Friday 3 February 2012

Remind Me – What’s The Point Of A Suspended Sentence?

Dean Potter has escaped jail despite flouting a suspended sentence and driving ban.
How can this be?
The 22-year-old, of the Willows, Sandhurst, was caught driving while disqualified and had stolen scrap metal and batteries from two business yards, Gloucester Crown Court heard.

His offences were committed while he was subject of an eight-month suspended jail sentence imposed after he drove his car into a pedestrian in Stonehouse in 2009.
/facepalm
In August last year, Judge William Hart deferred the case for six months to see if he could stay out of trouble. This week, the judge was told Potter had committed no further offences.
Or just hadn’t been caught….
He was sentenced to 18 weeks' jail suspended until November this year and ordered to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work.

The original suspended sentence was left in force.
Why? Might as well just scrap it, it’s as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

6 comments:

Lucky Lawless said...

It's a brilliant idea called "prison in the community."

This is just like "care in the community" where people who need assistance are left to their own devices. Following that success, the government went for this new idea where a sentence is imposed for crimes but the perp is allowed to wander free in the outside world, burdened by the inner knowledge he (or she) is guilty of a crime and has offended society.

Works every time. The downtrodden look on their little faces down the pub and at social events as they labour through their 'sentence' has to be seen to be believed.

Captain Haddock said...

The only kind of suspended sentence worth a light involves the use of a hempen rope and a short, sharp drop ..

Anonymous said...

@ haddock

It being so light on the mind, I love your wit almost as much as you do.

Woman on a Raft said...

Metal theft again. Last week the CPS mounted a campaign to remind prosecutors to treat this seriously and to impress on magistrates and judges that it isn't a trivial crime.

I thought they were being wet but it appears that some benches don't understand that if you nick eight lorry batteries you could be putting thousands of pounds worth of business at risk.

I hope the owners didn't suffer but I know of small courier and haulage businesses which would go under if they failed to meet the delivery targets because they lost half a day replacing batteries.

It needs to be got over that the resale value of metal may be modest but the utility value can be high.

David Gillies said...

WOAR: hear, hear. Even worse is nicking cable. Interfering with the mail used to be considered a very serious offence. Messing about with telecomms infrastructure is the modern equivalent. I'd support really spectacular sentences here.

JuliaM said...

"It's a brilliant idea called "prison in the community.""

Heh! Well, the other one worked so well, tight?

"Metal theft again. "

Yup! It's becoming rife, and there seems no way of stopping it, because no matter what the police do, the courts are too lenient. I don't think it's that they don't understand, I think it's because they don't care...

I guess mags and judges don't use the rail network enough.

"Interfering with the mail used to be considered a very serious offence. Messing about with telecomms infrastructure is the modern equivalent. "

Spot on! The authorities can't demand we all use on-line services if we can't bloody get on-line because some thieving scrote has nicked the copper, can they?