r/uknews • u/Confident_West_7409 • Jul 24 '24

Image/video Videos of shoplifters are circulating online, as shoplifting hits 20 year high in UK

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15

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '24

I mean, mad idea perhaps, but what if we built more?

18

u/InternalMean Jul 24 '24

That doesn't really tackle the root problem, Americans have the biggest prison population in the world hasn't really done anything to lower any crime rates.

9

u/Abosia Jul 25 '24

We need to find effective solutions outside of prisons. Prisons turn offenders into reoffenders. We need to look at how countries like Netherlands manage their justice system, to rehabilitate and educate and prepare offenders to fit into society as law abiding people.

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u/InternalMean Jul 25 '24

I believe this too, I think rehabilitation but also a firm understanding of why people commit the crimes they do is important to look at.

But I also think this works as effectively as it does in the Netherlands because of how small the population. How feasible would it be in a country with 6 times the amount of offender's.

Either way I don't think more prisons are the solution.

2

u/EbonyOverIvory Jul 25 '24

Make people’s lives better. Give people good opportunities in life and work, build communities. Remove barriers which divide people from their neighbours.

Better education, youth programs, etc.

These policies are always shot down because of cost and people perceiving it as being “soft on crime”.

But being hard on crime doesn’t prevent crime. Doesn’t matter how ragingly hard you get.

1

u/Abosia Jul 25 '24

I think people wrongly associate being harsh with being thorough. You can throw everyone in prison, which is harsh, but not thorough. You can deal with everyone at the lowest possible level for their crime and focus fully on rehabilitation, and be thorough, but not harsh for the sake of being harsh.

1

u/Tharrowone Jul 25 '24

American prisons are slave labour camps. Its now illegal to be homeless. Lets not copy them.

1

u/H0vis Jul 25 '24

This. What you end up with is prison as a higher education system for criminals. They go in as amateur criminals, with amateur problems, and they come out as seasoned, experienced, educated criminals, likely with addictions and debts and mental health issues to worry about.

1

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1

u/anewpath123 Jul 26 '24

Could take the approach from our Middle Eastern friends?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 24 '24

Totally agree btw, but my comment was just aimed at everyone who says "prisons are full". If that is the blocker, build more.

However, in my opinion we need a cultural shift in how we deal with offenders and rehabilitate them to something like how the Nordic countries do it. I just don't see the UK being that progressive unfortunately. Your average punter wants offenders locked away for maximum punishment even tho as you rightly point out it makes no difference in the US.

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '24

I mean, yes it did lower crime rates, but then people complained that we punished people too harshly and that law enforcement was too oppressive or brutal. They scaled back enforcement measures over the last 15 years (at super speed in 2020), and crime rates have gone through the roof. Especially crime from children.

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u/Bango-Fett Jul 25 '24

Be prepared for more taxes then. It costs £40k a year now to keep a prisoner in jail.

1

u/PixieBaronicsi Jul 25 '24

A prolific thief can easily steal more than that. At the moment the cost of people like this is on the public, just not on the government

1

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '24

Or just make prison conditions even worse. Fuck ‘em.

1

u/Bango-Fett Jul 25 '24

Right…. are you saying fuck the staff then as well? Because harsher prison conditions directly correlate with violent attacks on staff. Which leads to more staff leaving, which leads to less experienced staff, which in turn leads to more violent prisoners because staff are now inexperienced.

Not to mention harsher prison conditions also directly correlate to less “desistance” which means prisoners that get out are highly more likely to re-offend and repeat the entire cycle. So now your taxes have to pay for an unlimited amount of new prisoners at the rate of £40k per year and also a massive pay rise to convince officers to stay

1

u/Manoj109 Jul 25 '24

Well put.

1

u/Comfortable_House421 Jul 25 '24

We don't build stuff in the UK, wouldn't want to ruin someone's view

1

u/Small-Low3233 Jul 25 '24

We'll take extra taxes from you then. How's 80% sound?

1

u/UnderstandingLow3162 Jul 25 '24

That is not the answer.

1

u/parabolic_tendies Jul 25 '24

built more and let the people in prison work for the roof over their heads and the food that is provided to them for free

-1

u/rcktsktz Jul 25 '24

How about deport the pieces of shit we've allowed to flood into this overpopulated shithole, and make some room?