“Shoplifters account for more than one in eight offenders who will not face jail and who will instead receive a suspended sentence”
Makes sense to me.
I guess that’s fine as long as they are tagged.
I did jury duty with a (edit) *case where a* guy who was a serial shoplifter, and he definitely deserved jail time. He was already in prison for a terrible crime or two, and the shoplifting was the icing on the cake.
The issue is staff aren’t supposed to do anything, and small shops just lose out. It’s seen as a soft ‘entry level’ crime so maybe if we use it as a way to turn it around rather than criminalise people it could be better.
There are many empty spaces in cities, real estate issues due to WFH. Why not create city jails for these minor offenders?
They’d still go to jails, cities get used, landlords still make cash and everyine gets something on the end?
Some space in cities can be converted to minimum security or community jail’s with proper cubicles, foyer, refectory, along with observation decks. Jailbirds could serve time and public passing the city could see what jail life is from the decks. A bit like going to zoo and public can see how jail is run and what offenders do while in jail.
There could be lessons learned and could deter would be chancers from committing crimes. Everyone gets something in return….
Alt-headline: “Shopkeepers and shoppers to suffer most from ending short jail terms in England and Wales”
I know of smaller stores, nothing like your Tesco or ASDA, who are having to employ security staff because of shop lifting. It’s the customer who pays for the security and thefts of stock at the end of the day, even if an insurance policy covers lost stock the premiums would go up if claims were made.
For once, this is a sensible measure on Criminal Justice by the government, and I hope it doesn’t get canned to throw red meat to the press ghouls.
If you send a shoplifter to prison for a month, they will come out and shoplift again. Prison does not work.
Most petty crime is driven by drug addiction or poverty. Placing someone in prison does not prevent access to drugs, and results in the person being released with a new drug debt from the dealers inside. Placing someone in prison for a month is long enough for them to lose any housing or job they had, so does not fix the poverty issue.
It has been known for the entire time I have had any interest in Criminal Justice that community sentences have lower reoffending rates than short prison sentences, so hopefully for the sake of reducing crime this measure gets retained!
Good. We don’t have room for drug addicts and alcoholics in our prisons.
Fund addiction services properly.
Oh and don’t buy stolen goods.
They did this in parts of America, it’s not going well so far, seemed like a compassionate move but the actual consequence is a vast increase in shop lifting, the only people that benefited are the fentanyl dealers
Better to address the causes of the shop lifting, which is usually drug addiction.
I’m personally excited for them to yell at the left for their weak policies, while this is only happening because the Tories have run out of space in Prisons and haven’t fixed the problem.
What if they’re allowed a smack by the attending officer, will that suffice?
Make the offenders work for the shops. Prison is nothing compared to dealing with the general public, that’ll scare me straight.
Oh fuck all the way off with this . They are letting rapists and pedos not go to jail because it’s full and they prioritise sending shoplifters and pot smokers to prison before them.
And shop lifters shouldn’t be sent to jail any way. How are they not seeing the correlation between food prices going through the roof because companies are greedy and people stealing to feed their families?
Pay people more or lower the cost of living , since neither of those seem to be an option as far as the powers that be are concerned that leaves us peasants with one option.
It’ll work if the funding is there for rehabilitation, preventative measures, addiction programmes, support, etc. etc.
But there isn’t. There is no money. There is no additional support.
All it will lead to is more shoplifting.
Forced labour is the way.
Teach them skills, force them to repay what they owe, and then find them accommodation where they can continue their trade.
Tough love is the answer.
Tories understanding of socialism. Haha
Who will pay for the stuff they steal? Do you have a mirror?
In the middle of a shoplifting epidemic…. You couldn’t make this shit up
Can’t wait for people to wonder why small independent shops close by the thousands in the upcoming months
That’s going so well in San Francisco after all, what could go wrong?
Also the article says “those given jail time from 6 to 12 months will now do community service”
You think 12 months is short? A whole year in jail is a damn long time, and it’s not just shoplifters that get that, violent people will be out too.
What a stupid idea. It’s the softly softly approach that has ruined this country
Yeah, because we definitely need LESS deterrents for shoplifting. It’s at epidemic levels already.
Why don’t we stop drugs going into prison? Honestly a chance at sobriety can change lives
So many people replying to this post seem to think rehabilitation does not already take place in prisons, or that all this people can become nice law-abiding citizens. When the simple fact you cannot rehabilitate someone who does not want to change. To think otherwise is niave
Shopliftters should be punished more not less. They are a blight on society and affect decent hard working people like shoppers and shop workers.
If they re-offend? Lock them up again this time for longer.
Absolutely terrible idea.
We need more prisons, more justice, and to punish people harder for longer.
The reason petty criminals like me used to shoplift is because there is zero punishment and zero deterrent.
Do you lot realise how fucking much i would have to shoplift to even slightly get suggested a prison sentence, it’s insane! I could shoplift everyday for an entire year, get caught every day and the court would still hesitate to send me to prison.
Prison doesn’t rehabilitate these days, let alone fix poor.
Wonderfully selective reporting from the Guardian, as always.
> … shoplifters, offenders **convicted of battery**, and **those who have assaulted emergency workers**, are the top three groups who will avoid prison under the government’s new measure.
