Surely this is discriminating against the hard working white criminals who will get longer sentences.
Because they havent been as hard done by as the racial/ ethnic minority criminals
Some pretty shitty reporting from the Beeb there.
The guideline is about upbringing, of which discrimination forms a part.
âThe approach to sentencing should be individualistic and focused on the child or young person, as opposed to offence focused âŚâ the guidelinesâ introductory remarks state.
Rehabilitation is the target: âIt is important to avoid âcriminalisingâ children and young people unnecessarily; the primary purpose of the youth justice system is to encourage children and young people to take responsibility for their own actions and promote reintegration into society rather than to punish.â
Factors regularly present in the background of young offenders include âdeprived homes, poor parental employment records, low educational attainment, early experience of offending by other family members, experience of abuse and/or neglect âŚâ and the misuse of drugs or alcohol.
Magistrates and judges are advised that they should always have âaccess to information about how best to identify and respond to these factors and, where necessary, that a proper assessment has taken place in order to enable the most appropriate sentence to be imposedâ.
Black and minority ethnic youths are over-represented in the youth justice system, the guidelines acknowledge. A significant proportion of looked-after children and young people are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, the report says, while others may have suffered âdiscrimination and negative experiences of authorityâ. Such issues need to be taken into account when sentencing offenders.
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I do disagree with the statement
" The approach to sentencing should be individualistic and focuses on the child or young person as opposed to offense focused"
If you had a set of laws and the sentences for these are laid out it should not matter what ethic background or what your racial background is the same set of rules should apply to all.
If stealing a loaf of bread means transportation to the colonies then so be it. Put the offender on the next PO boat leaving the U.K but changing the rules because you are an ethnic minority will only encourage the offenders to think " We will get a lighter sentence than the majority of people in this country if we do this and is therefore not a deterrent.
Itâs not just ethnic minorities. Itâs people from disadvantaged backgrounds of any kind.
I agree with the spirit of the guidelines. Iâm not sure youâve understood them at all.
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Loving the pc wording of over representation, justice is blind by the way.
So what you saying is any disadvantaged person gets sentenced lighter
That is just wrong In my eyes of course.
If you do the crime do the time.
All you will get now is every criminal saying âI was disadvantaged he / she had more than me I just wanted what they had please dont be hard on meâ
One set of rules one set of sentences
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Without sitting on the fence, sentencing has guidelines and the judge works within them using the case to sentence ie discrection. That said this will be used by the liberalâs to lighten sentencing, liberal state of bleeding hearts.
Have to admit that lâm firmly in the camp of you do the crime, you do the time, if found guilty of courseâŚ
The Govt would do better to look into the causes of disadvantage found in offenders. Mind you,that would open a can of worms that our leaders are unwilling to acknowledge and more importantly unwilling to chuck funds at to redress. Fuckers.
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Nail firmly on the head.
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Can I remind people, because it doesnât seem to have been mentioned here, that these guidelines apply to children?
We already have one of the lowest ages of criminal responsibility in the developed world. Thatâs ten, by the way.
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Dont give a fuck if you are black or white, male or female, rich or poor - if you break the law, you reap the whirlwind.
No ifs, no buts, no exceptions
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If you think the only way out of being poor, having low educational attainment, living in shit housing is to join a gang (seemingly glamorous lifestyle with cash available), be exploited by older gang members, do stuff you probably donât want to do, then you get involved as there is little opportunity. Disproportionately young black male children (those 10-17 year olds) are becoming involved in that. I personally think that being groomed for a gang should be considered similar to child sexual exploitation.
Iâve worked with kids who get involved in criminal behaviour, Iâve seen how they live, the lack of parental control as (contrary to belief) the parents are out all day in shit low paid work. They often donât have aspirations.
As one of those do-gooder lefties (I really must get a badge made and wear it with pride) I think this needs to be done. Agree with cobham saint that the government wonât probably want to provide the cash actually needed to sort out the poverty causing most of the issues.
Plus we also criminalise are children in the UK pretty early on. There are other countries who are more therapeutic with the kids and have less reoffending.
I could dig out my dissertation from 2012 if you want some slightly old facts on this subject.
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Quite right too, a crime doesnât have an age barrier.
Hug a hoodie, people should know right from wrong, what about the victims?
Coming from a disadvantaged background has always been used in mitigation of punishment and argued by CPS lawyers. I remember when i was in court in the early 90âs (not The Accused you understand) because some no mark drove into my car and wrote it off before fleeing the scene (disqualified, on bail and probably drunk). The case before mine was a nipper who had over 20 charges for vehicle theft, dangerous driving, driving without licence, insurance, etc read out. He turned on the waterworks, his Brief banged on about how he was from a poor background and was a drug addict. The Magistrate blathered on for ages about how being poor had obviously had a contributory factor in his behaviour and he was an unfortunate product of a heartless society, etc, etc and ordered 20 hours of community service and a ÂŁ50 fine payable at a ÂŁ1 a week. As soon as he heard that he turned to his mates who were watching and shouted âFuckinâ, result!â As the coppers who had spent so much time bringing the case held their heads in their hands. The Magistrate looked shocked and the little cunt walked free to cause more misery on the streets. No remorse, no rehab, no comeback for his crimes.
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Could you clarify what you mean?
Despite what I said above, it is obvious that if you are from a relentlessly poor background with a lack of opportunity, you will be more readily attracted to crime be it through the quick fix it can bring or peer pressure. So it _ should _ be considered, but there has to be a system of support designed to take first time offenders and try and give them something to work towards where they can become a decent member of wider society. Some do this with their own determination, but i suspect lots donât and will need support.
After all, itâs better to turn an offender into a non offender than a repeat offender. Stands to reason.
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A rather silly response.
Would you charge a toddler that doesnât understand the rules of commerce for shoplifting if it had picked up some sweets without its motherâs knowledge?
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If a crime is committed then age doesnât come into it, a crime has to be tried as a crime regardless of the punishment.
No, because I doubt there was intent.
Far from a silly response, I think weâre all going down to the age of responsibility.