Prisons minister says criminals could cut jail sentences by saying 'sorry' | Society | The Observer

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Tens of thousands of offenders may be able to reduce their sentences by making personal apologies to their victims, under plans for a "rehabilitation revolution" in the criminal justice system. Crispin Blunt, the prisons minister, is considering the move as part of a drive to offer victims the chance to come face-to-face with the person who committed the crime against them. A report released today by two charities, Victim Support and the Restorative Justice Consortium, suggests the policy could save £185m in two years by cutting reoffending. The minister has also declared his support for a form of "community payback" where money that is earned by criminals, either in prison or during alternative forms of punishment, is diverted to the victims of crime as a form of "community payback". The Ministry of Justice has also drawn up plans to take thousands of prisoners who are mentally ill or addicted to drugs out of prison and place them in secure treatment centres. Around 13,000 people are in UK prisons for drugs offences. According to the probation union, Napo, a further 5,000 men and 500 women in the system have psychotic disorders. The radical reforms will fuel an increasingly bitter law and order row within the coalition government. Ken Clarke, the minister of justice, has been fiercely criticised for arguing that the number of prisoners in UK jails should be reduced. Last week Blunt was forced by Downing Street to withdraw plans to abolish a ban on comedy workshops and parties in prison. He said that offenders could be confronted with the victims of their crime in meetings facilitated by police officers. "I'm a maximalist when it comes to restorative justice – I want to get it into our system at every stage," he said. "It makes common sense: if you have a system that is remote, so the victim doesn't really engage, then [they become] frustrated by the lack of involvement. "With community payback there is a value of the labour that is being done [in prison or alternative forms of punishment] and that value should be cashed and should be going back to the victim. But some Conservative MPs warned against favouring the wishes of those working in the criminal justice system, and not the wider public. Tory MP Douglas Carswell said: "Restorative justice is certainly a fad that excited those that work for the criminal justice system, and I am not sure it is necessarily a bad thing. But it should be no substitute for justice. Some people tend to think that rehabilitation should take primacy over punishment. I don't think most people agree with that." Blunt is being advised about how to roll out the plans by Victim Support and the Restorative Justice Consortium, which wants 75,000 victims of robbery, violence and burglary each year to be offered meetings, arguing that this would cut reconviction rates by 27%. The report recommends meetings take place before sentencing. Lawrence Kershen QC, chair of the Restorative Justice Consortium, said case law indicated that judges could take into account a restorative meeting when considering sentencing. "An important element that judges are looking for is whether there is remorse. The reason we look for that is if someone feels remorse there is a better chance – although no guarantee – that they will not do it again." Both charities point out that such meetings are used in other countries to divert people out of the criminal justice system.Critics claim that offenders could manipulate such a system by lying, but Kershen added: "Most of the time victims know if someone is genuine when they say they are sorry. Offenders say facing their victim is one of the hardest things to do. You cannot hide behind a lawyer – you are there, naked in a way." The Forgiveness Project, a grassroots organisation, helps to encourage restorative justice by facilitating meetings for offenders with the actual victims or "surrogate victims". Among the people who have been helped by the project are Mary Foley, whose 15-year-old daughter was stabbed to death by teenager Beatriz Martins-Paes, who later wrote to her apologise. The mother has forgiven Martins-Paes and wants to meet her, saying restorative justice brings "closure and healing".

Despite being somewhat... euh... farouche in my opposition to rehabilitation in general, I kind of like this idea. To be fair it's mostly because I think it might be an interesting idea to model penal procedure more on how the civil courts work, with penalties being negociated between the victims and the convicted criminals.

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Originally Posted by Zichao

Tory MP Douglas Carswell said: "Restorative justice is certainly a fad that excited those that work for the criminal justice system, and I am not sure it is necessarily a bad thing. But it should be no substitute for justice. Some people tend to think that rehabilitation should take primacy over punishment. I don't think most people agree with that."

Huh? Really? What kind of dumb people would say they want their system to punish rather than rehabilitate? (unless I am the personal victim of a particular criminal, in which case, yes, I want him to personally suffer - but that's revenge, not justice).

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Despite being somewhat... euh... farouche in my opposition to rehabilitation in general, I kind of like this idea. To be fair it's mostly because I think it might be an interesting idea to model penal procedure more on how the civil courts work, with penalties being negociated between the victims and the convicted criminals.

How does that work when I say "OKay, mate, let's go Yakuza style. You cut one of your finger to show me you really mean it when you say 'sorry' and we call it quits".

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Haha, or batsu game style - I'll let you off paying for my stolen i-pod if you drink a pint of aojiru. That would make for awesome tv.

No, awesome as that would be, I was thinking more in terms of money/jailtime only. I bet most victims'd go for the cash too, which'd help solve the overcrowding problem.

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Originally Posted by Zichao

No, awesome as that would be, I was thinking more in terms of money/jailtime only. I bet most victims'd go for the cash too, which'd help solve the overcrowding problem.

What kind of crime? What kind of money? Presumably, most petty criminals are poor as dirt.

And, if you steal my i-pod and want to give me £50 instead ( - cost £130), then it doesn't work. £50 won't compensate me for the object taken, the trauma of being robbed and the time spent getting that thief and convincting him. I'd rather see him suffer. Hopefully, he might get raped in jail?

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What kind of crime? What kind of money? Presumably, most petty criminals are poor as dirt.

1. Any kind of crime.
2. That's for the judge to decide after hearing the arguments of the parties.
3. Payment by installments.

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And, if you steal my i-pod and want to give me £50 instead ( Apple iPod touch 8GB Latest version: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo Apple iPod touch 8GB Latest version: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo - cost £130), then it doesn't work. £50 won't compensate me for the object taken, the trauma of being robbed and the time spent getting that thief and convincting him.

So like in civil law, you'd give your estimate of what the injury was worth, he'd give his, and the judge would decide.

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I'd rather see him suffer. Hopefully, he might get raped in jail?

Well jail is an option. But if you want rape to be available as one of the punishments I'd rather you organised a group to lobby parliament than just allowed the prison system to be crap. That way it's all official.

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Originally Posted by Zichao

1. Any kind of crime. 2. That's for the judge to decide after hearing the arguments of the parties. 3. Payment by installments. So like in civil law, you'd give your estimate of what the injury was worth, he'd give his, and the judge would decide.

Hm. Let's put it this way - I am willing to give it a go but I think that, for criminal cases, the amount required will always be too substantial and thus it kind of breaks down.

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Well jail is an option. But if you want rape to be available as one of the punishments I'd rather you organised a group to lobby parliament than just allowed the prison system to be crap. That way it's all official.

The point I am making is that, actually, if you ask me, I might prefer revenge/personal suffering to be visited upon the criminal than some small amount of money...

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Hm. Let's put it this way - I am willing to give it a go but I think that, for criminal cases, the amount required will always be too substantial and thus it kind of breaks down.

But what's substantial? It's pretty rare that people get huge prison sentences at the moment. I mean, a cople of months for burglary, three years for rape... It's not a lot. My system would give people the chance to choose between a custodial sentence or the cash equivalent.

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The point I am making is that, actually, if you ask me, I might prefer revenge/personal suffering to be visited upon the criminal than some small amount of money...

That's your choice.

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