This House Would Limit Prison to Violent Offenders
When individuals are convicted of a criminal offence, the sentencers (judges of magistrates[1]) have many options for sentencing. These may include prison sentences (known as custodial sentences[2]) which are considered to be ‘reserved for the most serious offences’ where a fine or a community sentence cannot be ‘justified for the offence’[3], or where the court believes that the offence is so serious that the public need to be protected from the offender[4]. Non-custodial sentences are offered for less severe crimes, and may include fines[5] or community sentences, which include volunteer work, curfews, behavioural management courses, education and training or drug rehabilitation[6]. In 2008, 890,296 offenders in the UK received a fine[7] while 190,171 offenders were given a community sentence[8]. However, 9,734 offenders were given an absolute discharge[9] which meant that they received no punishment for their offences. In America, sentencing guidelines vary by state; notably, some states allow capital punishment while others do not[10]. While sentencing guidelines may vary between states, and between countries, many countries are currently facing a common problem: that the prison systems are overburdened[11][12][13][14].
This has brought discussion over whether sentencers rely too heavily on prisons as a form of justice. In the UK, the Ministry of Justice announced that the number of inmates in prisons exceeded the ‘operational capacity’[15], with inmates being held in police or court cells to try and ease the pressure on the overburdened prison system[16]. The total number of inmates was 8,000 higher than the number which the Prison Service assessed would comprise a ‘good, decent standard of accommodation’[17]. There have also been serious questions about whether offenders are receiving the most appropriate punishment for them, or whether prison has become a blanket form of punishment. One possible divide where we could draw a line between those who serve prison sentences and those who serve other forms of sentencing is between violence and non-violent offences. Violent offences might comprise crimes such as murder, manslaughter, rape, assault, terrorism, domestic violence and armed robbery[18], as opposed to non-violent offences like theft, burglary, fraud, white-collar crime or drug offences[19].
The mechanism for this debate is fairly simple; that violent offenders who pose a serious safety risk to the public and those around them will be imprisoned, but those who commit non-violent crimes will instead receive alternative forms of punishment. These alternative punishment will probably follow the standards already set up, but you may wish to argue that they will be increased – for example, fines will be increased, community service hours will be longer, education or training programmes will be more vigorous and so on.
[2] http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/sentencing/custodial-sentences.htm, accessed 31/08/11
[3] http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/sentencing/custodial-sentences.htm, accessed 31/08/11
[4] http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/sentencing/custodial-sentences.htm, accessed 31/08/11
[5] http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/sentencing/fines.htm, accessed 31/08/11
[6] http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/sentencing/community-sentences.htm, accessed 31/08/11
[7] http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/sentencing/fines.htm, accessed 31/08/11
[8] http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/sentencing/community-sentences.htm, accessed 31/08/11
[9] http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/sentencing/discharges.htm, accessed 31/08/11
[10] http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/states-and-without-death-penalty, accessed 31/08/11
[11] In the UK: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/aug/29/ukcrime.prisonsandprobation2, accessed 31/08/11
[12] In Canada: http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/node/18159, accessed 31/08/11
[13] In Australia: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-02-21/nsw-prisons-over-stretched-report/1950142, accessed 31/08/11
[14] In America: http://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2000/05/americas-prisons-are-full-of-criminals, accessed 31/08/11
[15] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7258725.stm, accessed 31/08/11
[16] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7258725.stm, accessed 31/08/11
[17] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7258725.stm, accessed 31/08/11
[18] http://victorlilaw.com/practice-areas/violent-non-crimes/, accessed 31/08/11
[19] http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cirg/investigations-and-operations-support, accessed 31/08/11
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