I popped over to Bridgend today. While I was there I stopped at a caf' for a mug of tea and and a sandwich, and had a read of the Glamorgan Gazette. The headline story was, superficially speaking, almost amusing. It concerned two drunk blokes who had pleaded guilty for nicking "the holy Mary mother of Jesus and the nativity bed" from a local church. A stupid drunken crime basically.
As I read on the facts were revealed. I read how 'one of the men was homeless having been released from prison 6 days earlier.' This did make me angry (not real anger, but the sort of anger you get from reading things which is a different kind of anger from the proper anger when you end up shouting). Why on earth was someone released from prison only to end up on the streets where, vulnerable, they are far more likely to fall back into patterns of drinking, drugs, and subsequently crime? Fortunately, in this instance, the crime was relatively trivial.
This case is indicative of the rehabilitative failure apparent in our criminal justice system. It demonstrates how the emphasis is squarely on punishment rather than prevention. Letting loose someone with past criminal form, very probably with alcohol problems, alone to fend for himself on the streets, is a recipe for trouble in anyone's books.
I understand that people should not be 'rewarded' for criminal behaviour. I appreciate the idea that we are all responsible for our actions. However, there are social forces at work that can exceed individual capacity. With re-offending rates through the roof, violent crime on the rise, and convictions on the up, surely it is time for a fresh approach- an approach based on rationalism and compassion rather than the urge for retribution.
What else are they hiding?
14 years ago
3 comments:
STOP THE JOB MASSACRE IN SOUTH WALES:
CAMPAIGN LAUNCH & EMERGENCY PUBLIC MEETINGS
The Chartists in South Wales (supporters of the People Before Profit Charter) have put together 2 meetings to organise community campaigns against the job massacres. Many shopstewards, union reps, people facing being made redundant over Xmas, the convenor of UNITE at Hoover, the Vice-Chair of PCS Wales (in personal capacities) will be coming along, but it important that we mobilise the entire community behind the struggle to save South Wales from being once again laid waste by capital red in tooth and claw.
Save Hoover’s Factory in Merthyr:
Wednesday 10 December, 7.30
Glebeland Club (above Belle Vue Pub)
Glebeland Street
MERTHYR
Stop the Jobs Massacre in South Wales:
Thursday 11 December, 7.30 pm
The Royal Hotel
St Mary’s Street
CARDIFF
We have been busy as hell visiting factories & workplaces in South Wales facing closure, we hope we can link up different working class communities under attack.
In Merthyr town centre last weekend, hundreds of people signed petitions, some signing for every member of their family & Merthyr Tydfil FC Supporters Group requesting petitions to take away. A Facebook group against the jobs massacre gained over 2,000 supporters in 3 days.
Over 4,000 jobs have been lost or put under threat in the last 4 weeks. From Hoover in Merthyr to Budelpack in Maesteg to Bosch in Llantrisant to the thousands of uncertain positions in Woolworths, the avalanche of job losses threatens to grow as the recession gets worse.
Without a fightback, not only will these jobs go but it will be easier for the bosses to come back and sack more. Millions of jobs around the country will be under threat. It’s imprtant that when they say “cutback,” we say “fightback!”
We’ve also been around the affected factories trying to arrange delegations. If you know people affected by the job cuts, please get in touch ASAP at theyoungdudes@yahoo.com. Please do your best to come along and let as many people know as possible.
i have no idea but it wont let me link to your sight i have no ideas why im clueless
Hi there, re. a lift from Newport to the meeting, there may be people travelling up, you can email theyoungdudes@yahoo.com to get in contact with one of the organisers who might have more info. It's a South Wales wide campaign & it looks like places are shutting down across Wales including Newport, so we may want to get together stuff there too.
Here is a statement Tony Benn sent to the meetings. Tony Benn is the best known figure on the Labour left who retired from Parliament to "spend more time involved in politics." Since then he has campaigned tirelessly against the war as President of the Stop the War Coalition and is a strong supporter of the People Before Profit Charter.
"The economic crisis is having a devastating effect on workers all across Britain. In South Wales, the impact is being felt particularly sharply. From Budelpack to Bosch, Maesteg to Merthyr, thousands of jobs are being wiped out by the recession. Unemployment in Wales is rising four times faster the national average.
The announcement of an end to manufacturing at the Hoover factory in Merthyr Tydfil is symbolic of how grave this crisis is. Hoover has been in Merthyr for 60 years, and, in that time, tens of thousands of workers and their families have relied on the factory for their livelihoods. To announce the job cuts just before Christmas is an appalling insult to the workers and people of Merthyr.
It has always been the case that, in times of crisis, big business seeks to safeguard its profits by making ordinary people pay the price. That is why it is so important for workers, trade unionists, socialists and activists to come together and fight to safeguard their common interests.
Democracy has always relied upon mass movements to win and defend our rights. The Chartists, who struggled to win the vote, faced down repression courageously in places like Newport in South Wales and inspired millions across the country. The mass anti-war movement was able to win the vast majority of the British people to opposing the immoral wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Meetings like those organised by the supporters of the People Before Profit Charter in Merthyr and Cardiff can be an important first step in building a new movement, one that seeks to unite all those who face unemployment and uncertainty in struggle for social justice and the right to work. I wish them and all who support them the very best in their campaign."
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