Say sorry

Former Member · July 2003

This is now the governments idea of how to stop criminals, to make them make amends with their victims and say sorry, how stupid and pathetic is this, they are still going to do what they do, rob people, the person is hardly going to mean that they are sorry :rolleyes: they have the cheek to break into the person's house in the first place.

Former Member · July 2003

This is a loony idea, I can't stand the idea of letting off criminals lightly and only believe in rehabilitation when it comes to youths.
Sorry doesn't cut it I'm afraid, If someone walks into me by accident then I expect an apology, if someone muggs me, I'd expect my money back and the offender to be locked up.
Chances are they're going to re-offend anyway.

Is it too much to ask for this country to be tough on criminals, they damn well deserve everything they get for spoiling things for sociey's decent people who make an effort to behave themselves.
Unfortunatly there seems to be a few to many idiots in this world with silly idea's like this and the one about bribing youth offenders to behave or stay in school. I was brought up on a council estate and didn't need the promise of gifts to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Former Member · July 2003

That's ridiculous. This Labour government is becoming a self-fulfilling mockery.

Former Member · July 2003

Well....I do think that alongside some kind of punnishment it would be a good idea to make criminals face their victims head on (If the victim wants them to) so that they can perhaps get some idea of the hurt they have caused, they do it in America I think.

Former Member · July 2003

They aren't going to be marched to the person's house and told to say sorry like a naughty school boy. I think the idea is to spend some time with the victim, so they can see the grief and bother thay have caused. I actually think this approach might work with a lot of younger criminals who have chosen the wrong path in life.

Former Member · July 2003

I don't think apologising should be a substitute for the punishment that would usually be handed out. But making the offender apologise to the victim has proven to be an extremely successful scheme. Obviously it will not work in all cases. But reports show very encouraging figures indeed when muggers, burglars and anti-social louts have been made to confront their victims in a room and made them realise the damage they have done to them.

The police tell us that a great number of offenders who have gone through this have not re-offended. It's definitively worth the shot and I can see it working well. It is not going to work with crack-dependant muggers or hardened criminals... but it is making many a council estate trouble maker see sense.

Former Member · July 2003

One programme that has been running for many many years now in the US is the "Scared Straight" program for young offenders.

What they do is take groups of these young kids into maximum security prisons and sit them in with hardened lifers who basically go into emphatic detail what awaits these tender young things in prison if they dont straighten up pdq.

Needless to say its had a noticeable impact on those who have participated in it. Not that anything will divert the course of someone who is determined to pursue a life of crime.

That said however, perhaps we should also be tackling the conditions of poverty and disenfranchisement that force many down the path of crime in the first place.

Former Member · July 2003

Bloody hell! That's one way of setting people straight!

Out of curiosity, is there an officer present during the exercise? Or is the lifer allowed to enjoy some quality time with the young man in privacy? That'd surely ensure he behaves in the future!

Former Member · July 2003

That is a very effective way of scaring the younger kids....maybe they should introduce that here.

Former Member · July 2003

No Al, its all monitored although the prisoners and the programme participants are face to face in a room without restraints. From televised reports I saw years ago what I recall is the highly aggressive and emotional remonstrations made by the inmates toward their captive audience.

Many kids wet themselves they get so scared.

Former Member · July 2003

I saw a show on the learning channel in the United States. Some criminals who commit multiple murders don't have that mechanism in the brain where they feel guilty. But they would be clever enough to know others do and could fake sorrow.

Former Member · July 2003

maybe then that explains serial killers and people of the sort.

Former Member · July 2003

Originally posted by byny
Well....I do think that alongside some kind of punnishment it would be a good idea to make criminals face their victims head on (If the victim wants them to) so that they can perhaps get some idea of the hurt they have caused, they do it in America I think.

I agree. They have to realise they are responsible for their own actions, and that their own actions have serious ramifications for the other people involved.

It'd probably be good for both the criminal and victim, obviously not in all cases as some crimes are far too traumatising for the victim, some kind of closure for them both.

I think a programme like Clandestine mentioned would be effective too because many young offenders don't realise how nasty prison is and some of them need to be brought back down to reality.

Former Member · July 2003

What people have to realise is that punishment alone doesn't work. Education and a realisation of the consequences of crime, both to the victim and to the offender, are extremely important when it comes to the rehabilitation of offenders into society.

Say sorry

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