"And don't do it again."

[unixronin]

Yup, that's the new UK Home Office policy on, I quote, "more than 60" crimes including burglary, arson, vandalism, "taking a car without its owner's consent" (read: grand theft auto, in the US), and statutory rape:  If the offender doesn't have a criminal record, give him a caution and send him home.  The caution goes on your record, but does not require jail time, a court appearance, or even a fine.  The same "caution only" handling may also be applied, at police discretion, to offences including burglary of a shop or office, assault causing bodily harm, murder threats, and possession of Class A prohibited drugs.

The reasoning behind this?  Apparently the Home Office doesn't believe in prisons and feels there's too many people in jail.  They're also letting people out of prison much earlier due to overcrowding, as the Mail reports:

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.

And shoplifting, among other lesser crimes, is now apparently a fixed penalty, like a parking ticket.

Cautioning was used heavily in the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly for juvenile offenders under 18.

Tory Home Secretary Michael Howard cracked down on cautions in 1994 because young thugs and thieves were getting repeated cautions but no punishment.

But cautioning for adult offenders is now on the rise.  [Criminologist Dr David Green, of the Civitas think-tank] said: "The Home Office is missing its target to achieve a set number of offenders brought to justice. But it seems they regard a caution as an offender brought to justice.

"This is a nod and a wink to police forces - deal with your cases by cautions and we will hit our target."

I keep hearing things like this coming out of the UK in recent years.  Each one convinces me more that the UK is going to hell in a handbasket.

Comments

[ilcylic.livejournal.com]

Hahahahahaha. They punish citizens who defend themselves as criminals, and treat criminals like upstanding citizens and let them go home.

What the hell did we save these people from the Nazis for anyway?

-Ogre

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

As always, it's not the people, it's the government and a small but loud minority of whining crybabies.

[gdmusumeci.livejournal.com]

That's generally quite foolish. Coincidentally, I was reading RAH's _Starship Troopers_ on a flight the other day, and I think this sort of thing is exactly what he was talking about when he described the fall of the Western democracies....

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I believe you're right, and I feel the same way. I see us solidly into the Crazy Years in Heinlein's future history -- or, as docwebster put it,

"These aren't the Crazy Years.  These are the UTTERLY BARKING MAD Years."

Every time there's an announcement of some new patently absurd infringement in the name of "security", I find myself envisioning Islamic jihadists roilling around on the floor laughing until their sides hurt. They don't even have to do a damn thing any more. Our own governments are terrorizing us more effectively than they ever could.

[cymrullewes.livejournal.com]

I find myself envisioning Islamic jihadists roilling around on the floor laughing

Roilling? Okay. That's got me imagining them forming clumps of terrorists rolling on the floor and rising in to the air like bubbles in boiling water. :-)

I'm reminded of a story I read where the teenagers were given everything they ever wanted and anyone who disagreed with them or tried to change the teenager's behaviour was the one clapped in to jail. All the people were wondering why the teenagers were so unhappy and causing so much trouble. I wish I could remember the story and the author.

It seems to me that our government sees us as those teenagers and is reining us in hard because we were causing so much trouble. Either that or someone is paying them to rein us in.

My head hurts and I wish to move.

[olafthunderfoot.livejournal.com]

~shakes head~ the uk government is wacky!

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I think the term you're looking for is "barking mad".

[olafthunderfoot.livejournal.com]

that works as well!