Convicts should serve 100 per cent of their sentence – releasing them early is a sick joke played out on all of us

IT was a wonderful heart-warming scene, wasn’t it?

Families torn apart were finally reunited. Men returning to their loved ones, bottles of fizz sprayed in celebration and many a happy thumbs-up for the waiting cameras.

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Well, it was a happy scene for the 1,700 men who were released early from prison on Tuesday morning anyway.

And no doubt for their families too, as their Wags donned their best tracksuits amid the party atmosphere.

We all like to make an effort on a special occasion, don’t we?

But there wasn’t much celebrating by the law-abiding majority, who had to watch in horror as hundreds of convicted felons walked free on to our streets after serving a mere fraction of their prison sentences.

One after each other, they poured out of HMP gates, bin bags of possessions in their hands, a fag in their mouths and a grin all over their faces.

One ex-con was even met by his mate driving a shiny new Lamborghini. Who knows what he does for a living. We can only guess.

Despite ministers insisting there were no violent criminals among the early releases, the lags back on our streets included a man convicted of the manslaughter of a teenage boy in a machete attack.

There was another who assaulted his girlfriend (the 110th crime in his lengthy criminal career) and a man who was met at the prison gate by police officers who arrested him for an alleged rape before his latest stint of porridge.

One lag openly admitted he was “99 per cent sure” he’d be back behind bars very soon. So it turns out there really is honesty among thieves.

But why on earth did anyone think this was a good idea?

Well, because all our prisons are full and, Sir Keir Starmer insists, they had no choice because the last Tory government failed to build enough new prisons to house our burgeoning criminal fraternity.

It is true, of course, that the Conservatives, after 14 years in office, are responsible for the current state of affairs. But letting lags out early is not the solution.

After all, those empty prison cells will soon be full again and we’ll go back to square one.

Next month, even more prisoners are due to be set free early and, this time, they will include dozens of convicted killers. What could possibly go wrong?

Breaking point

There isn’t even much of a cost saving, as most of those released will go straight on the dole, some will need hotel accommodation paid for by you and me, while London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for newly released prisoners to be prioritised for housing to help them to not reoffend. I kid you not.

In a bizarre attempt to reassure us, criminal-justice experts insist that releasing prisoners just 40 per cent of the way through their sentence isn’t such a risk, because they’d normally be freed after serving just half of their sentence anyway.

So that’s all right then. I mean, on that basis, why even bother with 40 per cent? Why not just ten per cent? Why even bother with prison at all?

After all, they’re just going to end up back on the streets anyway!

Call me old fashioned, but why should convicts ever serve anything less than 100 per cent of their sentence? This is a sick joke played out on all of us and it’s just not funny any more.

When they are released on to the streets to steal, assault, rape and kill once again, it is the freedom of the law-abiding majority that is stolen away.

Julia Hartley-Brewer

But wouldn’t longer sentences mean building more prisons? Yes. And wouldn’t that cost taxpayers more money? Yes. Would we be willing to pay for that?

Hell, yes! What’s even more perplexing is that our prisons have managed to reach breaking point when police are barely making any arrests.

I doubt most officers in most police forces arrest anyone from one week to the next. We can only imagine what would happen if police did their job properly.

One of the biggest lies we’re told in this country is that “we lock too many people up”.

While it is true that, apart from America, Britain locks up more people per head of the population than other western nations, we actually lock up fewer people for every crime committed.

Prison isn’t just about punishment. It’s also about deterrence and it’s in all our interests for it to provide rehabilitation. But the most important job it does is to protect the public.

When criminals are behind bars, they are not free to commit more crimes.

When they are released on to the streets to steal, assault, rape and kill once again, it is the freedom of the law-abiding majority that is stolen away.

Cruel cuts take the biscuit

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ONLY one Labour MP had the moral courage to vote against the Government’s plan to scrap winter fuel payments for 10million pensioners.

Just one. Jon Trickett, Honorable Member for Hemsworth. All the rest abstained or suddenly found something terribly important to do in their constituency.

I’m surprised they could even stand up given they have lost their spines.

Millions of Labour voters were horrified to see this cruel cut to the incomes of the elderly already living on a pittance of a state pension.

Even Labour cheerleaders like Carol Vorderman demanded an apology from the PM.

Although the usually outspoken Archbishop of Canterbury stayed uncharacteristically quiet. I wonder why?

Next on the cuts list, elderly widows may lose their 25 per cent single occupancy discount on council tax.

At this rate, by the end of the year I fully expect Keir Starmer will be personally leading vigilante squads snatching the custard cream biscuits right out of your granny’s hand.