Discounted Sentences for Surrender, Confession and Plea
| Author | J A Coutts |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201839205600205 |
| Published date | 01 May 1992 |
| Date | 01 May 1992 |
| Subject Matter | Comment |
COMMENT
DISCOUNTED
SENTENCES
FOR
SURRENDER,
CONFESSION
AND
PLEA
Even before the recent prison riots and jail-breaks and the consequent reports
of inquiries which pointed to the state of, and inparticular to the overcrowding
in, prisons, there had been much public discussion of that topic. There would
appear, in theory, to be two courses of action which might solve the
problem-
to increase the number of places in order to meet existing requirements or to
decrease the number of requirements in order to meet the number of places
now available. The government's grandiose scheme of refurbishment and
new building indicates an acceptance of the first, the more expensive,
alternative. That appears to lead to the conclusion that it is of the opinion
that the other so-called option (of reducing the number of those in custody)
is illusory, as it is incapable of achievement.
If
this is indeed the government's
opinion, it could, in the circumstances of today, well be right.
Inthe case of four-fifths of those in custody, namely those already convicted,
it may be thought that alternatives to custody will find little public support,
in view of the growth of serious and violent crime, which appears to have
led to a wide acceptance of the notion expressed in Lawton
U's
dictum that
'a cosy chat with a probation officer is not an alternative to a prison sentence'.
In the case of the remaining one-fifth, namely those on remand (in prison or
remand centre or police cell) awaiting trial, neither a substantial limitation of
their numbers nor a substantial diminution of the period they spend in
detention seems probable. It seems unlikely that their numbers can be
appreciably reduced while the police can point to areas in which one out of
every three crimes is committed by a person who is already on bail. So far as
the length of their detention is concerned, little relief seems likely while the
courts are open only four hours a day, for five days a week, for only three
weeks in five. For those who say that this is a waste of both plant and
personnel, and resembles nothing so much as a pension scheme, there are
others who say the criticisms are totally unwarranted. Putting the system on
a businesslike footing would require so traumatic a change for those involved
in the system that it seems unlikely that there will be a change unless the
administration of justice is privatised or, at least, until the alien idea of career-
based judges is adopted.
If
that be so, it is unreal to suggest that, for the
proposed increase in the number of places of detention, there is a practical
alternative either in the form of a reduction in the numbers detained or in
the form of a reduction in the length of their detention.
Meanwhile, those who have addressed the question of remand in custody
must have one thing in common, whatever other conclusions they
reach-an
appreciation of the fact that it is grossly unjust that one in five of those who
are held in custody have not been tried, that they are likely to be so held for
months on end and that after trial two out of five willbe immediately released.
172
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