[SlackDad]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/prisons/st...799756,00.html

Originally Posted by the Guardian

The number of prisoners being jailed for life has nearly doubled in the past 10 years and sentences served are now more than 50% longer than they were when first introduced, despite claims that judges are being too lenient.

Plus an excellent essay by Prof. David Wilson in yesterday's Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/prisons/st...799754,00.html

Originally Posted by David Wilson

Outrage over supposedly lenient sentencing or too "easy" parole is one thing, but the bald fact of the matter is that, with the exception of some 30 inmates, all 77,500 of the people currently in our jails will one day return to society; they will be "resettled", as it tends to be described rather quaintly in Home Office policy documents. Murderers, rapists, sex offenders, even paedophiles, will all come back into our world. They might move next door to you, sit beside you on the bus, serve you in the supermarket, or toast England's success with you in the pub.

Later the articles discusses an initiative in Canada called, "Circle of Support and Accountability for released paedophiles", using the example of a released paedophile Charlie.

And so he had, for this child's father, Harry Nigh, had just set up the first ever Circle of Support and Accountability for released paedophiles - in an act that Harry and his wife described to me as "accidental courage". In fact, all they had done was to invite four of their friends over to dinner with Charlie; they wanted to see if they could do anything to help him resettle in the community in the face of public panic. But then, over the next 12 years, they kept following this basic template of the first ever circle. Each day, one of the six would meet with Charlie, the "core member", to buy him a coffee, ensure that he was taking his medication, and just to provide an ear for Charlie to vent his many complaints. Then, on the seventh day, they would all come together to eat a meal, find out how Charlie was doing, and celebrate his successes, or help him to overcome his problems. To put it bluntly, Charlie became part of their extended families. Two months ago, when Charlie died, his circle members were his only mourners. Yet, in the 12 years of liberty before his death, Charlie Taylor had never reoffended.

Harry Nigh was clear that the key to the circles' success is in the name. What it offers is precisely support and accountability - support when the released paedophile is facing a crisis; support in finding work, or a home; support in making certain that there is enough to eat, and that there is someone to talk to. But accountability, too, to ensure that the core member of the circle is not going to the park or loitering around schools.

What, for me, this excellent essay establishes is that as much as we may not like to admit it, or as uncomfortable as the initiatives sound, unless we all work together in dealing with the problems, making loud noises about soft sentencing and leniant judges, will not reduce the problem. But of course, I wonder which one is easier?