Should we (in the UK) have a Royal Commission into the Criminal Justice system?

Question

Overcrowded prisons, gun and knife crime rife - where do you see punishment and its relevance in 21st Century Britain? (Forget the death penalty - it is banned under European Law.)

Isn't it a shame that, when we post questions on the UK and Ireland site, US Citizens read them - well, a bit of them - he missed the UK bit - and then spout forth their ignorance. Answers are ONLY invited from those who have some input into the situation in the UK. Jaread - use the last four letters of your "name" and you won't appear QUITE as stupid as you almost certainly are.

Answer 1

Yeah Jaread did shoot himself in the foot. Is ignorance a criminal offence in the US? If it was, Jaread would be behind bars...

Anyway, I understand that a new Criminal Justice Bill is to coming up soon, but this will deal more with the administration of justice that the philosophy or credo behind punishment.

I think that a fresh look at the punishment / crime framework is called for. Sentencing is often influenced more by short term political point scoring and the public allow themselves to be whipped up into a moral outrage by the media. For example, the recent disposal of a rape case for what appeared to be a short sentence was quickly condemned by the same government that introduced the sentencing guidelines that the Home Secretary and the media then criticised.

If it fair to accept I think that the public should have an influence over sentencing policy, but unfortunately the public are too easily influenced by the media exploiting public fears and prejudices. That is why we have judges to smooth the spikes of the ebb and flow of public opinion (though some "favourites" like torturing paedophiles will always be with us).

So, the independence of the judiciary needs to be re-asserted (I remember not so long ago the concept of an independent judiciary, and executive (civil service) were a cornerstone of our unwritten constitution).

The policy of sentencing strategies need to updated given our present understanding of the relationship between punishment, deterrence and re-offending.

Clearly, this needs to be done independently of the government and the judiciary. Traditionally, this would be the task of a Royal Commission, but since we can no longer be sure that any "independant" enquiry will be independant (remember Hutton), I am not sure that a Royal Commission is fit for purpose. So, controversially, and I am not a pro-European, perhaps we should have a pan Europe sentencing policy. After all, since we have ceded our human rights legislation to Brussels, it would at least fit within the framework and spirit of a united Europe.

Answer 2

Britain needs more than a royal commission. It needs a democratic system where royals dont control what the media says about them, dont control the social system, and not, as it recently appeared, they also control the legal system which should not be in any society. When the inquest intothe death of Diana was set to start about a year ago, it never began because the witnesses from France were forbidden by british police from entry into Britain at the channel tunnel, and thus could not appear to testify. There could be but one source for shutting the mouths of truth - the same source that has one hand in every brits pocket and the other hand over every brits mouth - that corrupt bunch of pickpocketers - the royal family.,

Answer 3

There have already been Royal Commissions and Law Commissions looking at different aspects of the Criminal Justice System. But the difficulties you raise are because of a breakdown in society and reading a lot of the hatred from some people on this website, I don't think there's much hope!

Answer 4

I think that the prisons are overcrowded because we do not have enough of them. The prisons in London in particular, were built centuries ago to house far fewer numbers than we currently have. The answer, I believe, is to lock up only those who present a danger of sexual or violent offending to other members of society, and build sufficient prisons to house them.

As far as gun and knife crime is concerned, I may be considered naive in terms of my views but I do not believe that the average person on the street is in grave danger of being a victim of a knifing or being shot. Of course your chances increase if you are male, in your teens/early twenties and hang around in city centres on a Friday or Saturday night, or are a member of a gang.

Punishment has its role to play but it is a very minor one. We as a society need to look at the cause of the disease and not turn all our attention to the symptoms. As long as we continue to do this, we will experience overcrowding in our prisons.

Answer 5

by way of stupid human beings bringing in regulations approximately human rights!! additionally the explanation why such stupid crimes take place is using the fact we don't have a countrywide provider to variety the idiots out!! television and media have shown how human beings have been badly taken care of by using the police or had the incorrect punishment which has compelled the police to be lenient and too careful over how they talk to or manage all of us.

Answer 6

You say forget the death penalty because European law says so?
I say forget European law and become independent again

Answer 7

Where have you been for the past 200 years. America is a Republic. We do not have a King, nor any Royal offices. Geez! I don't believe what I read sometimes.

Answer 8

What justice system?