The Telegraph reports...
Record numbers of 'lifers' on Britain's streets
A record number of prisoners given life sentences are now free to walk the streets, official records show.
Learco Chindamo (r) was sentenced to life in 1996 for the killing of headteacher Phlilp Lawrence Photo: PA The number of ''lifers'' released into the community under supervision has reached 1,797, Parole Board statistics revealed.
Despite a drop in numbers last year, the figures revealed an overall increase of 33% since 2004/05.
The figures come days after the release of Learco Chindamo, 29, the killer of London headteacher Philip Lawrence.
The Parole Board said it considered 24,204 cases during the year, compared with 28,596 in 2008/09, a fall of 15% due to fewer determinate sentences and recall cases being referred.
Sir David Latham, the Parole Board chairman, said the organisation was now facing a ''challenging'' year.
He said: ''During the past year we have faced the challenge of a continuing rise in our oral hearings caseload along with a critical shortage of members, and in particular judicial members, to hear those cases.
''The coming year also promises to be a challenging one as we work to reduce the backlog of outstanding oral hearings cases and at the same time manage changes that may result from the public consultation by ministers on our future status.
''No matter where our future landing place lies, the Board will continue to focus on maintaining the highest standards of case management and decision making as part of our core mission of working with others to protect the public.''
The board is an independent body which assesses prisoners to decide whether they can safely be released into the community.
Linda Lennon, the Board's chief executive, added: ''Reducing the outstanding case backlog and the delays experienced by prisoners will continue to be my top operational priority over the coming year.''
Chindamo was jailed indefinitely for the murder of Mr Lawrence outside St George's Roman Catholic School in Maida Vale, west London, in 1995.
Comment: Other than trying to stir the shit up, what is the point of this article? Personally, I would have questioned the Parole Board's claim that it is "maintaining the highest standards of case management". Which is belied by the following contradictory statement: "Reducing the outstanding case backlog and the delays experienced by prisoners will continue to be my top operational priority over the coming year".
The point is obvious John. Most citizens are worried about the idea that large numbers of people who have already taken at least one life are walking around as free men or women, and that they could be living next to them or that their teenage daughter could be sitting next to them on the bus.
ReplyDeleteOf course you don't see it this way, because you are one of those people. I know you don't do remorse, but you might at least try to do insight.
anonymous: Thanks for your insight, but you are missing both the point of the article and my point. As far as remorse is concerned, there are two Court of Appeal decisions which state that self-reporting to the police is a strong indication of remorse. I'll settle for that, rather than what some hack writes about me in a newspaper.
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