UK NEWS

ARMED THUGS DODGE 5-YEAR ‘MANDATORY’ PRISON TERM

Tuesday August 28,2007

By By Tom Whitehead Home Affairs Correspondent

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(3)

FOUR out of every five gun-toting thugs are escaping mandatory five-year jail terms because of a legal loophole and soft courts.

Any adult caught carrying a gun should get the minimum sentence under supposedly tough laws brought in by Labour three years ago.

But a clause in the Act allows judges to ignore the requirement if they believe there are “exceptional circumstances”. In the first two years of the Act coming into force, an alarming 80 per cent of offenders have been let off with lighter sentences.

Critics last night said the revelation makes a mockery of Labour’s tough rhetoric on gun crime, and slammed the courts for doling out soft penalties.

Retired judge Keith Matthewman, QC, said: “It is a dreadful indictment of the Government and legal system in this country. People who are carrying guns know perfectly well the punishment is not going to fit the crime.

“It shows a complete and utter weakness in the courts. The general public are being let down by the Government, let down by the police and let down by the judges.”

The mandatory five-year term for possession of a firearm was introduced for anyone aged more than 18 in 2003.

The sentence came into effect in 2004 and in the first two years some 1,039 offenders were convicted.

But only 218 – 20 per cent – were jailed for the “mandatory” five years. The average sentence in 2005 was just 47.3 months, meaning most offenders are back on the streets in less than two years, having served half their time.

A Ministry of Justice official said: “Before the legislation was introduced, an average sentence was only 18 months.

“In the 12 months to December 2006, firearms offences fell by 13 per cent. Use of handguns fell by 11 per cent.

“The introduction of the five-year minimum is likely to have contributed to these falls.”

ARMED THUGS DODGE 5-YEAR ‘MANDATORY’ PRISON TERM

28.08.07, 10:59am

Close the loophole and sack any soft judge who does not hand out the full mandatory 5yr sentence, Also 5yrs should mean exactly that with no time off for good behaviour.

• Posted by: Vymnto • Report Comment

ARMED THUGS DODGE 5-YEAR ‘MANDATORY’ PRISON TERM

28.08.07, 10:33am

FOUR out of every five gun-toting thugs are escaping mandatory five-year jail terms because of a legal loophole and soft courts.

NEW LABOUR AND LAW AND ORDER ?

BRITAIN MUST BE THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE CRIMINAL WORLD.

• Posted by: EmperorMing • Report Comment

HOW MANY MORE UNDERSTATEMENTS???

28.08.07, 6:10am

“The introduction of the five-year minimum is likely to have contributed to these falls.”

Like the abolition of the death penalty saw a rise in the number of killings.

And since when have any labour "laws" been tough -- unless they only apply to indigenous people??

• Posted by: JAYDEE • Report Comment