Since the riots started in London last week and spread across the main cities in England, accusations were ringing out from this side of the Atlantic that the UK had no intestinal fortitude and that the authorities were going to have to start getting tough with the perpetrators of the crime. Man, did the Brits ever take note. Here is what convicted rioters can look forward to if Prime Minister David Cameron and his hardcore crew have their way.
The British government, and in particular Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, is being very vocal about cutting benefits for people who do not look for work (NOT people who are out of work and looking, but those content to sit at home and collect), and Smith is also saying that those same rules should apply to people convicted of rioting. Of course, some of the trouble stems from the fact that benefits were cut to begin with, so one has to wonder if this would just continue a vicious circle.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg believes that rioters should not be imprisoned.
Refreshingly, Clegg knows that prison rarely rehabilitates, rather it turns those imprisoned into martyrs while they learn new tricks. Clegg would prefer they get suited up in orange overalls and return to the area they vandalized to be put to work repairing the damage they caused. Clegg is a smart man.
This next one will be difficult to enforce, and there are freedom of speech issues, but Cameron is considering the idea of banning convicted rioters from using social media sites due to the fact that the riots were so well organized thanks to Twitter, Facebook, and the rest. "When people are using social media for violence we need to stop them, said the PM. Good luck, sir.
Deputy PM Clegg would like to make criminals face their victims, to look them in the eye. It is a nice idea, but this one seems like a non-starter. He is assuming that they have a conscience.
Boris Johnson, the eccentric Mayor of London, would like to take young offenders between 11 and 15 out of school and into Pupil Referral Units, to isolate them from their peer group. How he would stop these PRUs from becoming like pre-prisons remains to be seen.
Cameron is talking up the idea of non-military National Citizen Service, to teach 16-year-olds teamwork, discipline, duty and decency. The idea is not being taken particularly seriously by other politicians, but perhaps it should.
Source: Benzinga
The British government, and in particular Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, is being very vocal about cutting benefits for people who do not look for work (NOT people who are out of work and looking, but those content to sit at home and collect), and Smith is also saying that those same rules should apply to people convicted of rioting. Of course, some of the trouble stems from the fact that benefits were cut to begin with, so one has to wonder if this would just continue a vicious circle.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg believes that rioters should not be imprisoned.
Refreshingly, Clegg knows that prison rarely rehabilitates, rather it turns those imprisoned into martyrs while they learn new tricks. Clegg would prefer they get suited up in orange overalls and return to the area they vandalized to be put to work repairing the damage they caused. Clegg is a smart man.
This next one will be difficult to enforce, and there are freedom of speech issues, but Cameron is considering the idea of banning convicted rioters from using social media sites due to the fact that the riots were so well organized thanks to Twitter, Facebook, and the rest. "When people are using social media for violence we need to stop them, said the PM. Good luck, sir.
Deputy PM Clegg would like to make criminals face their victims, to look them in the eye. It is a nice idea, but this one seems like a non-starter. He is assuming that they have a conscience.
Boris Johnson, the eccentric Mayor of London, would like to take young offenders between 11 and 15 out of school and into Pupil Referral Units, to isolate them from their peer group. How he would stop these PRUs from becoming like pre-prisons remains to be seen.
Cameron is talking up the idea of non-military National Citizen Service, to teach 16-year-olds teamwork, discipline, duty and decency. The idea is not being taken particularly seriously by other politicians, but perhaps it should.
Source: Benzinga
