Call This Justice?

Less than half of criminals supposedly "Brought To Justice" end up going through the Court system thanks to new regulations.

Instead, most criminals get on the spot fines, cautions, or warnings. This comes straight from Stephen Wooler, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service, who also reports in his annual report that the over zealous use of such penalties could damage public confidence in the CPS, and also advised that the public could begin to see the service as a Revenue Raising Initiative.
In 2003, 68 per cent of all criminal acts resulted in a court conviction, but Mr Wooler said, that last year, the figure had fallen to between 40-50%.

All this serves to illustrate the dramatic changes made by Labour to the Criminal Justice System.

Cannabis possession is now punished by a simple telling off, on the sopt fines have been introduced for shoplifting, criminal damage, being drunk and disorderly, and other yobbish behaviour. Less than half the fines are correctly paid.

Total figures for 2005, the most recent available showed that:

51,000 violent offenders were only cautioned, including 757 who inflicted potentially fatal wounds and 588 who threatened to murder their victims,
199,000 children given repirmands or final warnings,
146,500 drunks, thieves or thugs were only cautioned,
22 rapists were cautioned, and,
390 were let off with with a caution for having under age sex and three for child porn offences.

Call this justice?