I have a great inside knowledge of the police and, because of this I am one of their strongest critics when they get things wrong – which they increasingly do but this is to much to take the other way.
This animal was sentenced to 14 months inside – which was barely enough and then he is released after serving less than 3 months. What are our Police to think. The “state” has an over-riding and powerful obligation to support our police when they are doing a thankless and potentially dangerous job on our behalf but the “state”, in the shape of the mindless idiots who released this man have signally failed to uphold this obligation.
This has very serious ramifications, years ago, an officer knew full well that anyone who lifted a finger to his uniform and “office” in an agressive way which resulted in injury to that officer, the offender was going to prison for a very long time. This approach, allowed the officer to carry out his duties courageously, without fear or favour or “holding back” when the odds against him were not in his favour, the result was, villains knew this also and it was a brave man who lifted his hand to a copper and the “office” that he represented.
The idiots that released this man should have ensured that he served every day of his 14 months sentence. In one fell swoop, they have shown the Police that they can no longer count on the “state” to support them, that people who attack police will be dealt with in a very trivial and non-exemplary fashion and the very basis of the unwritten compact that existed between our Police and the state now lies in tatters.
This Labour Government have “dumbed down” prison sentences and criminal sentencing generally to totally meaningless and innefective levels. Never before have our courts handed down such pathetic sentences and they have much to answer for. Only yesterday Jack Straw, the Minister for Justice said that he was angry at the liberals who used gobbledegook to justify going soft on criminals and not giving equal consideration for victims, he implied that he was not responsible for the soft penal policy which was being pushed by lobbyists and self interested groups. What a lie, what deciet, what downright hypocracy. He is the man that started and has pushed “soft” sentencing, he is the man who told the “Sentencing Guidlines Panel” that prison should be superceded by community punishments and terms of imprisonment reduced. The result of New Labour’s penal policy, animals like this go virtually free whilst our Police have to put their personal safety on the line every time that they leave the station on duty. I hope that they are satisfied. Perhaps they would like to be a copper.

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The original sentence was a farce, this is just sheer lunacy brought about by long term interference in our justice system by do gooders and liberal nanny’s.

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Nothing shocks me in this country anymore

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put them up against a wall, it is the only way other chavs will learn

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The sentence served is wholely inappropriate but what do people expect from a criminal justice system that has been emasculated and is not fit for purpose.

Ultimately people get what they vote for and if the people of Britain continue to elect spineless politicians tucked away in ivory towers then it follows that we will continue to get a justice system to match.

Violent crime is soaring, despite attempts to fudge the figures over the past decade, and yet time and time again we have cases like this to highlight the ineffective deterent that exists in our legal system and ultimately in society itself.

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“For offenders who are considered to be of an appropriate risk, they may be released subject to the curfew and tagging provisions. Typically with about 3 months of sentence left to serve”.

I repeat Barrington, those responsible for releasing this man were mindless idiots, they had the power to keep this man in custody for the optimum period allowed under this Labour Governments non-existent penal and Criminal Justice policy. They failed to do so. Even 1 day’s early release was sending the wrong message.
I don’t only disagree with the length of the original sentence, I totally disagree and despair at what this Government has done to the well ordered and civilized society that we used to enjoy. When criminals like this can viciously and dangerously assault “an officer of the law” (forget he is a Policeman – think more of what his “office” represents) and in affect, get away with it, then our society is on a headlong dash into the “pits” – if it is not already there. Forget also, the very few bad egg Coppers who have besmirched the force, think more of the young men and girls who go out to do our dirty work for us. They represent the authorative arm of society that stops it becoming a “bedlamised” anarchy, they represent and impose, not by brute force but by common consent and approval for their actions, civilized values and norms that makes our lives liveable, free from oppression by others amongst us and, all in all, both individually and collectively, they maintain a tranquill and peaceful society. What they represent, has to be supported by the state, after all they are the “arm of sanction” of the state. If the state does not support them by handing out exemplary and “special” punishment to those people who attack them, then we all suffer and our civilized standards of living are dimished. Whether we accept it or not, the Copper is a special person in our society and under our form of constitution.
Everyone connected with the “laughable” penal and Criminal Justice system has a duty to support the Police and deal effectively with those like this man. All, from the judge downwards, to the idiots that released him from custody have failed in their duty and, as for Jack Straw, our esteemed Labour Minister of Justice, what can one say, the man is a disgrace and so is the policy that he is responsible for.

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Surely a community order should have been the appropriate punishment in the first instance. It’s no wonder there’s so much crime when a mistake can lead to prison. Give people a chance.

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this shows labour has gone soft on crime, we need to lock them up and hang them all, first they pay the police less then they allow this , this labour lot must go now, we would sort all this out with more prisons, tougher sentances, more police, more cso’s, more jails, more judges, more arrests, more hanging, more powers for councils to put in place asbos and things like that and less taxes too, come on, we are ready to rule!

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I actually thinbk most people in the country agree with me as well Idontbelieveit so you are not alone in that view.

Unless we have stricter laws and punishments we are going to become a small version of the USA where everything goes.

I would also give 4 year sentences to anyone found carrying a offensive weapon

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And they wonder why society is in the total mess it is!

This once great nation is now it’s own worse enemy – the people involved, in any way, with this
state off affairs should do the honourable thing and throw themselves upon the sword.

If we don’t want a repetiotion of this we should all call our MP’s and demand action – will we do it – no!

We fought Hitler and his tyranny only to allow ourselves to be conquered by the wet lettuce liberals.

Hang your heads in shame!!

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hang them all

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‘I beg to differ Peter, it was the Government that you support, ie New labour that reduced the “time served” from 2/3rds to 1/2.’

Stuart,
You’re wrong. The Criminal Justice act of 1991, implemented in October ’92, gave rise to the following change:

(x) Automatic unconditional release
Those sentenced to less than 12 months are released automatically half way through their sentence (unless “additional days” have been imposed for breaches of prison discipline). Adults are not subject to supervision following release, but young offenders are subject to a minimum of three months supervision (or until their 22nd birthday if that is sooner). All will be ‘at risk’ until the very end of their sentence; that is, if they commit a further imprisonable offence before the end of their original sentence, the court dealing with the new offence may add all or part of the outstanding sentence to any new sentence it imposes.

(xi) Automatic conditional release

Those sentenced to 12 months or more but less than four years are released automatically half way through their sentence (subject to “additional days”). They are released on licence and subject to supervision up to three quarters (or to the end in the case of some sex offenders) and are ‘at risk’ to the end of the original sentence.
(Source – Home Office website)

As I recall we had a Tory government from 1979 to 1997…

As a matter of fact in the early 1980s they also introduced the possibility of parole for those serving 18 months or more, whereas it was previously only available to those serving sentences of 3 years or more.

I understand that the purpose of this was to reduce the prison population and the corresponding costs.

I’m fairly ambivalent about these policies – there’s certainly no evidence to show that longer sentences lead to a reduction in crime, but I thought we should rely on facts in this discussion.

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Re H St John Peasbody – Mistake? just what mistake was it this thug made?? He chose to deliberately set upon one officer who was on his own, whilst backed up by 3 other ‘friends’. His mistake was to attack an officer who knew him and his mates well enough to identify him immediately.

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