David Green and the Times: Prison doesn't work why don't you admit it?
The simpleton, David Green, the director of the think-tank Civitas, is claiming that prison works and the failing is that we won't admit it. Stupid boy! His argument goes like this, whilst prisoners are inside they are not committing crimes outside therefore prison works. However, this is just stating the bloody obvious.
If prison works, why is the re-offending rate at 80%? This clearly proves that prison does not work.
It just goes to show that the Times has sunk to gutter level printing such garbage from the likes of David Green. Perhaps, Daniel Finkelstein is not up to the job as editor?
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
With proper planning and the necessary will to continue to improve the situation, it should eventually be possible to increase capacity sufficiently to boost the prison population to around 60,000,000 and thereby eradicate crime completely.
ReplyDeleteHang on a minute, just impose a blanket whole-life sentence on everyone and seal the coastline with razor wire, and hey presto, crime free Britain.
hmmm, I see what you're saying, but I also see what David Green is saying. It's true (at least in America) that a majority of crimes are committed by the same people. Lock those people up, so the theory goes, and you will reduce crime. It makes sense on a theoretical level. Why are recidivism rates so high - well, again, maybe we're locking up the same people who are committing the crimes and they'd just be committing more crimes if they were out on the street.
ReplyDeleteI'm not advocating for prison, but I recognize why we have it and it does seem to be easier to dump on prisons than defend them. I find Green's article somewhat refreshing as at least a different viewpoint than the usual.
The problem I have with David Green is that he is a extreme right winger, and uses the think thank to cause prisoners more suffering. Some while back he published an article in the Telegraph and quoted statistics which supposedly supported his argument and I was able to knock him down.
ReplyDeletePrisoners do commit crimes in jail. They commit thousands of assaults, for example. The implication of Greens thesis is that these crimes dont count, prisoners dont count, that they are beneath the law.
ReplyDeleteI challenged David Green in the Daily Telegraph on this point some while back.
ReplyDeleteSorry, i am playing catch-up!
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