• The post you are reporting:
   
  Keith is right that we should "get them young" - as I think my own posts would support. Sid - it isn't anything about Dear Diddums, or do-gooders Keith - it's about taking an experienced eye to what works, not what suits. If we want to reduce offending we need to see what stops it recurring - and mostly what stops it occuring has nothing to do with punishment and more to do with changing behaviours - which never change without the person wanting it, which has nothing to do with punishment! I am not soft on criminals - I meet some very heavy-duty hardcore badboys on a daily basis these days and I offer no excuses for their crimes. What I do offer is the potential to reduce re-offending. Do-gooding/social work types are a problem, it has to be said - some nasties have been released because they hoodwinked the social workers and psychs - but a weathered and unsentimental eye taken to the evidence of what works is what we need. Punushment is very valid and has a place, but it won't impact on offending rates. Another tool entirely is needed for that, and the gutter press tabloids whipping up fear and loathing isn't going to achieve anything other than to impede progress.

Report Post

Your Name

Reason