record if the information is correct. But this assumes the ID card will become fact and every law-abiding citizen carries one. This does beg the question:

Will a convicted criminal have a human right to NOT have an ID card?

Being in possession of an ID card could perversely be regarded as proof of being law-abiding.