Eideard

Nearly half of those held over riots arrested again in past year…As the anniversary of the violence and looting approaches, the data reveals that 44% of riot suspects have been arrested on suspicion of committing further offences in the last 12 months.

More than half of suspects who were locked up over the disorder have since been freed while thousands more who took part evaded justice.

The statistics, released under the Freedom of Information Act, showed police in Nottingham made 143 arrests following last August’s disorder, of whom 86 were charged…

But in the last year, 72 of those suspects – half the total arrested – were held again for crimes including rape, arson, robbery, threats to kill and breaching bail or parole conditions, and some even arrested for multiple crimes…

The true number across the country could be even higher, with some of the largest forces including the Metropolitan Police unable to calculate the proportion of reoffending due to the sheer number of cases it had to deal with, the Daily Mail reported

Dr David Green, of the think-tank Civitas, told the newspaper: “This is a reminder that in this country we do not punish our career criminals properly.

“They are allowed to go in and out of jail and this just reaffirms that we are continuing the same bad practice. If you punish them lightly you will get more crime…”

I have no problem with warehousing violent criminals, those whose property crimes endanger a peaceful life for ordinary citizens. It’s no different from jailing drivers who continually risk killing others on the road with their drinking addiction.

Yes, we can treat causes, we can effect the delivery of appropriate counseling – while offenders are on the inside. Removing unnecessary risk is at least as important as catching criminals and preventing crime in the first place. In my neck of the prairie it’s not unusual to read of DWI offenders with arrests in double figures. The same for junkies who support their addiction with burglary.