Why do you think that the police should dispense even more “instant justice” than the already do, joko?
One of the big problems at the moment is that the police are dealing with crime by out of court disposals (cautions, Penalty notices for disorder, Fixed Penalties) at far too higher rate. Some statistics which may surprise you:
- In the year to September 2011 more than a quarter of all recorded offences were dealt with by out of court disposals. These included 43,000 for Theft and handling Stolen Goods, 41,000 for drug offences, 18,000 for offences of violence, 6,000 for possession of a bladed article (max sentence 4 years), 3,300 for Burglary (14 years) and 200 for robbery (Life).
- 5% of people dealt with by way of caution for violent crime have more than ten previous cautions.
- More than 15% of those dealt with by way of caution have at least three cautions to their name.
- More than 60% of people dealt with by way of a caution already have at least one caution against them.
- The fixed penalty for shoplifting (theft) is just £80 – far less than most parking fines.
Police prevent and direct crime. The CPS decides charges and brings people to court. The courts impose appropriate sentences taking into account all the relevant factors. That’s the way it should be. Although the use of out of court disposals is slowly reducing, there is far too much use of them. The way to ensure that people such as the one mentioned in your questioned are dealt with appropriately is to bring them to court – not to provide the police with a greater arsenal of out of court options.