Reforming criminal justice
Sir: Crime continues to fall under this government and is now at its lowest level since the crime survey began in 1982. But we can’t be complacent. We still see too many of the same faces going round and round the criminal justice system, as Theodore Dalrymple notes in his article ‘The rehabilitation game’ (26 January).
We are already addressing the problems Dalrymple describes. We are changing the law so every community sentence will include punishment and introducing satellite tagging to keep a much closer eye on persistent and high-risk offenders.
I am looking at the use of cautions. We shouldn’t remove the right for the police to exercise discretion, but the public are right to expect people who commit serious crimes to be brought before a court to face tough justice. We have introduced a new mandatory life sentence for anyone convicted of a second very serious sexual or violent crime. In prison, offenders should be ready to roll up their sleeves. They should not be comfortable places full of perks and privileges, and I will see to it that they aren’t.
We want to extend rehabilitation to all offenders released from prison to better protect the public and help turn them away from crime for good. I want offenders met at the prison gates by a mentor who can help them get their lives on track. Striking a balance between tough punishment and solid rehabilitation is essential.
It is madness to carry on with the same old system and hope for a different result. I am determined to drive through these bold and important reforms and halt the revolving door of the criminal justice system.
Chris Grayling
Ministry of Justice, London SW1
Sir: On the very day that all the newspapers trumpeted the wonderful news that the crime rate was falling to ‘historically low’ figures, The Spectator includes Theodore Dalrymple’s article warning us that the politicians are using lies, deceit and fraud (his words!) in their attempts to persuade us that we are not under threat from the country’s criminals.
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