Justice in Britain

Well, not anymore there isn't. Due to a shortage of spaces in Britain's prisons (no one seems to have thought of building some more), the government has circulated new rules to police forces around the country detailing how they can deal with various criminals.

Burglars will be allowed to escape without punishment under new instructions sent to all police forces. Police have been told they can let them off the threat of a court appearance and instead allow them to go with a caution.

The same leniency will be shown to criminals responsible for more than 60 other different offences, ranging from arson through vandalism to sex with underage girls.

The rules will apply to those who have admitted their guilt (probably them all if they know they'll get off without going to court) and who have no prior record. It's just another step along the path away from the court system, and handing power over to the police to be judge and jury al in one. Perhaps 2000AD wasn't so far off the mark in imagining Judge Dredd as the future of law enforcement.

This from Blair's government which was supposed to be "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime". As if this wasn't bad enough there's this-

It emerged last month that some violent or sex offenders, given mandatory life sentences under a "two-strike" rule, have been freed after as little as 15 months.

Instead of attempting to do something about the lack of prison sizes the government (the Home Office apparently considers sending criminals to prison "uncivilised") is intent on doing all it can to let criminals remain free.

At the same time judges and magistrates have been bombarded with instructions from the senior judiciary to send fewer criminals to jail.

Burglars and muggers should be spared prison more often, courts have been told, and last week sentencing authorities ordered a further "raising of the custody threshold" to keep out of prison more offenders who would in the past have been given up to a year in jail.

So much for the British justice system.