General Chat

yes

well, they wanted protection money off my dad, he refused,...........our family placed under Police protection cos of threats..........but hey, another story another night!!

PMSL ..Mac, neither did my Dad ..
Came out of a night club in London one night... in the 60,s to trouble ... they threatened him so Dad .. flash of silver out of his pocket ?
guys ran off.... an me dad? ... he just picked up his car keys!!
xxx

Hi Amanda, that's good to hear. My Dad when he had a business in London in the late 50's/early 60's actually got put upon by one of the Kray's lot....but that's another discussion..xx

Some years ago my ex partner was in a re-habilitation ( drugs) place.His Mother was very ill and so he was allowed to visit
her......the "minder" who came with him was an ex-convict ( one of the Crays heavys).......he had turned his life around after a long prison sentance and decided to dedicate his life to helping people with drugs/alcohol problems........so in some cases people can and do change.
Amanda

the sad thing is Rose, prisons are rife with drugs!!

My youngest brother got sent down a few years ago for ABH...he's 6' 5" and very well built. He got 6 months...served 3 then was tagged for a month...he certainly has learned his lesson and has since married and channels his energies into his family x

It all depends if the person is genuinely remorseful of their crime, having time to think about their actions and being away from outside influences can change a person in a minority of cases.

It all depends on their crime, if they shot a person dead in a panic (the gun went off accidentally) as they fled a scene with others, then there may be room for remorse, rehabilitation and a new crime free life afterwards.

If someone was stalked & killed, or the killing was pre meditated, then in my opinion, little hope of rehabilitation

well I don't disagree that sentencing is erratic to say the least....nor do i disagree that a re-offending level of 67% is way too high.....

I do think though that the type of crime IS relevant....for example...how many of those who re-offend...(excluding murders/ rapists etc) are 'drug -related offences' ?

It is a very broad and complex subject...as the views on all threads show!

xx

Rose, 67% is too high and even the government has admitted that prison is NOT a deterrent and the stats in my eyes speaks volumes...

I don't think the type of crime committed is relevant the fact that 67% re offend is..

Just a thought....many murderers come to the attention of the police long before they commit murder but receive relatively short sentances. One person in point was Roy whiting who was convicted of the murder of Sarah Payne. five years before Sarah's death he was convicted of the kidnap and sexual assault of a nine year old girl. Whiting who pleaded guilty to that crime was sentanced to five years and releaded after less than 4 years during which time he refused all offers of treatment and was referred to by probation officials and prison psychiatrist as "high risk". If he had been locked away for life he wouldn't have gone on to murder Sarah

ohh , Rose . Hmmmm,
Well firstly I think every prisoner who serves their time and is released is already given the benefit of the doubt .
Secondly if there are such a large amount of re-offenders , perhaps we should be looking at the sentences that are handed out , ie are they too light? not at the individual .
Prison is supposed to be a deterrent after all.
Kim xxx

Sorry not deserting the thread...just had to nip out...

Whirley...I don't think anyone will ever forget Jamie Bulger, nor any of the child victims of Brady and Hindley...

looking at those statistics from a different perspective though...that means one third of prisoners do NOT re-offend.....
1 in 3.....would be interesting to know the type of crime, age, etc of that 1 in 3...?

xx

The reason there are so many crimes and problems in this country is due to the Do Gooders that exist. Light sentencing, mollycoddling people in prison etc etc..

Maybe a thought should be spared for the parents & family of James Bulger for example. His murderers both now released from prison, living their lives, sadly for James, his was snuffed out by these animals...!

It depends on what crime they were sentanced for, a murderer may never kill again but I think child abusers and rapists are more inclined to reoffend because of the chemical urges that make them act the way they do. In general I don't see much point in locking up the so called white collar criminals, they should repay the community certainly but they are not a danger to the community and locking them away seems a little heavy handed...that is the trouble with our justice system (in my opinion anyway) we put harsher penalties in place for white collar crime than many violent offenders

Latest figures show the number of offenders who have previously served prison sentences has increased over the last 15 years, from 51% in 1992 to 67%.

have to say my ex did time for grievous bodily harm and attempted murder in his young days, but has never offended since.

me too rio think i was 35 in a 30 zone'''' hardened criminal i am

two that I can't name here...personally known to me many years ago now, both imprisoned for armed robbery....( not same place or time) both turned life around following release....

will find some more in the 'public domain ' Keith

xx

Leslie Grantham......murder
Ricky Tomlin
Johnny Cash

As mentioned by Heather..

There are many people who have served a spell 'at her majesty's pleasure' and then come out to not re-offend. Me Included.

Oh sorry i got caught for speeding . 36 in 30 zone . .does that count. lol

Rio