25 comments
“Shoplifters account for more than one in eight offenders who will not face jail and who will instead receive a suspended sentence”
Makes sense to me.
I guess that’s fine as long as they are tagged.
I did jury duty with a (edit) *case where a* guy who was a serial shoplifter, and he definitely deserved jail time. He was already in prison for a terrible crime or two, and the shoplifting was the icing on the cake.
The issue is staff aren’t supposed to do anything, and small shops just lose out. It’s seen as a soft ‘entry level’ crime so maybe if we use it as a way to turn it around rather than criminalise people it could be better.
There are many empty spaces in cities, real estate issues due to WFH. Why not create city jails for these minor offenders?
They’d still go to jails, cities get used, landlords still make cash and everyine gets something on the end?
Some space in cities can be converted to minimum security or community jail’s with proper cubicles, foyer, refectory, along with observation decks. Jailbirds could serve time and public passing the city could see what jail life is from the decks. A bit like going to zoo and public can see how jail is run and what offenders do while in jail.
There could be lessons learned and could deter would be chancers from committing crimes. Everyone gets something in return….
Alt-headline: “Shopkeepers and shoppers to suffer most from ending short jail terms in England and Wales”
I know of smaller stores, nothing like your Tesco or ASDA, who are having to employ security staff because of shop lifting. It’s the customer who pays for the security and thefts of stock at the end of the day, even if an insurance policy covers lost stock the premiums would go up if claims were made.
For once, this is a sensible measure on Criminal Justice by the government, and I hope it doesn’t get canned to throw red meat to the press ghouls.
If you send a shoplifter to prison for a month, they will come out and shoplift again. Prison does not work.
Most petty crime is driven by drug addiction or poverty. Placing someone in prison does not prevent access to drugs, and results in the person being released with a new drug debt from the dealers inside. Placing someone in prison for a month is long enough for them to lose any housing or job they had, so does not fix the poverty issue.
It has been known for the entire time I have had any interest in Criminal Justice that community sentences have lower reoffending rates than short prison sentences, so hopefully for the sake of reducing crime this measure gets retained!
Good. We don’t have room for drug addicts and alcoholics in our prisons.
Fund addiction services properly.
Oh and don’t buy stolen goods.
They did this in parts of America, it’s not going well so far, seemed like a compassionate move but the actual consequence is a vast increase in shop lifting, the only people that benefited are the fentanyl dealers
Better to address the causes of the shop lifting, which is usually drug addiction.
I’m personally excited for them to yell at the left for their weak policies, while this is only happening because the Tories have run out of space in Prisons and haven’t fixed the problem.
What if they’re allowed a smack by the attending officer, will that suffice?
Make the offenders work for the shops. Prison is nothing compared to dealing with the general public, that’ll scare me straight.
Oh fuck all the way off with this . They are letting rapists and pedos not go to jail because it’s full and they prioritise sending shoplifters and pot smokers to prison before them.
And shop lifters shouldn’t be sent to jail any way. How are they not seeing the correlation between food prices going through the roof because companies are greedy and people stealing to feed their families?
Pay people more or lower the cost of living , since neither of those seem to be an option as far as the powers that be are concerned that leaves us peasants with one option.
It’ll work if the funding is there for rehabilitation, preventative measures, addiction programmes, support, etc. etc.
But there isn’t. There is no money. There is no additional support.
All it will lead to is more shoplifting.
Forced labour is the way.
Teach them skills, force them to repay what they owe, and then find them accommodation where they can continue their trade.
Tough love is the answer.
Tories understanding of socialism. Haha
Who will pay for the stuff they steal? Do you have a mirror?
In the middle of a shoplifting epidemic…. You couldn’t make this shit up
Can’t wait for people to wonder why small independent shops close by the thousands in the upcoming months
That’s going so well in San Francisco after all, what could go wrong?
Also the article says “those given jail time from 6 to 12 months will now do community service”
You think 12 months is short? A whole year in jail is a damn long time, and it’s not just shoplifters that get that, violent people will be out too.
What a stupid idea. It’s the softly softly approach that has ruined this country
Yeah, because we definitely need LESS deterrents for shoplifting. It’s at epidemic levels already.
Why don’t we stop drugs going into prison? Honestly a chance at sobriety can change lives
So many people replying to this post seem to think rehabilitation does not already take place in prisons, or that all this people can become nice law-abiding citizens. When the simple fact you cannot rehabilitate someone who does not want to change. To think otherwise is niave
Shopliftters should be punished more not less. They are a blight on society and affect decent hard working people like shoppers and shop workers.
If they re-offend? Lock them up again this time for longer.
Absolutely terrible idea.
We need more prisons, more justice, and to punish people harder for longer.
The reason petty criminals like me used to shoplift is because there is zero punishment and zero deterrent.
Do you lot realise how fucking much i would have to shoplift to even slightly get suggested a prison sentence, it’s insane! I could shoplift everyday for an entire year, get caught every day and the court would still hesitate to send me to prison.
Prison doesn’t rehabilitate these days, let alone fix poor.
Wonderfully selective reporting from the Guardian, as always.
> … shoplifters, offenders **convicted of battery**, and **those who have assaulted emergency workers**, are the top three groups who will avoid prison under the government’s new measure.
But yeah, let’s focus on shoplifters.